Mitch McConnell has a plan to save America from default and a plan to save his party from political disaster. What is this bold plan? To abdicate responsibility from government by ceding to the president the right to raise the debt ceiling. This saves the American economy from the calamity of default and spares Republicans from having to vote for raising the debt ceiling. It is politics at its best and responsibility at its worst and yet this may be the plan that saves the economy.
Despite perhaps representing an escape plan for the economy, this is a sad misuse of power and a scary harbinger of the way American politics is heading. Too often, politicians from both parties think they have been elected to promote the interests of the party over the interests of the nation. Right now, Republicans are very guilty of this offense. Rather than compromise and take a deal that left any good conservative salivating, Republicans refused to give even a little, perhaps believing that a blow to the economy would help their chances in 2012.
All of this was done of course in the name of the great Ronald Reagan, the impeccable president, the flawless man, the god among politicians. Ask Republicans about him and they'll swoon and perhaps tear up a bit before telling you how he was America's savior. They'll also either forget to mention or be ignorant of the fact that the man raised taxes when he had to...rather than carrying on Reagan's legacy - which has been neatly whitewashed by Republicans to begin with - the modern conservative movement is going backwards, further to the right than their hero.
This abdication of power is not only an embarrassing moment for American politics, but along with other recent Republican moves, it represents a further hardening of a system that has already become too rigid. Lately it has become en vogue for Republicans to sign pledges to their constituents making promises to do or not to do certain things. There is certainly nothing wrong with making campaign promises, it is in fact how one gets elected. But the nature of American politics is that the parties must compromise, and the more outrageous pledges Republicans sign, the harder it becomes for them to make the sacrifices necessary for governing.
Never mind how ludicrous some of the pledges are - pay close attention to the Marriage Vow for some amusement - the fact that Republican presidential candidates have already signed away their right to cooperate is bad news for a system of government that is based on competing interests finding common ground.
I don't want to put all the blame on Republicans. Democrats did recently force through Obamacare without incorporating Republican ideas - though to be fair Republicans had few ideas but many scary lies to tell. Both parties are guilty of retreating into their ideological shells and refusing to govern responsibly, but the recent Republican political blueprint of holding America hostage with outrageous demands and then refusing to agree even when Democrats offer everything but the kitchen sink is a dangerous for our country. Furthermore, signing pledges committing to ignore the other guy makes responsible government impossible and sets the stage for even more political gridlock that our country cannot afford.
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