Hopefully not another debt crisis or government shutdown. For my next trick I'll actually need a functioning government, and the next trick really shouldn't be a trick at all, but a budget, you know, like the ones that Congress is supposed to produce.
In the aftermath of the government shutdown, the question on my mind - and I hope on everyone's mind - is what does our government do now that it has officially decided to do something? Given the inability of our elected officials to accomplish anything since the great tea party coup of 2010, I'd say any action would be positive action, but then again some people consider the Cruzian crusade to be action, so perhaps we need to define a bit more clearly what it is we expect from Congress.
1) A budget, please...? I know it's a lot to ask for two sides with completely contradictory economic views to find common ground, but given that the common ground is the sensible ground - we raise and lower taxes as dictated by necessity, never letting them get so high as to stifle investment but neither cutting them so drastically as to starve revenue - one would think it would be possible for the two sides to set ideology aside and be practical about the need for smart spending cuts and reasonable revenue increases in order to make America sustainable.
2) Immigration reform. This one is a no-brainer (aren't most of them?). Our country's immigration system is broken in so many ways and places that I don't know where to start. Build a fence, offer a pathway to citizenship, reform the manner in which visas are given to educated immigrants, etc, etc, and more etc. There is a Senate bill sitting in the House of Donothingness that provides a good template and would be a much better alternative than the current, broken system.
3) A renewed interest and investment in infrastructure, primarily in education. This is where our future will be won or lost, and educationally we are lagging woefully behind our economic peer group. American public education is largely in shambles. There are still things we do well, but our failure to proactively invest in education leaves us retroactively spending money far less efficiently to support people who could, should, and would be supporting themselves if we had enabled them. Not only are we wasting money, but we are failing to provide the means for our citizens to provide for themselves and thus creating a semi-permanent underclass. Only by investing in education can we sustain the kind of innovation and maintain the freedoms that are the hallmarks of the society we value.
I hope that the debacle of the shutdown was the slap in the face reality-check that the far right needed, and that we can actually have real and vigorous debate around how to address these issues which are just the ones I deem most important among the myriad of things that need to be done. Immigration is a good place to start since there is already a strong bipartisan consensus. Perhaps Congress can find a way to do something useful and pass that bill and then use it as a springboard to address the budget and education reform.
Let's go here, Washington. Do a trick for us. Show us you can perform. Craft and pass some legislation and get to work making America better.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Welcome back Uncle Sam
Sixteen days later and Uncle Sam has been resuscitated on the eve of his default. After more than two weeks of needless and harmful absence, the government has returned. Let's see if will come back any more worthwhile than when it left.
In return for the damage they inflicted upon the American economy and their own image and electoral prospects, Republicans got nothing in return. Nothing. Almost literally. I believe I linked to this video clip in a previous post, but it's worth watching again. As Jon Stewart and Willy Wonka both state eloquently in this post, the tea party's loss was a severe blow. They proved themselves vapid, immature, incapable, and generally worthless, and those are just the nice descriptors. The tea party's ultimate gift to the American people in this debacle might very well be the bleak electoral prospects they have created for Republicans in next year's midterm elections.
In the end the "agreement" that we got was one that could have, should have, and would have been passed months ago had it not been for the anti-Obamacare crusade that was doomed from the start. To say that Republican placed ideology over practicality and their misguided political agenda over the needs of the country is a whale of an understatement. In fact, the bill that President Obama ultimately signed wasn't an agreement at all; it was a Republican acceptance of the president's non-negotiables that were must-dos for the country anyhow. As Stewart points out in the clip linked above, if President Obama can negotiate with most intransigent and totalitarian mullahs on the planet, but not Republicans, maybe he's not the problem. What Stewart doesn't point out is that the reason President Obama can negotiate with said mullahs is because they have something over which to negotiate: a nuclear program. Republicans had nothing. It's not that the president refused to negotiate, it's that negotiation only happens when both sides have something to bring to the table. This political battle could have ended in only one of two ways: a default or a Republican collapse, and truthfully a default would have precipitated a worse Republican collapse than the one they got by admitting defeat last night.
Now that the latest round of lunacy has ended, let's see if Congress can use the next few months to actually put together a budget and agree to future plans on taxing and spending. This is, after all, what we elect and pay them to do. Optimistic I am not, but perhaps the debacle that has made them the political spectacle worldwide will have taught the true fools on the far right what not to do next time around. Welcome back Uncle Sam. When last I saw you, you were sickly. But now you have a 2nd (or 3rd, or 4th, or 17th) chance at doing your job. Do us all a favor and actually try this time.
In return for the damage they inflicted upon the American economy and their own image and electoral prospects, Republicans got nothing in return. Nothing. Almost literally. I believe I linked to this video clip in a previous post, but it's worth watching again. As Jon Stewart and Willy Wonka both state eloquently in this post, the tea party's loss was a severe blow. They proved themselves vapid, immature, incapable, and generally worthless, and those are just the nice descriptors. The tea party's ultimate gift to the American people in this debacle might very well be the bleak electoral prospects they have created for Republicans in next year's midterm elections.
In the end the "agreement" that we got was one that could have, should have, and would have been passed months ago had it not been for the anti-Obamacare crusade that was doomed from the start. To say that Republican placed ideology over practicality and their misguided political agenda over the needs of the country is a whale of an understatement. In fact, the bill that President Obama ultimately signed wasn't an agreement at all; it was a Republican acceptance of the president's non-negotiables that were must-dos for the country anyhow. As Stewart points out in the clip linked above, if President Obama can negotiate with most intransigent and totalitarian mullahs on the planet, but not Republicans, maybe he's not the problem. What Stewart doesn't point out is that the reason President Obama can negotiate with said mullahs is because they have something over which to negotiate: a nuclear program. Republicans had nothing. It's not that the president refused to negotiate, it's that negotiation only happens when both sides have something to bring to the table. This political battle could have ended in only one of two ways: a default or a Republican collapse, and truthfully a default would have precipitated a worse Republican collapse than the one they got by admitting defeat last night.
Now that the latest round of lunacy has ended, let's see if Congress can use the next few months to actually put together a budget and agree to future plans on taxing and spending. This is, after all, what we elect and pay them to do. Optimistic I am not, but perhaps the debacle that has made them the political spectacle worldwide will have taught the true fools on the far right what not to do next time around. Welcome back Uncle Sam. When last I saw you, you were sickly. But now you have a 2nd (or 3rd, or 4th, or 17th) chance at doing your job. Do us all a favor and actually try this time.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Uncharted Stupidity
Forget the government shutdown, if nothing is done to raise the debt limit in two days - or perhaps two weeks - our nation will default on our debt, an unprecedented embarrassment and supposed economic catastrophe brought on by nothing but the sheer lunacy and complete failure of leadership from one fraction of one political party.
Analysis of this debacle has already been done, and one would think there is nothing new to say, but just when you think the tea party has reached the furthest fringe of insanity, they say or do something even worse than before. Consider today's quote by one Tim Huelskamp of Congress, an elected official who I hope I'll never have the displeasure of hearing speak publicly again: “Anybody who would vote for that in the House as Republican would virtually guarantee a primary challenger," Tim said of the bipartisan plan put together by the Senate.
So even when the debate gets this sour and one side brings no ideas to the table but a compromise is still reached, it's not enough for this Huelskamp character. Voting for a bipartisan plan in which one party has made concessions that it has no business making but is doing so for the good of the country is still not enough to get ole Tim to vote for said plan. After all, doing what is in the best interest of the American people "would virtually guarantee a primary challenger." So much for government for the people.
Two weeks into the government shutdown, and while the world hasn't ended, the economy also has not improved, and unnecessary furloughs are costing us money we shouldn't be losing. Perhaps the default won't be the economic catastrophe it is predicted to be, but then again pretty much every government, business, and non-partisan economist on the planet is looking to Thursday's deadline with a sense of gloom, so it seems silly to test this theory.
And yet that is the path on which we find ourselves, towards being unwilling - not unable - to pay our debts. The hostage crisis in Washington has not abated, and thus we have essentially told anyone who has put their faith in our nation that they aren't worth our promises because a small minority of lunatics think that it is okay to force economic ruin on their own country and the world if they don't get their way.
This is uncharted stupidity, and we are about 36 hours from crashing into it head on. While I hope for a resolution in that time, I would be lying if I said I were optimistic. I don't know if the dire economic predictions of everyone will come true if we default on our debt, but I certainly don't want to find out, especially not when the only reason this might happen is because a few fools who profess ultimate loyalty to our Constitution are now threatening extortion to undo a law that was enacted through the same process they purport to hold sacrosanct. Uncharted stupidity indeed.
Analysis of this debacle has already been done, and one would think there is nothing new to say, but just when you think the tea party has reached the furthest fringe of insanity, they say or do something even worse than before. Consider today's quote by one Tim Huelskamp of Congress, an elected official who I hope I'll never have the displeasure of hearing speak publicly again: “Anybody who would vote for that in the House as Republican would virtually guarantee a primary challenger," Tim said of the bipartisan plan put together by the Senate.
So even when the debate gets this sour and one side brings no ideas to the table but a compromise is still reached, it's not enough for this Huelskamp character. Voting for a bipartisan plan in which one party has made concessions that it has no business making but is doing so for the good of the country is still not enough to get ole Tim to vote for said plan. After all, doing what is in the best interest of the American people "would virtually guarantee a primary challenger." So much for government for the people.
Two weeks into the government shutdown, and while the world hasn't ended, the economy also has not improved, and unnecessary furloughs are costing us money we shouldn't be losing. Perhaps the default won't be the economic catastrophe it is predicted to be, but then again pretty much every government, business, and non-partisan economist on the planet is looking to Thursday's deadline with a sense of gloom, so it seems silly to test this theory.
And yet that is the path on which we find ourselves, towards being unwilling - not unable - to pay our debts. The hostage crisis in Washington has not abated, and thus we have essentially told anyone who has put their faith in our nation that they aren't worth our promises because a small minority of lunatics think that it is okay to force economic ruin on their own country and the world if they don't get their way.
This is uncharted stupidity, and we are about 36 hours from crashing into it head on. While I hope for a resolution in that time, I would be lying if I said I were optimistic. I don't know if the dire economic predictions of everyone will come true if we default on our debt, but I certainly don't want to find out, especially not when the only reason this might happen is because a few fools who profess ultimate loyalty to our Constitution are now threatening extortion to undo a law that was enacted through the same process they purport to hold sacrosanct. Uncharted stupidity indeed.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Losing Their (S)way
A New York Times article yesterday highlighted something that shouldn't come as a surprise: Business groups that traditionally (and still) donate large sums of money to the Republican party have found that they are losing their sway over the current manifestation of said group. Despite the support they receive from pro-business groups, many Republicans are refusing to advocate, vote for, or put forward ideas and policies that are seen as good for business.
There is an important but distinct conversation to be had about how effective the ideas of some of those pro-business groups actually are, and how the good ones should be balanced with the good ideas of of pro-labor or pro-regulatory groups, but I don't want to delve into that here. Instead I'd like to reflect on the "well, of course" reaction I had when I read this piece.
Business groups are losing their sway because the Republican Party has lost its way. Once seen as the party of business, the current tea party led group is so intellectually incompetent that their current escapades - let's not pretend that anything done by this group is substantive enough not to be an escapade - have terrified business leaders who are losing money because of the government shutdown and who are - rightfully - terrified of a default. For years, Republicans were the party of business because they advocated policies that were anti-labor, anti-regulation, and pro-free market. There is validity around much of these ideas (perhaps not at the extremes proposed by some Republicans), and a substantial and thorough conversation between moderate pro-business Republicans and moderate pro-labor, pro-regulation Democrats could lead us to a happy, sustainable, and prosperous middle ground. It made complete sense that pro-business groups would support anti-labor, anti-regulation Republican lawmakers.
Many of the current ilk probably share those anti-labor, anti-regulation views, but their fanatical obsession with Obamacare and their preposterous apocalyptic vision of his presidency has pulled them over the cliff of lunacy. Their anti-Obama crusade has created such instability in government that it is not only hurting their party nationally, but is strangling businesses. Obamacare may not be the most pro-business policy in the world, but it's nowhere near as harmful as the tea party-induced government shutdown or the threat of a default.
So when you read that business groups are losing their sway over the Republican party, the natural reaction is "duh." After all, stability is good for business, and the extremist fringe of the party is so hellbent on getting its way that its members are willing to resort to anything - including blackmail, extortion, and temper tantrums - to see their will be done, no matter how insipid or harmful that will is. The resulting instability is worse than any policy prescription for business, and thus ends the story about how the Republican party has lost its way and the business groups supporting it have lost their sway.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
One Week In
Well, the world still hasn't ended, but neither have we made any progress. The government remains inactive (partially), the tea party remains a group of insane extortionists, the country remains fed up. Nothing has really changed since before the shutdown since the part of government doing the legislating was inactive prior to officially shutting itself down. However they remain around to collect their salaries from our tax dollars. Figures. Only the tea party would be so anti-governmentally insipid that they shut it down and yet continue to spend tax dollars on their own salaries.
It doesn't seem as though progress is on the horizon. Doing what they do best, the tea party is refusing to do anything remotely helpful for the country. Despite having no strategy, no plan, no fresh ideas, no anything really, they are still waiting for Obama to "negotiate" as though there were something over which to negotiate. There isn't. This is the ultimate example of ignorant arrogance run amok. The tea party zealots don't have a plan to get what they want, and even if they did, they wouldn't have any ideas for how to fix America's broken healthcare system. So not only is a hostage taking farce, it's one without any alternative to that would help fix the problem.
The theatrics have gone on long enough. The charade is over. Each passing day the embarrassment that is the national Republican party backs itself further into a hole. There is no endgame, there is no plan, and until the people who want nothing more than to have their way get their way there is no government either. There has been no shortage of amusing analogies to the Republican hostage taking, so I will not here try to come up with another, but it is far past time we called a spade a spade and acknowledge that there is no failure to "negotiate." There is, in fact, nothing over which to negotiate. Negotiation requires that each party engaging in said negotiations has a credible plan it brings to the table at which point differences are argued over and ultimately a compromise is reached. If you think that is what is happening here, you haven't been paying attention.
I tried to go as long as possible with bashing the Republican party, but at this point what is left to say? Our government is an international embarrassment because about 30 people with the IQ of rocks are showing the maturity of four year olds and won't quit crying until they get their way. That is the depth to which we have sunk.
One week in and how much longer will we go? I suppose it depends on the leaderless mob of radical morons raising hell in the House of Representatives. I only hope that the suffering they are ultimately able to inflict is minimal.
It doesn't seem as though progress is on the horizon. Doing what they do best, the tea party is refusing to do anything remotely helpful for the country. Despite having no strategy, no plan, no fresh ideas, no anything really, they are still waiting for Obama to "negotiate" as though there were something over which to negotiate. There isn't. This is the ultimate example of ignorant arrogance run amok. The tea party zealots don't have a plan to get what they want, and even if they did, they wouldn't have any ideas for how to fix America's broken healthcare system. So not only is a hostage taking farce, it's one without any alternative to that would help fix the problem.
The theatrics have gone on long enough. The charade is over. Each passing day the embarrassment that is the national Republican party backs itself further into a hole. There is no endgame, there is no plan, and until the people who want nothing more than to have their way get their way there is no government either. There has been no shortage of amusing analogies to the Republican hostage taking, so I will not here try to come up with another, but it is far past time we called a spade a spade and acknowledge that there is no failure to "negotiate." There is, in fact, nothing over which to negotiate. Negotiation requires that each party engaging in said negotiations has a credible plan it brings to the table at which point differences are argued over and ultimately a compromise is reached. If you think that is what is happening here, you haven't been paying attention.
I tried to go as long as possible with bashing the Republican party, but at this point what is left to say? Our government is an international embarrassment because about 30 people with the IQ of rocks are showing the maturity of four year olds and won't quit crying until they get their way. That is the depth to which we have sunk.
One week in and how much longer will we go? I suppose it depends on the leaderless mob of radical morons raising hell in the House of Representatives. I only hope that the suffering they are ultimately able to inflict is minimal.
Friday, October 4, 2013
The Fight Over Inaction
It's not quite live blogging or live tweeting the shutdown, but as long as this tragicomic charade goes on I might as well write about it. After all, this blog is dedicated to politics (or rather, I'd like to think, to policy), but since policy is on a standstill while political posturing is on full display, I have little choice but to blog about the shutdown or just sit on my hands.
I wish there were something exciting to say, but a shutdown is inaction by definition, and there is only so much to say about inaction. Today is day four of the government shutdown. The sun still came up today, so I suppose it can't be that bad. I do wonder how long it will continue and how bad it could get. Despite assurances from John Boehner that he won't let the tea party force a default in two weeks, I'm still a bit pessimistic about the prospects of this ending soon. All the power is in the hands of Boehner; if he allows a vote in the House on a clean bill we get a government again. If not they'll be another blog on day seven or day nine or whenever I choose to next write about the nothingness going on in Washington. Of course I'm nervous about the power being in the hands of the ambitious yet timid and vapid John Boehner, but I think he'll ultimately realize he's committing political suicide no matter he does at this point and just fold. When? I guess we'll see.
The saddest part about all of this to me is that we are fighting about NOT doing something. What happened to we do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard? Though I support Obamacare, I'm still tepid about it. I'm not here to proclaim that it will solve all of our nation's healthcare and healthcare cost issues, but it's an attempt, and not a bad one at that. And instead of fighting to make it better or propose something new and different, the tea party is just anti-it. They are anti-everything-Obama. There are no fresh ideas. There is no action. Our government has shutdown not because our politicians are squabbling about how we should improve our country, but because they're fighting over undoing attempts to improve our country.
Republican leaders at every level recognize this, and make a very valid point: the fanatical and suicidal obsession of the tea party with Obamacare and Obama-everything has completely overshadowed or derailed anything good Republicans have done at other levels of government. Republican governors in particular are annoyed feeling as though some of the good work they've done hasn't gotten any attention and could help change the national discourse about Republicans. The tea party has held the economy hostage, yes, but they've also hijacked the national debate to the detriment of nearly everyone, including Republicans.
It's certainly true that I don't know much about the reforms that Republicans are attempting in some states, and while I assume I would disagree with some, I know for a fact that others are good. Louisiana and Tennessee, both piloted by Republican governors are remaking the face of public education in their states, I believe for the better, but even if you disagree with my analysis, the comparison with Obamacare is undeniable - it is an attempt to fix a broken system that is in desperate need of fresh ideas.
What America needs is leadership - at all levels - that paints a real vision of a better future and explains, in candid terms, the hard work that will be needed to get there and how we can and should get there together. America's strength, our size and diversity, can be our weakness when we become fragmented. Squabbling over not doing thing fragments us into a society incapable of moving forward - we need not look much further than RIGHT NOW to see that is the case. But if we fought over different ideas for improving the country - a prerequisite for which is having ideas to improve the country - we would at least be starting from the common ground of wanting to make a better future together. That has not been the foundation for public discourse in some time, no matter what our politicians claim. The fight over inaction has led us to just that, painful inaction. It's time to restart the machine of government with the goal of taking action to make things better and debating our competing ideas to achieve that end rather than waging fanatical and ill-fated wars to prevent anyone from taking steps to improve America.
I wish there were something exciting to say, but a shutdown is inaction by definition, and there is only so much to say about inaction. Today is day four of the government shutdown. The sun still came up today, so I suppose it can't be that bad. I do wonder how long it will continue and how bad it could get. Despite assurances from John Boehner that he won't let the tea party force a default in two weeks, I'm still a bit pessimistic about the prospects of this ending soon. All the power is in the hands of Boehner; if he allows a vote in the House on a clean bill we get a government again. If not they'll be another blog on day seven or day nine or whenever I choose to next write about the nothingness going on in Washington. Of course I'm nervous about the power being in the hands of the ambitious yet timid and vapid John Boehner, but I think he'll ultimately realize he's committing political suicide no matter he does at this point and just fold. When? I guess we'll see.
The saddest part about all of this to me is that we are fighting about NOT doing something. What happened to we do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard? Though I support Obamacare, I'm still tepid about it. I'm not here to proclaim that it will solve all of our nation's healthcare and healthcare cost issues, but it's an attempt, and not a bad one at that. And instead of fighting to make it better or propose something new and different, the tea party is just anti-it. They are anti-everything-Obama. There are no fresh ideas. There is no action. Our government has shutdown not because our politicians are squabbling about how we should improve our country, but because they're fighting over undoing attempts to improve our country.
Republican leaders at every level recognize this, and make a very valid point: the fanatical and suicidal obsession of the tea party with Obamacare and Obama-everything has completely overshadowed or derailed anything good Republicans have done at other levels of government. Republican governors in particular are annoyed feeling as though some of the good work they've done hasn't gotten any attention and could help change the national discourse about Republicans. The tea party has held the economy hostage, yes, but they've also hijacked the national debate to the detriment of nearly everyone, including Republicans.
It's certainly true that I don't know much about the reforms that Republicans are attempting in some states, and while I assume I would disagree with some, I know for a fact that others are good. Louisiana and Tennessee, both piloted by Republican governors are remaking the face of public education in their states, I believe for the better, but even if you disagree with my analysis, the comparison with Obamacare is undeniable - it is an attempt to fix a broken system that is in desperate need of fresh ideas.
What America needs is leadership - at all levels - that paints a real vision of a better future and explains, in candid terms, the hard work that will be needed to get there and how we can and should get there together. America's strength, our size and diversity, can be our weakness when we become fragmented. Squabbling over not doing thing fragments us into a society incapable of moving forward - we need not look much further than RIGHT NOW to see that is the case. But if we fought over different ideas for improving the country - a prerequisite for which is having ideas to improve the country - we would at least be starting from the common ground of wanting to make a better future together. That has not been the foundation for public discourse in some time, no matter what our politicians claim. The fight over inaction has led us to just that, painful inaction. It's time to restart the machine of government with the goal of taking action to make things better and debating our competing ideas to achieve that end rather than waging fanatical and ill-fated wars to prevent anyone from taking steps to improve America.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
And Here We Go
Today the government ended its three year streak of feigning action by just calling it quits and ending the ruse; the government has formally shut down meaning essential services will be delayed or disrupted, and potentially imperiling our already fragile and tepid economic recovery.
How did we get here, we must be asking ourselves. The last time such an event happened I was nine years old so it is hard for me to put it in historical context, but I'm certainly not at a loss to explain last night's debacle. In fact, it can be summed up succinctly in only three words: tea party Republicans.
There isn't really anything new here for me to say that hasn't been pointed out by any astute commentator and by many Republicans themselves. The tea party crusaders are not responsible legislators. They're not really legislators at all, and extrapolating on their behavior in Congress they probably aren't responsible in other realms either.
I'd like to try to lampoon the tea party, but I find all this discouraging, and besides John Stewart is funnier than I am. What is more interesting is to try to understand the dynamic of the tea party and why the ideological extremes that always exist within politics have managed to entirely co-opt one of our two major parties.
The issue here is that the tea party crusaders are just that, crusaders. Trapped within the right-wing echo chamber these people have shown a fanatical commitment to their ideas that is immune to reason or fact. Their ideological "live free or die" battle against Obamacare doesn't address any of the real issues with the laws, nor does it acknowledge any of the good ideas within the law. It paints a picture of this fight being an end-of-days type battle for the very existence of America, and the tea party is so convinced that Obamacare will ruin us - without any valid argument to back that claim - that they view actual harmful actions like a government shutdown or a default as being hiccups along our route to the ultimate destruction that awaits in the form of the Affordable Care Act.
This severe lack of critical thinking and unwillingness or incapability to be objective has led the tea party to believe that they are 100% right about the disaster of Obamacare and that America supports this ideological crusade. Both of these beliefs are fantasies. Obamacare might not be as great as many of us hope, but it certainly is not akin to Doomsday, and any and every reliable poll shows that the American public blames Republicans for denying us essential services to fight a battle lost four years ago. They don't see that while the American public is skeptical of Obamacare - and rightfully so - that we don't believe it has or will derailed the country. In fact, we are far more inclined to believe it is the tea party who is derailing the country. The facts around the law and the polling are public, but the tea party denies them nonetheless to the detriment of the country and to the chagrin of the moderates within their party. Rather than examination, thinking, analysis, and new ideas, Republicans cling to their shield of faith that Obamacare will kill us all. They are right in their own minds and nothing can change that.
Ultimately this must and will change. The party has already ceased to be a nationally viable alternative to Democrats, and while the political tides ebb and flow, the tea party will have to implode before people consider Republicans on a national level again. Their thin majority in the House would already have fractured if Boehner had allowed a vote on the Senate's spending bill, but Boehner is big on ego and low on leadership, so he followed his ambition to be Speaker of the House and let his radicals walk him into a suicide stand rather than allowing a vote that would have funded the government but marred him in the eyes of the tea party. Scattered and gerrymandered Republican districts around the country may be enough to keep some crazies in the House and prevent us from making progress, but they can't be nationally viable. Right now, as the President has pointed out, one faction of one party in one half of one branch of Congress is all that stands between America and forward motion. Does the tea party really believe that this inglorious stand will allow them to take control of other branches of government and undo what has been done legally? Do they think that a fight to the death that punishes Americans will lead us to rally around their cause and grant them the power to actually govern when they have already so poorly squandered their first shot? Sadly, they probably do believe this, and sadly for the rest of us, they will continue to act on those beliefs.
So here we go. We are temporarily without government and perhaps only a few weeks away from defaulting on our national debt. The jury on Obamacare may still be out, but there is only one group responsible for the totally reckless and harmful (in)action of our government: the tea party.
How did we get here, we must be asking ourselves. The last time such an event happened I was nine years old so it is hard for me to put it in historical context, but I'm certainly not at a loss to explain last night's debacle. In fact, it can be summed up succinctly in only three words: tea party Republicans.
There isn't really anything new here for me to say that hasn't been pointed out by any astute commentator and by many Republicans themselves. The tea party crusaders are not responsible legislators. They're not really legislators at all, and extrapolating on their behavior in Congress they probably aren't responsible in other realms either.
I'd like to try to lampoon the tea party, but I find all this discouraging, and besides John Stewart is funnier than I am. What is more interesting is to try to understand the dynamic of the tea party and why the ideological extremes that always exist within politics have managed to entirely co-opt one of our two major parties.
The issue here is that the tea party crusaders are just that, crusaders. Trapped within the right-wing echo chamber these people have shown a fanatical commitment to their ideas that is immune to reason or fact. Their ideological "live free or die" battle against Obamacare doesn't address any of the real issues with the laws, nor does it acknowledge any of the good ideas within the law. It paints a picture of this fight being an end-of-days type battle for the very existence of America, and the tea party is so convinced that Obamacare will ruin us - without any valid argument to back that claim - that they view actual harmful actions like a government shutdown or a default as being hiccups along our route to the ultimate destruction that awaits in the form of the Affordable Care Act.
This severe lack of critical thinking and unwillingness or incapability to be objective has led the tea party to believe that they are 100% right about the disaster of Obamacare and that America supports this ideological crusade. Both of these beliefs are fantasies. Obamacare might not be as great as many of us hope, but it certainly is not akin to Doomsday, and any and every reliable poll shows that the American public blames Republicans for denying us essential services to fight a battle lost four years ago. They don't see that while the American public is skeptical of Obamacare - and rightfully so - that we don't believe it has or will derailed the country. In fact, we are far more inclined to believe it is the tea party who is derailing the country. The facts around the law and the polling are public, but the tea party denies them nonetheless to the detriment of the country and to the chagrin of the moderates within their party. Rather than examination, thinking, analysis, and new ideas, Republicans cling to their shield of faith that Obamacare will kill us all. They are right in their own minds and nothing can change that.
Ultimately this must and will change. The party has already ceased to be a nationally viable alternative to Democrats, and while the political tides ebb and flow, the tea party will have to implode before people consider Republicans on a national level again. Their thin majority in the House would already have fractured if Boehner had allowed a vote on the Senate's spending bill, but Boehner is big on ego and low on leadership, so he followed his ambition to be Speaker of the House and let his radicals walk him into a suicide stand rather than allowing a vote that would have funded the government but marred him in the eyes of the tea party. Scattered and gerrymandered Republican districts around the country may be enough to keep some crazies in the House and prevent us from making progress, but they can't be nationally viable. Right now, as the President has pointed out, one faction of one party in one half of one branch of Congress is all that stands between America and forward motion. Does the tea party really believe that this inglorious stand will allow them to take control of other branches of government and undo what has been done legally? Do they think that a fight to the death that punishes Americans will lead us to rally around their cause and grant them the power to actually govern when they have already so poorly squandered their first shot? Sadly, they probably do believe this, and sadly for the rest of us, they will continue to act on those beliefs.
So here we go. We are temporarily without government and perhaps only a few weeks away from defaulting on our national debt. The jury on Obamacare may still be out, but there is only one group responsible for the totally reckless and harmful (in)action of our government: the tea party.
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