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.