Baseball, it's America's Pastime. It is somewhat ironic that we are in the middle of the baseball playoffs and I cannot think of a better metaphor for what is happening in Washington D.C.
Baseball is a game of honor. If you wanted, while at bat you could get hit by the ball and are sent to first base. It's automatic. If you wanted to do this all day long, I don't see why you could not just continue to have your players get hit by the pitcher's ball and eventually your team will score a run and then many runs. Theoretically, you would never need to give the other team a chance to play offense because your team is continuously being hit by balls and rounding the bases.
Of course this ridiculous scenario would never play out. Why? Is it against the rules? No. It would not happen because in baseball there is a degree of decorum. Most baseball players go to great lengths to avoid being beaned by the ball. Continuously being given a pass to first base is just something that is not done. More to the point, they feel that they could get a better opportunity for their team to hit the ball. The outcome most of the time is that you are sent back to the bench to try again.
Politics has always been about compromise, true compromise. Is this latest crisis unique in American politics? The answer is both yes and no. We have had other shows of power on both the left and the right. We have come up against budget and debit ceiling limits in the past. So on that account this latest crisis is not in itself unique.
What is different about this debacle is that for the first time it was initiated to repeal settled law and to completely halt the workings of government if one side does not get its way. The Affordable Care Act or "Obama Care" is what has started this whole circus. A very few in Congress decided to take a stand against the President's signature legislation and has refused to budge on opening the government or lift the debit ceiling until something is done about settled law! To make things even more preposterous, the law itself was being implemented within days of the threats. What they have done is to refuse to take their best shot up at bat. They think being hit by the ball is a better outcome because playing the game as intended would assure failure because they have an inferior team.
Republican House Leadership and their follow representatives on what was considered to be the "moderate right" are petrified about meeting with opposition from their own party in their own districts next year if they were to vote on what has been considered normal course for the past generation. So what we are talking about is that because they are unable to swing the bat, they would rather be hit by the ball and get a pass.
Decorum or doing the right thing is definitely not part of today's American right. We are 24 hours away from a government default and House Republicans are threatening to pass their own bill (which may not pass at all) and then leave. In other words they are going to great lengths to being beaned by the ball. What would be the outcome? No one really can answer that question, today. Two days from now we will begin to experience the answer, first hand.
But unlike baseball, this is not a game. We are already seeing some of the effects of the Republican shutdown of the government by refusing to fund it. National parks are closed losing millions of tourist dollars for the communities in which they reside. This country's largest exporter, Boeing is seeing newly finished aircraft ready for delivery sitting on the tarmac because final inspections cannot be completed certifying airworthiness to new customers. Revenue that would be spread back to suppliers and the company's bottom line.
Workers are being furloughed in less high profile but just as vital positions throughout the United States of America. We Americans often have a way of not really caring about the opinions of others. We also have short memories and care little for history. But our neighbors far and near have a different prospective. We are being watched closely by those who have made a financial bet on us. What does all this do to our reputation around the globe? There are a lot of unknowns here and on the world stage. But already there are rumblings about America no longer being a reliable bet. The next step and yet unforeseen consequence is that America is no longer a stable entity.
This take no prisoners attitude by a small minority so that they get their way is not the way America was designed to be run. Politics is compromise. There is a degree of decorum and honor involved in running a country. Sometimes you just have to accept your losses and live to fight another day. If you don't think that has happened recently just ask the Democrats who, in the majority saw gun and immigration legislation go down to a minority. Sometimes being a good loser for the greater good has its place and is what has made this country great. The Republicans could learn a thing or two from America's pastime.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Big Loss
We are half way through 2013. The dog days of summer are almost upon us and what will the political buzz be about after Labor Day? The mid-term elections of 2014 will be just over a year out. Too soon? Don't bet on it.
So I ask myself what do the Republicans stand for? That used to be a pretty easy question. They were for government getting out of the way and letting the private sector and people showing their worth; less government intrusion into the citizen's lives. They have also loudly proclaimed that they are the party of fiscal responsibility taking the fiscal high road as opposed to "tax and spend" liberals. The Republican party was also supposed to be about personal freedom. As long as you did not bother me, then what you did was your own business.
But at this time in our country's existence the Republican picture has been muddied if not completely turned on its ear. It has become apparent that the Republican party is a party of contradictions.
The Republican party is for smaller government as long as they are not in the White House. No republican president has ever shrunken the size of government going back to Ronald Reagan. President Reagan talked about smaller government in his many rhetorical speeches but in fact increased the size of government and when it comes to fiscal responsibility ballooned the Federal Deficit during his time in office. Another fact is that President Obama has allowed the bureaucracy of government to shrink while in office through attrition not filling some of the open positions in order to shrink government and slow the deficit. Had this president hired replacements the government employment numbers would look much different.
No Republican president has balanced the Federal budget in modern times. Not Nixon, not Reagan, neither Bush 1 or 2. The only president to deliver a balanced budget to congress is President Clinton. When George W. When Bush had the opportunity to pay down the deficit he pandered to the American people and claimed that President Clinton's fiscal surplus was due back to the American people. Where was the Tea Party when this was happening? There guy was in office so they looked the other way.
Even now, the Republicans are holding up an historic Immigration Bill until more border security guards are hired and a 700 mile fence is built to keep out illegal immigrants. The cost: $37 billion. Funny how you don't hear the Tea Party screaming about this.
What the Republican party has become is lazy, self-centered and vindictive. They have become a party of tantrums. Since President Obama was elected in 2008 and took office in early 2009 the Republican party has made it their official policy to stand in the way of the great recovery that is slowly emerging after the worst recession since the great depression. Would we have recovered more quickly had they been partners rather than obstructionist? Many think so. Is the act of obstruction in an economic emergency anti patriotic? I would say so.
But a dynamic where if they don't get, nobody gets is a hurtful. A situation where they are trying to suppress anyone who does not think like them is downright nasty. The Republican party has in the past four years continuously blocked or stalled common sense legislation to regulate fire arms, create an immigration policy that helps this country move forward and provide equal rights to all that live in this country. They have tried to put limits on woman's healthcare decisions and choices. They also have tried over 37 times to overturn a health plan that their own party originally came up with. Talk about a waste of time and money. And they wonder why their party doesn't get the votes. The Supreme Court this week, lead by the Republican (or conservative) majority struck down The Voting Rights Act that 98% of Congress approved of in 2006 when it was renewed. Did the court say it was unconstitutional? No. In their opinion they just claimed it was out of date; not necessary anymore.
Within hours those states that were under the jurisdiction of the Voting Rights Act did exactly what the Voting Rights Act was designed to stop. They moved forward with previously agreed upon restrictive voting rules limiting the poor and minority classes in anticipation of the ruling. Figuring that Congress may step in to re-examine and pass a new Voting Rights Act, Speaker of the House John Boehner said that there was little interest in Congress to handle such legislation. This just seven years after a Republican President signed into law the renewal of the Voting Rights Act.
So where does this leave the Republicans in next year's mid-term elections? The Republicans, along with their new attitude, have a warped perception of how the electorate remembers these actions. The tantrums will begin shortly. Why don't they vote for us? Remember Mitt Romney's shock at not winning the 2012 Presidential election. He could not believe what had befallen him. He even had fireworks ready to go in Boston harbor.
My prediction is that the American people are smarter than the Republicans (and often Democrats) give them credit for. They will remember. Latinos will remember that the Republican party had no interest in real immigration reform. They will remember that the NRA has a bigger say then they do when it comes to common sense gun control. They will also remember that it is the Republicans who want to restrict the poor's ability to cast a vote; a very basic right that goes back the founding of our country. Finally, I think that the American people are finally coming to the realization that the Republican party has prolonged the misery of so many for so long who are simply trying to get back on their feet. They will remember that the Republican party's primary interest is propping up the rich, financial institutions and those who already have.
Be aware. The landslide will come in November 2014.
So I ask myself what do the Republicans stand for? That used to be a pretty easy question. They were for government getting out of the way and letting the private sector and people showing their worth; less government intrusion into the citizen's lives. They have also loudly proclaimed that they are the party of fiscal responsibility taking the fiscal high road as opposed to "tax and spend" liberals. The Republican party was also supposed to be about personal freedom. As long as you did not bother me, then what you did was your own business.
But at this time in our country's existence the Republican picture has been muddied if not completely turned on its ear. It has become apparent that the Republican party is a party of contradictions.
The Republican party is for smaller government as long as they are not in the White House. No republican president has ever shrunken the size of government going back to Ronald Reagan. President Reagan talked about smaller government in his many rhetorical speeches but in fact increased the size of government and when it comes to fiscal responsibility ballooned the Federal Deficit during his time in office. Another fact is that President Obama has allowed the bureaucracy of government to shrink while in office through attrition not filling some of the open positions in order to shrink government and slow the deficit. Had this president hired replacements the government employment numbers would look much different.
No Republican president has balanced the Federal budget in modern times. Not Nixon, not Reagan, neither Bush 1 or 2. The only president to deliver a balanced budget to congress is President Clinton. When George W. When Bush had the opportunity to pay down the deficit he pandered to the American people and claimed that President Clinton's fiscal surplus was due back to the American people. Where was the Tea Party when this was happening? There guy was in office so they looked the other way.
Even now, the Republicans are holding up an historic Immigration Bill until more border security guards are hired and a 700 mile fence is built to keep out illegal immigrants. The cost: $37 billion. Funny how you don't hear the Tea Party screaming about this.
What the Republican party has become is lazy, self-centered and vindictive. They have become a party of tantrums. Since President Obama was elected in 2008 and took office in early 2009 the Republican party has made it their official policy to stand in the way of the great recovery that is slowly emerging after the worst recession since the great depression. Would we have recovered more quickly had they been partners rather than obstructionist? Many think so. Is the act of obstruction in an economic emergency anti patriotic? I would say so.
But a dynamic where if they don't get, nobody gets is a hurtful. A situation where they are trying to suppress anyone who does not think like them is downright nasty. The Republican party has in the past four years continuously blocked or stalled common sense legislation to regulate fire arms, create an immigration policy that helps this country move forward and provide equal rights to all that live in this country. They have tried to put limits on woman's healthcare decisions and choices. They also have tried over 37 times to overturn a health plan that their own party originally came up with. Talk about a waste of time and money. And they wonder why their party doesn't get the votes. The Supreme Court this week, lead by the Republican (or conservative) majority struck down The Voting Rights Act that 98% of Congress approved of in 2006 when it was renewed. Did the court say it was unconstitutional? No. In their opinion they just claimed it was out of date; not necessary anymore.
Within hours those states that were under the jurisdiction of the Voting Rights Act did exactly what the Voting Rights Act was designed to stop. They moved forward with previously agreed upon restrictive voting rules limiting the poor and minority classes in anticipation of the ruling. Figuring that Congress may step in to re-examine and pass a new Voting Rights Act, Speaker of the House John Boehner said that there was little interest in Congress to handle such legislation. This just seven years after a Republican President signed into law the renewal of the Voting Rights Act.
So where does this leave the Republicans in next year's mid-term elections? The Republicans, along with their new attitude, have a warped perception of how the electorate remembers these actions. The tantrums will begin shortly. Why don't they vote for us? Remember Mitt Romney's shock at not winning the 2012 Presidential election. He could not believe what had befallen him. He even had fireworks ready to go in Boston harbor.
My prediction is that the American people are smarter than the Republicans (and often Democrats) give them credit for. They will remember. Latinos will remember that the Republican party had no interest in real immigration reform. They will remember that the NRA has a bigger say then they do when it comes to common sense gun control. They will also remember that it is the Republicans who want to restrict the poor's ability to cast a vote; a very basic right that goes back the founding of our country. Finally, I think that the American people are finally coming to the realization that the Republican party has prolonged the misery of so many for so long who are simply trying to get back on their feet. They will remember that the Republican party's primary interest is propping up the rich, financial institutions and those who already have.
Be aware. The landslide will come in November 2014.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
A Country of A**holes
It has been quite a week of contrasts. First let me begin with what is right. We saw once again that our country can come together in the time of crisis. The city of Boston showed what any community does in the time of crisis. It helps those in need and does so in an unabashed fearless way that only makes one wonder why we have to wait until a crisis to see the good in people.
We also saw some of what is really wrong with the country. While 90% of the population favoring some type of gun regulation, the US Senate did not have the courage to stand up to the most powerful lobby in the country, The NRA, and voted down a simple gun registration law. They did this while the events in Boston were page one on all the media outlets. They knew that their lack of courage, which would have been spotlighted on almost any other day of the year, would go largely unnoticed as a result of the terror attack. Not even the President on the lawn of the White House with parents from Sandy Hook broke through.
But this latest failure by our elected officials is but a symptom of what we have become. This lack of leadership and more importantly an inability to do the right thing exemplified by our nation's leaders has been trickling down to those of us who try to go about our business every day and are stopped in our tracks by those who simply are in a position to put up roadblocks.
Tasks and daily chores at the city or community level that used to be taken as common courtesy are now being filibustered by small minded people who simply refuse to help or even do their job simply because they can. There is no oversight or even if so, the overseers have no power to stop those who they supervise.
I began to see this degradation in society several years ago. I wanted to add onto my home. I had gone through the entire planning and pre-permitting process before I was denied a permit to build an additional room and bathroom. Why? Because someone said my home was built closer to the next property than what now was allowed.
My home was built almost 30 years before I purchased it. I have to assume that at that time it conformed to current laws and regulations. Yet someone in the planning department just decided to make things difficult.
The addition to my home was not even on that side of the house so why should this matter. Eventually I was able to get the permit but not before I had to wait several weeks and go before a building commission to beg them to allow me to add onto my house.
When I was young teachers like to teach. They were respected. The problem was that I was lazy and did not want to study. Now for many like my daughter they know that the only way to get a head is to study. But the roles have been reversed. My daughter is begging for help from her teacher and he refuses to help. Why? He appears to be lazy but it gets even better. They are "on strike" this week and refuse to help their students who need extra time at lunch. He has also refused to help during his two prep periods. To make matters worse, the teacher gives an exam on material that the students cannot get help on and then wonder why they are not "getting it" in class.
My wife has taught art part time in the schools for almost 14 years. She has received nothing but positive scores on her performance review for the past 12 years. She had been through two principals before a third arrived two years ago. Although she had hardly spent any time with her the Principal decided to give her two poor scores on her performance review; just for the fun of it.
My wife had been teaching an optional after school art program for some of the kids who enjoyed the program but wanted more art than was being offered during the school day.
A full time teacher in the school decided that she liked art and wanted to teach after school art too competing with my wife. Now my wife is the only art teacher in the district that has to compete with another teacher teaching art in her school. To make matters worse this other teacher is now teaching curriculum that my wife teaches during school that is part of the required state standards!
The parents are paying for something that is being taught for free.
My neighbor, after seven years working at a company flies to Europe on business only to be blindsided when he is terminated upon his arrival.
I am sure you have examples of some of the inequities out there that you have been victim to. But the question needs to be asked: when did we become a nation of a**holes?
With freedom comes responsibility. What exactly does that mean? With freedom we do have free will and can do within limits what we want. But what most have forgotten is that with that freedom we need to remember to do the right thing by people. When did common decency between two people become a sign of weakness. It is that part of the equation that we seem to have forgotten and this week the spotlight has shown brightly.
We also saw some of what is really wrong with the country. While 90% of the population favoring some type of gun regulation, the US Senate did not have the courage to stand up to the most powerful lobby in the country, The NRA, and voted down a simple gun registration law. They did this while the events in Boston were page one on all the media outlets. They knew that their lack of courage, which would have been spotlighted on almost any other day of the year, would go largely unnoticed as a result of the terror attack. Not even the President on the lawn of the White House with parents from Sandy Hook broke through.
But this latest failure by our elected officials is but a symptom of what we have become. This lack of leadership and more importantly an inability to do the right thing exemplified by our nation's leaders has been trickling down to those of us who try to go about our business every day and are stopped in our tracks by those who simply are in a position to put up roadblocks.
Tasks and daily chores at the city or community level that used to be taken as common courtesy are now being filibustered by small minded people who simply refuse to help or even do their job simply because they can. There is no oversight or even if so, the overseers have no power to stop those who they supervise.
I began to see this degradation in society several years ago. I wanted to add onto my home. I had gone through the entire planning and pre-permitting process before I was denied a permit to build an additional room and bathroom. Why? Because someone said my home was built closer to the next property than what now was allowed.
My home was built almost 30 years before I purchased it. I have to assume that at that time it conformed to current laws and regulations. Yet someone in the planning department just decided to make things difficult.
The addition to my home was not even on that side of the house so why should this matter. Eventually I was able to get the permit but not before I had to wait several weeks and go before a building commission to beg them to allow me to add onto my house.
When I was young teachers like to teach. They were respected. The problem was that I was lazy and did not want to study. Now for many like my daughter they know that the only way to get a head is to study. But the roles have been reversed. My daughter is begging for help from her teacher and he refuses to help. Why? He appears to be lazy but it gets even better. They are "on strike" this week and refuse to help their students who need extra time at lunch. He has also refused to help during his two prep periods. To make matters worse, the teacher gives an exam on material that the students cannot get help on and then wonder why they are not "getting it" in class.
My wife has taught art part time in the schools for almost 14 years. She has received nothing but positive scores on her performance review for the past 12 years. She had been through two principals before a third arrived two years ago. Although she had hardly spent any time with her the Principal decided to give her two poor scores on her performance review; just for the fun of it.
My wife had been teaching an optional after school art program for some of the kids who enjoyed the program but wanted more art than was being offered during the school day.
A full time teacher in the school decided that she liked art and wanted to teach after school art too competing with my wife. Now my wife is the only art teacher in the district that has to compete with another teacher teaching art in her school. To make matters worse this other teacher is now teaching curriculum that my wife teaches during school that is part of the required state standards!
The parents are paying for something that is being taught for free.
My neighbor, after seven years working at a company flies to Europe on business only to be blindsided when he is terminated upon his arrival.
I am sure you have examples of some of the inequities out there that you have been victim to. But the question needs to be asked: when did we become a nation of a**holes?
With freedom comes responsibility. What exactly does that mean? With freedom we do have free will and can do within limits what we want. But what most have forgotten is that with that freedom we need to remember to do the right thing by people. When did common decency between two people become a sign of weakness. It is that part of the equation that we seem to have forgotten and this week the spotlight has shown brightly.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Second Time Around
We witnessed history yesterday as Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States of America. While everyone was very honorable in their demeanor yesterday, you and see once again the party lines being drawn.
Republicans, your shtick is getting old. I heard Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly saying last night that the Republican party is not yet done. Well, I would agree Bill, but it is on life support if you look at it objectively. Let's review: For the past four years, during one of the deepest recessions since the great depression, the Republican Congress has obstructed more proposals and passed the fewest bills of any of its modern day predecessors. Now they are trying a new strategy: The President is a bully...he won't work with us. He refuses to socialize with us.
Here is some advice to the Republicans. You need to treat the American citizen with a bit more intelligence than you have been treating them for the past five or so years. They remember what you say and what is reported in the press.
For example, when the Minority Leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell says that their number one priority is to make Barack Obama a one term president, people remember that. They also know that when their house is under water and they don't have a job, cannot make their house payment and have difficulty putting food on the table, Republican gamesmanship is the last thing they want to hear. When the debt ceiling has been raised unceremoniously for as long as anyone can remember and Republicans put the country's debt in jeopardy and threaten a government shutdown, people remember that. When the President is dogged by extremists who say he is a Muslim and not born in this country and the Republican party or leadership does not forcefully dismiss these unsubstantiated allegations, people remember that too.
It is also time to come back into the mainstream. Women's reproductive rights, for example, is already settled law. Supporting allowing companies to dictate the type of health care services they want to provide employees because it interferes with the employers' religious beliefs is not a way to win over the majority of the citizens of this country. Demanding that benefits we already have paid for need to be cut back because the government borrowed money from the account is also not the way to win over the electorate. Finally, taking a hard line stance against restricting weapons that are just designed to do the maximum amount of damage is not a way to win over most rational thinking people.
The Republicans have a built in contradiction to their party. They have always been for fiscal responsibility, smaller government and less regulation letting the private sector dictate the direction of the country. There is nothing wrong with this philosophy. But somewhere along the line the message got turned around. Under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush deficits skyrocketed. Government became much bigger. Under President G.W. Bush two wars were started without any way to pay them off. He put it on the country's credit card. On top of that he told everyone that they were getting a tax refund! Does this sound like the Republican party that is fiscally responsible and a strong advocate for smaller government?
Then from left field the party that believes in personal responsibility for business has told people how they expect to live their lives; women in particular. They want to limit a woman's right to choose, they want doctors doing ultrasounds for women who want to consider aborting their fetus'. Some of their party members proudly proclaimed that rape should be redefined calling it "legitmate rape." So while they are all for deregulating business, saying that environmental protection is too strict and letting the banks run wild again, socially they are willing to regulate woman's health care issues to those that existed 100 years ago. There is just a huge contradiction between their party ideology and their practice. This is what is holding the party back and the American people see it.
It is there for all to see. These are just some of the issues that the right has taken and for lack of a better term, perverted it. They are largely led by Fox News, their media arm or from lobbyists like Grover Norquist or the NRA. If the Republicans want to have a place on the national stage in years to come, they need to have a better vision and see where the country is going.
Republicans, your shtick is getting old. I heard Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly saying last night that the Republican party is not yet done. Well, I would agree Bill, but it is on life support if you look at it objectively. Let's review: For the past four years, during one of the deepest recessions since the great depression, the Republican Congress has obstructed more proposals and passed the fewest bills of any of its modern day predecessors. Now they are trying a new strategy: The President is a bully...he won't work with us. He refuses to socialize with us.
Here is some advice to the Republicans. You need to treat the American citizen with a bit more intelligence than you have been treating them for the past five or so years. They remember what you say and what is reported in the press.
For example, when the Minority Leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell says that their number one priority is to make Barack Obama a one term president, people remember that. They also know that when their house is under water and they don't have a job, cannot make their house payment and have difficulty putting food on the table, Republican gamesmanship is the last thing they want to hear. When the debt ceiling has been raised unceremoniously for as long as anyone can remember and Republicans put the country's debt in jeopardy and threaten a government shutdown, people remember that. When the President is dogged by extremists who say he is a Muslim and not born in this country and the Republican party or leadership does not forcefully dismiss these unsubstantiated allegations, people remember that too.
It is also time to come back into the mainstream. Women's reproductive rights, for example, is already settled law. Supporting allowing companies to dictate the type of health care services they want to provide employees because it interferes with the employers' religious beliefs is not a way to win over the majority of the citizens of this country. Demanding that benefits we already have paid for need to be cut back because the government borrowed money from the account is also not the way to win over the electorate. Finally, taking a hard line stance against restricting weapons that are just designed to do the maximum amount of damage is not a way to win over most rational thinking people.
The Republicans have a built in contradiction to their party. They have always been for fiscal responsibility, smaller government and less regulation letting the private sector dictate the direction of the country. There is nothing wrong with this philosophy. But somewhere along the line the message got turned around. Under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush deficits skyrocketed. Government became much bigger. Under President G.W. Bush two wars were started without any way to pay them off. He put it on the country's credit card. On top of that he told everyone that they were getting a tax refund! Does this sound like the Republican party that is fiscally responsible and a strong advocate for smaller government?
Then from left field the party that believes in personal responsibility for business has told people how they expect to live their lives; women in particular. They want to limit a woman's right to choose, they want doctors doing ultrasounds for women who want to consider aborting their fetus'. Some of their party members proudly proclaimed that rape should be redefined calling it "legitmate rape." So while they are all for deregulating business, saying that environmental protection is too strict and letting the banks run wild again, socially they are willing to regulate woman's health care issues to those that existed 100 years ago. There is just a huge contradiction between their party ideology and their practice. This is what is holding the party back and the American people see it.
It is there for all to see. These are just some of the issues that the right has taken and for lack of a better term, perverted it. They are largely led by Fox News, their media arm or from lobbyists like Grover Norquist or the NRA. If the Republicans want to have a place on the national stage in years to come, they need to have a better vision and see where the country is going.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
What A Mess
Happy New Year. For most of us our taxes will not be going up as of yesterday. It would seem that the circus that is the House of Representatives in a brief moment of sanity passed the bill that now averts for a couple of months higher taxes for all and automatic spending cuts to defense and what are known as "entitlements" in the US will be put off for now.
But as of this morning some of the biggest blowhard Republicans are crying that they were sold out by John Boehner and the others that voted to raise taxes on just those making more than $400,000 individually and $450,000 as a couple. Newt Gingrich tweeted that the GOP has been engaged in a two month dance of defeat and surrender. Donald Trump called the Republicans the worst negotiators in history. Other prominent Republicans were equally disdainful of the bill but in the end the President signed it and America lives on. Even Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, reportedly hated the compromise deal so much he threw it in the fireplace and let it burn. One thing was clear: the Republican leadership was fractured by this vote with Boehner and former Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan voting for the bill and Eric Cantor voting against.
With this latest drama played out on the world stage the biggest concern for the 98% of us is that the power concentrated in the remaining 2% should be of concern to the rest of us. How can the power and leverage be so strong that what should seem like an easy decision comes down to a nail biter between our elected representatives and the American people? Who best represents this concentration of power? The lobbyists. We know that Grover Norquist and his organization, Americans for Tax Reform, has extracted pledges from most of the the conservatives on Capital Hill to never raise taxes and worked hard to protect the 2%. But there are undoubtedly many whose names we do not know how are also twisting arms behind the scenes. It is those that we need to be really concerned about.
Who was the real winner here: Compromise. This is something that has been missing in Washington since 2008. Without a filibuster proof majority this administration has had a very difficult time moving forward its agenda. An agenda at times aligned with what was at one time the Republican's own agenda. As John Boehner was appointed Majority Leader of the House of Representatives he proclaimed on CBS' 60 Minutes that he felt that he did not need to compromise. Two years later he made good on his pledge and the 112th Congress became the least productive since the 1940's passing just 383 bills while the Congress before it passed 463.
But will this be a new trend in Washington or just a momentary pause in the conservatives drive to destroy the recovery in America? The Congress is already gearing up for the next fight which will be over the sequester, automatic cuts to defense, social security and medicare, and their tying is to the tie it to the debt ceiling. That will take place in the next 6 - 8 weeks. The President has said that tying anything to the debt ceiling will be a non starter in any negotiations.
Another residual fallout from this so called mini deal is that victims from Hurricane Sandy will not receive additional aid. Influential Congressman like Republican Peter King from New York and Governor Chris Christie are outraged that members of their own party would betray them in their time of need. He squarely placed accountability with House Speaker John Boehner saying that he was responsible for continuing the pain and suffering of innocent victims of a natural disaster. Could John Boehner not only be the worst Speaker of the House in modern day history but also the laziest?
So where do we go from here? If you here it from the right wing pundits it was a crushing defeat for the Republican party and the Tea Party in particular. They say that this is nothing more than a tax increase without a spending decrease. But the news is not all bad. What is not being reported is that the deficit has been shrinking slow under the Obama presidency. What pundits and the media seem to be downplaying is if this latest deal has been a good one for the American people. The early answer seems to be yes, but we will know more in just a few more weeks. Stay tuned.
But as of this morning some of the biggest blowhard Republicans are crying that they were sold out by John Boehner and the others that voted to raise taxes on just those making more than $400,000 individually and $450,000 as a couple. Newt Gingrich tweeted that the GOP has been engaged in a two month dance of defeat and surrender. Donald Trump called the Republicans the worst negotiators in history. Other prominent Republicans were equally disdainful of the bill but in the end the President signed it and America lives on. Even Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, reportedly hated the compromise deal so much he threw it in the fireplace and let it burn. One thing was clear: the Republican leadership was fractured by this vote with Boehner and former Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan voting for the bill and Eric Cantor voting against.
With this latest drama played out on the world stage the biggest concern for the 98% of us is that the power concentrated in the remaining 2% should be of concern to the rest of us. How can the power and leverage be so strong that what should seem like an easy decision comes down to a nail biter between our elected representatives and the American people? Who best represents this concentration of power? The lobbyists. We know that Grover Norquist and his organization, Americans for Tax Reform, has extracted pledges from most of the the conservatives on Capital Hill to never raise taxes and worked hard to protect the 2%. But there are undoubtedly many whose names we do not know how are also twisting arms behind the scenes. It is those that we need to be really concerned about.
Who was the real winner here: Compromise. This is something that has been missing in Washington since 2008. Without a filibuster proof majority this administration has had a very difficult time moving forward its agenda. An agenda at times aligned with what was at one time the Republican's own agenda. As John Boehner was appointed Majority Leader of the House of Representatives he proclaimed on CBS' 60 Minutes that he felt that he did not need to compromise. Two years later he made good on his pledge and the 112th Congress became the least productive since the 1940's passing just 383 bills while the Congress before it passed 463.
But will this be a new trend in Washington or just a momentary pause in the conservatives drive to destroy the recovery in America? The Congress is already gearing up for the next fight which will be over the sequester, automatic cuts to defense, social security and medicare, and their tying is to the tie it to the debt ceiling. That will take place in the next 6 - 8 weeks. The President has said that tying anything to the debt ceiling will be a non starter in any negotiations.
Another residual fallout from this so called mini deal is that victims from Hurricane Sandy will not receive additional aid. Influential Congressman like Republican Peter King from New York and Governor Chris Christie are outraged that members of their own party would betray them in their time of need. He squarely placed accountability with House Speaker John Boehner saying that he was responsible for continuing the pain and suffering of innocent victims of a natural disaster. Could John Boehner not only be the worst Speaker of the House in modern day history but also the laziest?
So where do we go from here? If you here it from the right wing pundits it was a crushing defeat for the Republican party and the Tea Party in particular. They say that this is nothing more than a tax increase without a spending decrease. But the news is not all bad. What is not being reported is that the deficit has been shrinking slow under the Obama presidency. What pundits and the media seem to be downplaying is if this latest deal has been a good one for the American people. The early answer seems to be yes, but we will know more in just a few more weeks. Stay tuned.
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