Brinksmanship

I’m tired.  I’m absolutely exhausted.  Every media outlet, in an effort to seem “fair and balanced” has taken the position that Washington is broken and what just happened with the debt ceiling debate is the fault of both parties.  This is simply not true and we have to stop pretending that it is.

The debt ceiling has been raised 89 times since its institution.  It is, as stated by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) when he was Bush's Budget Director, a "housekeeping matter." http://bit.ly/qAEQL2   The Constitution requires that we honor our debts.  That should be enough to inspire our legislators to vote up the debt ceiling, which is simply the authority to borrow enough money to pay our already incurred debt.  However, we have a new brand of Republican in Congress.  And this new brand is willing, nay wanting, to take down the full faith and credit of the United States if they do not get their way.  Never mind that they are a minority of the majority party in one half of Congress.  Never mind that a majority of the people of this country elected Democrats, in majority, to govern.  Never mind that every poll shows that the majority of Americans want compromise and want taxes increased for the wealthy.  None of this matters.  Not if you are willing to throw America off a cliff.  And that is what happened.  And it was the entire fault of one party.

The S&P downgraded our rating, not because of the failure of the government to compromise, but because of the “political brinksmanship” of the process.  Rep. Boehner said he got 98% of what he wanted.  Why do you suppose that is?  Does that sound like a fair negotiation to you?

In every negotiation there is a give and a take.  You have a list of the things you want and a list of things you will sacrifice to get the most important things you want.  Inevitably, depending upon the leverage you have, you get some of the things you wanted and give up some.  Here, although in the majority with a mandate from the people, the Democrats felt it necessary to give up an increase in revenues by taxing the wealthy and closing loopholes and instead, to give the Republicans 98% of what they wanted.  Is it that the GOP had that kind of leverage?  What would give them that kind of leverage?  Insanity.  That’s what.  These elected officials not only used the full faith and credit of our country as a hostage, but yelled as loud as they could to anyone who would listen, that they would take the country down, in violation of the Constitution (a document they claim to revere) if they didn’t get what they wanted.

The Democrats gave everything to make sure we did the responsible thing as a country.  They would have preferred an up or down vote and would have agreed to address the deficit separately.  This did not have to happen.  It is a crisis manufactured by the GOP.  It could have been handled responsibly.  In his September 26, 1987 radio address, Pres. Reagan said:

    Congress consistently brings the Government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest rates would skyrocket, instability would occur in financial markets, and the Federal deficit would soar. The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. It means we have a well-earned reputation for reliability and credibility – two things that set us apart from much of the world.

However now, in direct opposition to the man they claim as a god, the GOP insists they will continue to govern in this way.  As Senate Minority leader McConnell said: “I think some of our members may have thought the default issue was a hostage you might take a chance at shooting,” he said. “Most of us didn’t think that. What we did learn is this — it’s a hostage that’s worth ransoming.” 

What the GOP did is not negotiation.  This is not a situation which is the fault of “both parties.”  This is terrorism and we are the victims.

The Hypocrisy of Gov. Christie

My first blog post should probably be some sort of introduction to why I decided to start writing my opinions down on paper.  However, I really just want to get to the point.  Basically, we can chalk it up to sheer aggravation.  So here I go...

Yesterday, on my way home from work, listening to local news on the radio, the reporter played a clip of a quote from Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) regarding his opinion of creationism vs. evolution.  Turns out, at a recent town hall meeting, Gov. Christie was asked whether he believed that creationism should be taught in public schools.  His answer was: “Evolution is required teaching, if there’s a certain school district that also wants to teach creationism, that’s not something we should decide in Trenton.”  He then went on to say that local school boards “should be making those decisions about what curriculum is being taught in your schools.”  To follow this up, when he was then asked if he believed in creationism or evolution, his response was: “That’s none of your business. . .”

The press and specifically Fox News make a big deal about Chris Christie the plain talker, the guy who speaks his mind without regard for politics or ramifications.  They rant about how he is a refreshing change and how he is real and not like other politicians.  My problem with this is: Who the hell cares what he thinks?  He’s an idiot!  He doesn’t know that the local school boards cannot decide to teach creationism as part of the curriculum of a public school because that would violate the Constitution?  Really?  And he’s a Governor?  And the GOP keeps talking about having him run for President?  Not for nothing, but I prefer my leaders to have a clue about the document upon which our nation was founded.

Moreover, it is exactly the business of the citizens of New Jersey (and the U.S., if he plans on representing the rest of the country) as to whether he believes in a theory that the world’s scientific community has accepted as fact (“theory” being a wishy-washy term for that which is scientifically universally accepted) or a story told by faith (i.e., the belief in something which cannot be proven) which is utterly disproven by fact (e.g., dinosaurs did not live on this earth with human beings 3000 years ago.)  If, by chance, Gov. Christie believes in creationism and does not believe in evolution, it is our business. We should know if the party the GOP plans to one day push into the presidential sphere is a religious zealot with no regard for science.  I, for one, do not wish to see our country move backwards to the dark ages.  What about you, Gov. Christie?  Or do you want to go back there so you can see the dinosaurs in person?