Sunday, August 7, 2011
Tom Daschle on the Tea Party
"The tea party didn't happen by accident and it wasn't contrived," Daschle said. "It's one of the purest and most organic movements in politics today, and while it may endanger its parent party, this is exactly the way the system was designed."
The Debate That Should Never Have Been
The Debt Ceiling debate should never have been...
Throughout our nation's history the debt ceiling has been routine and also the end of the world. When the party out of power suggests it's time to use the debt ceiling to force a vote for their own agenda. Routine in the fact that every President has done it, every single one. Ronald Reagan passed it 18 times. Very seldom in history is it broadcasted or even publicized to the mainstream media because most mainstream America doesn't care because at the end of the day we all know it NEEDS to be passed.
So now after weeks and even months of debate, nothing became clear or settled or even really compromised. After all the bruhaha USA's credit rating still got downgraded, unemployment continues it's anemic growth, and the "plan" is the barest minimum Congress could agree on. No one should be credited, and not many are. No one did a good job with this debacle, The Tea Party proved it can hold it's breath until they get what they want, Boehner looks like a half-way decent, albeit embarrassed, leader because he pulled it together at the last second but provided no real leadership to the discussions. Obama became the frustrated parent who gives the screaming toddler a lollipop and his poll numbers reflected this. Congress has even more abysmal numbers but politicians are great at separating themselves from the Congress as a whole and many will get re-elected no matter what they voted. The blame will come in many forms from many talking heads, but no one came out clean.
There have been exaggerations, lies, finger-pointing, blaming of eachother and complete ignorance of the REAL problem. Money is always a problem for governments, but stalemates only create more headaches and more crisis. Not only was this crisis made-up and extended, it was created by the Republicans. Boehner said months before this shameful vote that the debt ceiling will not pass without something big attached to it. He wanted the Tea Partiers to hold up the government, they were counting on it! Republicans wanted this fight, they needed to show the world that Obama can't lead the economy to recovery. Making Obama out to be a horrible leader on economic policies is the only thing that will get a Republican elected in 2012. This determination to make Obama a 1-term President is why this 1 sentence bill got turned into a 3 ring circus.
The plan I always liked was the grand bargain or even the gang of 6 deal, these two plans were discussed for a few days and dismissed before anyone had even fully read them. There were men and women who researched and lived and breathed this defecit problem and they came up with a solution and no one in Washington heard them because they were too busy yelling at eachother for their own pet spending projects.
A super powerful super committee to end all committees. I don't know how Congress can say this committee will fix everything...will they even listen to this committee? I suspect this is a power play for a few politicians, and the men and women of the Simpson-Bowles and Gang of 6 won't be included in any of these discussions. The decisions of these two commissions aren't popular due to the lateness of their decisions. Why ask the people who might know where to start cutting?!
In the end there is a poll now that says that 77% of Americans believe Congress acted like a bunch of spoiled children. There are serious issues of spending that need to be addressed but this Congress won't do it. They are covering their asses and hanging their heads but shaking their hands that something got done....not enough. Not nearly enough has been done and Americans are feeling it. All of Congress should lose their jobs - maybe then they will pay attention to the unemployment crisis!
Throughout our nation's history the debt ceiling has been routine and also the end of the world. When the party out of power suggests it's time to use the debt ceiling to force a vote for their own agenda. Routine in the fact that every President has done it, every single one. Ronald Reagan passed it 18 times. Very seldom in history is it broadcasted or even publicized to the mainstream media because most mainstream America doesn't care because at the end of the day we all know it NEEDS to be passed.
So now after weeks and even months of debate, nothing became clear or settled or even really compromised. After all the bruhaha USA's credit rating still got downgraded, unemployment continues it's anemic growth, and the "plan" is the barest minimum Congress could agree on. No one should be credited, and not many are. No one did a good job with this debacle, The Tea Party proved it can hold it's breath until they get what they want, Boehner looks like a half-way decent, albeit embarrassed, leader because he pulled it together at the last second but provided no real leadership to the discussions. Obama became the frustrated parent who gives the screaming toddler a lollipop and his poll numbers reflected this. Congress has even more abysmal numbers but politicians are great at separating themselves from the Congress as a whole and many will get re-elected no matter what they voted. The blame will come in many forms from many talking heads, but no one came out clean.
There have been exaggerations, lies, finger-pointing, blaming of eachother and complete ignorance of the REAL problem. Money is always a problem for governments, but stalemates only create more headaches and more crisis. Not only was this crisis made-up and extended, it was created by the Republicans. Boehner said months before this shameful vote that the debt ceiling will not pass without something big attached to it. He wanted the Tea Partiers to hold up the government, they were counting on it! Republicans wanted this fight, they needed to show the world that Obama can't lead the economy to recovery. Making Obama out to be a horrible leader on economic policies is the only thing that will get a Republican elected in 2012. This determination to make Obama a 1-term President is why this 1 sentence bill got turned into a 3 ring circus.
The plan I always liked was the grand bargain or even the gang of 6 deal, these two plans were discussed for a few days and dismissed before anyone had even fully read them. There were men and women who researched and lived and breathed this defecit problem and they came up with a solution and no one in Washington heard them because they were too busy yelling at eachother for their own pet spending projects.
A super powerful super committee to end all committees. I don't know how Congress can say this committee will fix everything...will they even listen to this committee? I suspect this is a power play for a few politicians, and the men and women of the Simpson-Bowles and Gang of 6 won't be included in any of these discussions. The decisions of these two commissions aren't popular due to the lateness of their decisions. Why ask the people who might know where to start cutting?!
In the end there is a poll now that says that 77% of Americans believe Congress acted like a bunch of spoiled children. There are serious issues of spending that need to be addressed but this Congress won't do it. They are covering their asses and hanging their heads but shaking their hands that something got done....not enough. Not nearly enough has been done and Americans are feeling it. All of Congress should lose their jobs - maybe then they will pay attention to the unemployment crisis!
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