The Full Catastrophe?

dburwell: I meant to thank you last night for your comment about “In God We Trust.” I had actually looked at the edge of the coin at one point but my eyesight failed me and I did not have a magnifying glass. I will pass on your wisdom to my friendly clerk forthwith.

Lots of excitement today, what with Boehner walking out of the debt ceiling negotiations, his blaming Obama, Obama blaming Boehner’s lack of leadership, and blah, blah, blah. Obviously I have no inside information about the negotiations, nor even much understanding of anything that is going on. What I do know, however, I think is sound: (l) the Republican Party, represented by their leader in the Senate, announced quite some time ago their first priority was to make President Obama a one term President (their first priority!). (2) they have said repeatedly they would be the party of “no” and have stuck rigidly to that pledge, blocking everything Obama has tried to do, and (3) they have taken the position they would not vote “yes” to any raise in taxes whatsoever, and they seem to be fanatically loyal to that fundamentally absurd pledge.

Given these conditions it is obvious that nothing can be done to solve any of the pressing and serious problems our nation is now facing. If their first priority is to get rid of Obama they will attempt to do so by any means possible, even, apparently, if it means destroying the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. By blocking every attempt Obama has made to create jobs and overcome our recession they have succeeded in making it impossible for jobs to be created, and have the unbelievable, hypocritical chutzpah to blame Obama for it. To say, as a Representative or Senator, you will not ever vote to raise taxes, no matter what, is irresponsible (as well as stupid) beyond belief. You might as well have taken a pledge that you will not participate in governing. To cling to this absolutely stupid pledge when it means refusing even to increase taxes on the wealthiest people in the country, now paying lower taxes than at most any other time in history, and continuing subsidies to the most gigantic corporations in the world now making record profits that admittedly don’t even need them, is so unspeakably bull-headed, greedy, and ridiculous as to be laughable (but guess what, ha-ha, it’s not at all laughable as these cretins are serious, and besides, they know who is lining their pockets). It is not surprising, given Republican aims, that no agreements can be reached, no problems can be solved, no compromises can be made, and stalemate will continue. Obama will almost certainly have to raise the debt ceiling on his own, vitally needed, but solving nothing other than that. The deficit will continue and probably even grow larger.

The more conservative, mainstream, traditional Republicans (if there really are many left) seem to fear the Tea Party will run candidates against them in the next election if they do not properly genuflect to their wishes. This seems to me an idle fear. If you look at the backlash in Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, etc., to the Tea Party backed Governors and their policies it would seem to me there will be little danger in future elections that Tea Party candidates will be elected even as dogcatchers.

I believe Obama is winning in this current battle over the debt ceiling and the deficit, not because of his brilliance or superior bargaining techniques, or even because of the rightness of his position, but, rather, because of the consummate stupidity, stubborness, and blatant greed of his Republican opponents. Even so, I have pretty much given up on Obama and even the Democratic Party. While I am not too crazy about Cornel West, I think he’s right when he says Obama is just an extension of Wall Street (or something like that). He has failed to investigate Bush/Cheney for their obvious war crimes, he has failed to punish the bankers for their crimes, he has continued the “wars” he inherited and started some of his own, continues to support the Israeli slow genocide of the Palestinians and their war crimes, and has been, for me, a genuine disappointment. I think it is time for a serious third party, a serious Progressive Party that will return government to the people and not throw the poor and the middle class to the wolves while preserving more and more wealth for the few. I want Medicare for all, decent schools and Universities, infrastructure renewal, an end to “empire,” and our murderous meddling all around the world. Although I have been a lifelong Democrat I no longer consider myself to be a member of that now pathetic excuse for what it once was. If anything I am a Socialist, but of course there is no such party here in North Idaho, and to announce you are a Socialist here would be the same as announcing you were carrying the Bubonic Plague. The sad fact is, in Idaho it doesn’t matter what you are or aspire to be, or even who you vote for, it will all continue to be Republican with Rush Limbaugh as the de facto leader. I hope Obama will be able to save my Social Security check. I need it.