“How can so many Republican lawmakers justify pushing their country toward catastrophic default just to score ideological points? The answer can be found in their statements and writings: They are constructing an alternative reality far different from that of most Americans.
“A large number of Republican lawmakers, for example, simply don’t accept that the United States is going to be in default as of Tuesday. (Wall Street banks say the nation will run out of money within a few days of that date.)
“The Treasury Department, which keeps the government bankbook, set the Aug. 2 deadline, but they say it cannot be trusted because it is an arm of the Obama administration…”
“House members have been encouraged in their destructive daydream by many outside organizations and Web sites. An arm of the Heritage Foundation sent out a letter Tuesday saying the government should live under the current debt ceiling rather than pass the Boehner plan, ignoring the need to raise the ceiling to pay for bills already incurred. Several right-wing bloggers, notably Erick Erickson of RedState, have threatened brimstone on any errant Republican lawmaker who even considers compromise with the president.
“If the economy does begin to crumble next week, the trail back toward the reason will not be hard to follow.”
“I’ve always believed that the Tea Party(s) have no real understanding of American history. The demolition of this nation’s legislative and financial processes has nothing to do with their pathognomic name. They all have elected representation and are taxed under the authority of the U.S. Constitution. Many of them are being taxed unfairly, paying a proportionally higher tax rate than are the corporations and ultra-wealthy that have suborned the teavangelists as unpaid dupes. They’re useful for carrying misspelled placards around –demonstrating their disdain for education, particularly the English language they claim to hold sacred. They’re useful to pack local meetings to make incumbent teavangelists appear to be more popular than they are. They’re excellent fodder for voting against the interests of the working poor, the newly un-employed, and the former middle class – demonstrating their lack of mathematic ability and knowledge of history. And they are excellent examples of the sort of idiots who think that governmental default will somehow restore U.S. manufacturing jobs and bring about the 2nd coming – although they aren’t sure if it will be Jesus or Reagan.
They seem to be caught at the intersection of Ayn Rand’s fictional ideology and Palin’s dino-coaster theme park. I’d almost welcome default if I knew that it would wipe this stain of political incompetence from the continent. Almost. My mother brought me up to value knowledge and education; not to drool mindlessly and follow demagogues.
No comments:
Post a Comment