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Worth Re-Reading
About ten days ago, NYTimes columnist Paul Krugman got to the core of the problem with the national Republican party. When one side opts out of the agreed-to rules of elections and governing in a democracy, the system cannot function effectively. If your attitude is going to be that you take your ball and go home if you don’t get your way, especially if you did not win, then the social contract among representatives and voters breaks down. Republicans in the Congress represent their states and districts, yes, but they also are charged with doing the business of all the people of the United States.
President Obama has made it clear that he’s willing to sign on to a deficit-reduction deal that consists overwhelmingly of spending cuts, and includes draconian cuts in key social programs, up to and including a rise in the age of Medicare eligibility. These are extraordinary concessions. As The Times’s Nate Silver points out, the president has offered deals that are far to the right of what the average American voter prefers — in fact, if anything, they’re a bit to the right of what the average Republican voter prefers!Yet Republicans are saying no. Indeed, they’re threatening to force a U.S. default, and create an economic crisis, unless they get a completely one-sided deal. And this was entirely predictable.
First of all, the modern G.O.P. fundamentally does not accept the legitimacy of a Democratic presidency — any Democratic presidency. We saw that under Bill Clinton, and we saw it again as soon as Mr. Obama took office.
As a result, Republicans are automatically against anything the president wants, even if they have supported similar proposals in the past. Mitt Romney’s health care plan became a tyrannical assault on American freedom when put in place by that man in the White House. And the same logic applies to the proposed debt deals.
The Republicans do not have an attitude of taking the ball and going home. We are at a turning point and it is worth fighting for. Charges of “being unwilling to compromise” have been leveled at the Founding Fathers, Lincoln, civil rights leaders in their respective time periods. They did not waver at such scurrilous charges. I am proud to be in such august company.
Not proud enough to use your name, though. Derp!
I am amazed at folks who say the Health Care Bill was President Obama’s. It belonged to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and their Members and staffers. The President signed it.
And, Jay Carney notwithstanding, I don’t think I have actually seen the Resident’s “Plan”. URLs, please.
All that said, it is best if we get a deal before the 2nd. And, as part if or in addition, a plan to get our debt under control. If I had run for and been elected for the 5th, I would be willing to vote for tax reform, to include tax increases, but only after seeing real reform in entitlements and real actions to get those who have dropped out of the labor force back to work.
That and the mandatory availability of comment review for the commenter before submission.
Regards — Cliff
Mr. Mitchell,
When I started reading and commenting on this blog years ago I took my cue from posters using a screen name. I chose Publius because it was the pseudonym that Madison, Hamilton and Jay during the debate on whether to approve the Constitution. I guess they were dwerps, too. I notice that you were unable to address the validity of my comments and resorted to namecalling.
For the record, my name is John Braithwaite..
I apologize for misspelling “derp”in my recent post. That is if you can misspell a word that is not in any mainstream dictionary.
Apparently “derp” is a made up word from the raunchy cartoon South Park that means : “A simple, undefined reply when an ignorant comment or action is made. ” From the Urban Dictiobnary
Sorry I misspelled dictionary.
Welcome to the light, sir.
My daugters use that word when they think I said something derpid.