Eat your broccoli
Published October 8, 2013
by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, October 7, 2013.
Republicans in Congress have been trying to shift the blame for the shut down onto Democrats ever since they started it. It’s been a losing battle so far. Polls show people are increasingly holding Republicans responsible.
They tried calling it the Harry Reid shut down or the Obama shut down but people weren’t buying. Then they tried introducing legislation to fund things like museums, parks and national monuments that would keep the tourist dollars flowing and vacationers happy. Essentially, Republicans wanted to fund the fun stuff.
They argued that everyone wanted museums, parks and monuments, so why not fund them first? When the Democrats didn’t go along, Republicans cried foul. They tried to blame the Congressional Democrats for the closings and hoped that the public would, too. But it didn’t work.
Unfortunately for Republicans, too many of us have kids. Basically, the GOP tried the old, “Let me eat my dessert first” trick. Every parent or caretaker knows that if you give into that demand, the kids will never eat their broccoli. And if you give in once, you’ll hear it again every time you serve something they don’t like.
And really, that’s what House Republicans sound like–spoiled kids. They got their way with the sequester in 2011 and they thought they could again. In 2011, they fooled President Obama into thinking that they would compromise instead of allowing across-the-board cuts to the military and other programs. He was wrong and we got stuck with deep, irresponsible cuts to spending. But in Tea Party world, a cut is a cut so it was all good.
Now, the Tea Party, like those spoiled kids, thinks they can can get their way again. They can hold out to defund Obamacare and if we can’t pay for programs, so be it. Less government is better government, no matter how we get it.
This time, though, Obama is not giving in and the American people are holding Republicans responsible, as they should. Polls are already showing that the shut down could cost the GOP its majority in the House. Reasonable people would look for a way out.
But the Tea Party aren’t reasonable people. They are zealots. They believe we need to shrink and weaken the federal government by any means possible. They are ready to move past the debt-ceiling straight into default because, in their world, that smaller government is the only thing that matters.
Obama may have been the grownup who compromised in 2011, but Speaker John Boehner is the indulgent parent. He’s given the Tea Party members more power than they deserve by rewarding bad behavior. It’s time for him to force his disciplined-challenged kids to eat their broccoli first.
October 8, 2013 at 7:07 am
TP Wohlford says:
Is Mr. Mills used here to simply regurgitate Dem talking points?
That the Dems, both in Congress and the White House, wanted a shutdown has been clear for months. They've set the stage with comments to their useful idi... er, media people for weeks. They've planted the meme "The GOP will lose power if they do this" and now they've made it come true.
They think that either the GOP will cave, causing massive bloodshed in the primaries, or they won't cave, and they'll win the House in 2014. It's that clear. And this won't stop until the Dems realize that this won't work, or until the GOP caves.
October 9, 2013 at 12:36 am
Norm Kelly says:
The Republicans absolutely did NOT get their way in 2011 with the sequestor. First, it was an idea that came from the White House. It was an Obama idea. The Republicans tried negotiating with the do-nothing Democrats in the Senate. Remember the Democrats in the Senate? Those are the people, the Democrat-controlled Senate, that has passed just 1 budget in 5 years. Yeah, those Democrats. Who refuse to negotiate with Republicans.
Ok. You got me there. Less government is better government. No matter how we get it. When you are right, you are right. I'll give you points on this one. But you won't stop there will you? Of course not, because you are a good liberal.
So, it's the Tea Party people who are zealots? But only the Tea Party people. Cuz there's no way people who want to spend even more than $17trillion are zealots. There's no way that people who want to FORCE socialized medicine on us are zealots. They are, after all, only looking out for our best interests. (or it could be 'for the children') And if we don't want the programs, those who know better will force it on us. That's what Democrats do. They force their desires on the rest of us. And they exempt themselves from exactly what they force on us. Yup, that's your non-zealot Democrat in Washington. Thank God they are just looking out for me because I'm not an adult and am incapable of taking care of myself. I simply can't imagine how I got to my mid-50s without some Democrat holding my hand. But Democrats definitely are NOT zealots. No matter how much they try to FORCE stuff on me, they are NOT zealots.
We do need to shrink & weaken the federal government. Remember the Constitution? Of course you don't because liberals do not believe in what this document says. That's because the document says that the federal government is to be a limited government, with limited powers and limited authority. The broad power is spelled out in the Constitution, and it is specifically designated as belonging to the STATES!
Neither the Tea Party members nor the Republicans in the House are looking at causing a default. Just like it was those reasonable Democrats who were the only ones talking about a government shutdown, it's those willing-to-negotiate Democrats who are talking about defaulting. Remember the only time in recent history, probably all of history, that the US credit score was downgraded was under the kingship of the one and only His High Holiness Obama. Most of the reason that the credit score was downgraded had to do with out-of-control spending in Washington, not default. Will raising the debt ceiling, increasing the national debt, and implementing bankrupting socialized medicine make the US a better credit risk? Regardless of how many kindly Democrats are in control of Washington, more debt and adding to the debt with socialized medicine will not make us a better credit risk.
So, other than increasing spending, increasing taxes, increasing the national debt, exactly what ideas have Democrats come up with to improve ANY situation? So far the Democrats are simply the party of no. And liberal media types all over the country are willing to ride the 'no' bandwagon right along with them. Offer a solution or at least an idea. Or just keep saying 'no' to anyone else's idea(s).
There are two words that can't be used to accurately describe Obama. First, 'grownup'. Talk about acting like a spoiled brat. He refuses to negotiate with Republicans while making speeches about how willing he is to negotiate. Except he won't negotiate with Republicans, like he will negotiate with Iranians. Second word is 'leader', which can also be expanded to 'leadership'. Obama has never shown that he is a leader. It was someone at the WhiteHouse who came up with the 'leading from behind' statement when talking about Egypt (or whatever foreign country it was). Leaders are not behind. They are out front. Obama votes present most of the time. Leading at the front is not something he has experience with. Leaders make plans that people are willing to follow. What plans does Obama have that improve freedom, improve the private business environment, improve the ability of people to change their lives, improve the economic future of our country? What plans does Obama have at all? Leave out the socialist expansion and he has no ideas, no leadership. Wet suit. Empty wet suit. Typical liberal, typical socialist.
