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| Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Cruz recite the Pledge of Allegiance at a rally in Washington DC. Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images |
I agree that the irresponsibility of the fringe elements of Congress is beyond comprehension. But the Republican Party is reaping what it has sowed. If the mainstream Republicans had any guts, they would have stepped up and eliminated this nonsense long ago. Last I heard there were 435 members of the House of Representatives, 232 of them being Republican. How is it that one senator who most people had never heard of six months ago seems to be playing the tune to which many are marching?
The answer, of course, is not that tough to find. Quite a few otherwise reasonable and patriotic representatives sold their souls to the fringe elements of their party in a cynical effort to retain those votes. It started during the 2010 campaign and proved to be an effective political strategy; the Republicans regained control of the House, though not the White one.
But those chickens come home to roost. Deals made while holding one's nose are still deals. We have often seen in American politics that if you have what it takes to get elected you may not have what it takes to govern. Current polls show that governing with "tea party deals" has been an abject failure.
I'm not absolving Democrats of all responsibility. There were a few times early in this process when some bipartisan statesmanship might have yielded results. But one would have to be in a partisan fog to not understand where the fault rests. What will be determined in the next few days is whether or not the damage will be limited to the party that caused it, or will it have a lasting effect on the entire country.
Even more ominous, as forecasted by the managing director of the International Monetary Fund on Meet the Press yesterday, is the prospect of damage to the world economy that could be devastating around the globe.
It is a time for political courage, a commodity in short supply these days. We keep hearing how Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neal did it. Admittedly the times were different and so were the players. But this is serious stuff that has brought down a hailstorm of sarcasm that may actually mask the precarious moment we face. We urgently need a few Americans to step forward armed more with wisdom than ambition, focused more on results than reelection. The country waits expectantly, almost desperately. It shouldn't be this way. We're better than this.
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz and his wacko band play on. His admiring followers swoon.
Offstage, Nero is picking up his fiddle.
Isn't it amazing that the rich power brokers have so much power in America today? Money=power. America's middle class is fast disappearing while the ultra rich get all the breaks. People like Cruz are backed by the super rich who are calling all the shots.
ReplyDeleteI just hope the Republicans will lose control of the house in the mid-terms.
Well put Grant.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate this a great deal. For more on this, see - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/13/house-republicans-rules-change_n_4095129.html
ReplyDeleteI have never seen so many people filled with hate as I saw this past week-end on national television. I'm beginning to think "we are NOT better than this."
ReplyDeleteOne of the saddest things I have ever seen during my lifetime....
Mr. McMurray, for a couple years now I have been checking and reading your blog. I find your thoughts on family, community, and culture overwhelmingly uplifting. Your political pieces are not usually as upbeat and positive and I can understand why. However I would hope that in the future you refrain from using the term "wacko" or any other name calling when giving your two cents. It distracts from your message. You're not a flamethrower but when you casually drop a word like "wacko" and comparing some conservatives to Nero it takes away from your argument that this nation needs more civility and reason and less hyperbole.
ReplyDeleteM. Jensen(?), I very much appreciated your dispassionate and appropriate remarks. Thank you. Brother McMurray, a good liberal friend of mine mentioned your posts and I finally got around to taking a look. On this one, I was a bit disappointed at the bias and have to comment (not really have to, but want to). Wacko, according to the free online dictionary is “a person regarded as eccentric or irrational.” You’re not alone in using the term to describe Mr. Cruz’s actions, but I think incorrect. Perhaps, especially from the point of view of those spending a lot of time in Washington D.C., it could be considered eccentric or irrational to follow through on promises he made to those who elected him. Otherwise, however, nothing he did was unethical, unlawful or even unusual. There has been a lot of talk of drastic consequences from a continuing shutdown or even world wide disasters (maybe even cats and dogs living together as Bill Murray might say) if we didn’t raise the debt limit. But just a few short years ago, in 2006, Senator Harry Reid and then Senator Barack Obama saw no need to raise the debt limit, spoke strongly about the disastrous consequences of continuing to raise the debt limit and opposed doing so. I tend to think their positions are, at least, irrational. Being human, however, I know that neither of us has an unerring grasp of all things and I still hold you in high regard.
DeleteGiovanna, I very much appreciate your thoughtful response, both in substance and tone. I will accept your objection to the use of the term "wacko" as applied to Mr Cruz and his followers. It is a fair criticism of a piece of hyperbole undoubtedly reflecting my frustration. As I reread the sentence I could see immediately that it added nothing to the piece and obviously distracted sensitive readers like yourself from the key point I was trying to make. Thank you for that observation.
DeleteI think I will stand firm with the Nero metaphor, however. I felt an unrighteous degree of satisfaction when that sentence came to mind. :-)
Jim, my comment to Giovanna Jensen also apply to your post. I take your point about Mr Cruz, but I remain convinced that his actions were highly irresponsible and put the nation at peril. I regret using the term "wacko" for the reasons previously cited, but the online dictionary's definition of "eccentric or irrational" still fit him in my view (although "eccentric" seems a bit too charming to apply to a junior senator taking a wrecking ball to the global economy--darn, there I go again).
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, Jim, I truly do appreciate your careful reflections as well as your kind words.
I do think many of the follower, cheering section, for Senator Cruz fit the dictionary description for whacko." But believe it does not apply to the Senator. To me he is a very rational, coldly calculating, very informed demagogue. He knows what he is doing in the largest sense to American politics and seeks to use all the weaknesses of democracy to his personal advantage. Who is hurt in the process is irrelevant to him.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grant. You gave me a good natured chuckle. I appreciate your style. I hope you will forgive me, however, if I suggest that your bias is showing through unnecessarily. Concerning the Affordable Care Act, it certainly promises a lot of good intentions, but we know where that road can lead too. There are some people who believe that the details of the Affordable Care Act will prevent it from delivering on those good intentions and even make the situation worse. So we were happy with what Senator Cruz and like-minded Congressman were doing. I suspect you wouldn’t agree with that position, and you are entitled, as are we, to our opinion – and to try to change the situation if possible. Concerning the shutdown of the government and the possibility of not raising the debt ceiling, this wasn’t the first time this has been done or threatened, and it has not always been the same political party. Indeed, Senator Harry Reid and President Obama have been on the other side of the argument before. I would argue that it is not the fault of one side or the other, but that all of our legislative and executive people have been / are being irresponsible in meeting their obligations to us. So I like your Nero metaphor. :o)
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