This is what the establishment hacks in both parties will say about this debt deal:
"Well if the people on both RedState.com and Daily Kos don't like it, then that tells me it's a pretty good deal. It leaves aside the concerns of a small group of extremists on the left and the right, and instead deals with the concerns of the large majority of Americans, who simply want to know that they will be able to provide for their families, and that if they want to work hard for their dreams, they will be able to, in what is still the greatest country in the world, that shining city on the hill, that last, best hope for mankind. God bless you and your families, and God bless the United States of America."
Signed,
Obama, McConnell, whoever...
I am to the right of virtually everyone here, but I started following the site when I read the founder's statement "It's not a battle between liberal and conservative. It's between establishment and outsider" (or something to that effect). I think he may have been talking about conservative and liberal Democrats, but I could tell that he was rational, and that he understood political strategy.
Between a Republican party that causes all SHIT for this for THIS deal, and a Democratic party that can't get any version of the public option through the Senate, even though since they went to budget reconciliation anyway they only needed 50 votes + the VP, I think it's possible that we may have a little problem in our beloved country.
Well, at least I can tell you, that there's a good chance a lot of these Republicans will get a primary. Even Boehner, maybe especially Boehner. The head of the House Republican Study Committee may do it. They are eliminating his district, and he and Boehner are both from OH.
Democrats don't seem to do this nearly as much, possibly because of the two parties' different views of government: but I can assure you it works. Just check Orrin Hatch's and Lindsey Graham's voting records lately.
Whatever. I came home on a Saturday night, and I am drunk, but I am not angry and I am not afraid. Because it's all just too typical to be angry or afraid.
Note #1: This was originally meant as a post on the thread "Do Not Go Gently Into That Goodnight" by thereisnospoon; but it grew too long, because I type too fast.
Note #2: Even though I consider Obama to be something of a hack (although he has more idealism that McConnell, and isn't a complete incompetent like Boehner), I think blaming him for doing this particular deal may be a bit unfair. He really had no choice.
Simply demanding a "clean bill" would have been met with laughter. Maybe literal laughter. I certainly would have laughed, if I were an R senator or rep. I might have even turned the request into a pun about Bill Clinton's sex problems.
And whatever your opinion of the 14th amendment stratagem, in the real world it would have failed, because of this analogy that I read on another board:
Let's say someone has a winning lottery ticket, and asks you to borrow money. He'll pay you back once he cashes it. You ask why he doesn't simply cash it in, instead of borrowing? He says ownership of the ticket is in dispute, and will be settled in court. Would you still lend him money?
The idea that people/countries would still lend to the US, when they aren't fully sure if President Obama has the authority to pay them back, is simply ridiculous.