[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
The excellent Joan Walsh of Salon reiterates this morning what I’ve said previously, it’s very advantageous for the President and Party to let this hideous holiday Cliffmas die a quick political death and get flushed down the DC memory hole as soon as possible. Walsh cites the plain fact that the Republicans have gone batshit crazy and that playing along just enables the insanity, but there are three more salient points to this prurient mess that bear scrutiny.
Continuing the Cliffmas negotiations day after day further damages the reputation and standing of Congress for the American public. It’s seems impossible that public opinion for Congress could sink any lower than the cracks of doom in Mt. Orodruin where it now resides, but just a few more days of this insanity could indeed slam it lower.
The American people want Congress to fix the economy and produce jobs. It would be very nice to have the finance sector brought to heel, renewable energy made a top priority along with educating our kids, but hell just getting America to work would do, we’re not really asking for so much. Instead the little people have to watch and hear Congress chaise its tail in a psychotic swirl of its own making that isn’t producing one god damn job.
Again, politically it’s basely confusing anyway, the Cliff is the scariest thing ever because it solves the scariest problem ever. Jesus Christ. Political junkies may understand the issue is bullshit layered over protecting tax cuts for the rich, but anyone can intuitively sense a screwing of the little people will soon commence under the guise of some smarmy DC rationalization if a deal goes through. The United States needs a functional popular Congress, Merry Cliffmas just makes respect for Congress, DC and government sink lower.
A pending deal of doom damages and discourages the Democratic Party base. We’ve won two national elections in a row and now have to muster outrage and energy to protect Social Security and Medicare? Are you kidding me? I could be shopping for stocking stuffers instead of this, there’s a future that will soon be upon us and we need the base very badly for the country. I am so weary unto death of all this Cliffmas, being my happy sexy self is simply impossible when I should be drinking eggnog, oy.
Please calmly close up shop on this insanity, Mr. President, so the base can be happy about winning again. Send everyone home with best wishes, including the Speaker of the House. If he wants to rant and rave and smash the podium and stay until December 31st, let the fool do it, he signed up for it and now has to take the perfectly justified political blame for it.
Finally sending everyone immediately home with the easy assurance that anything pressing in the cliff can be fixed next year sticks it to the press and their disgusting hysteria over it all. Folks go home to turkey and stuffing, nothing happens. There is no cliff, never was, calm competence replaces the frantic nothing about nothing our national media disgraced itself with over this mess.
They can actually do their jobs and explain how it was all a cover for tax cuts, or frantically turn purple with waving arms that we’ll smash into the bottom of the cliff any day now, really, we said it would happen so it will. Heh.
I’d go with the DC journalism corps just dropping the whole matter and hoping that it disappears down the memory hole, that’s their usual pattern after disgusting behavior. I nor the little people will never forget this amazing political and journalism disgrace, of course not, but that won’t stop our journalism corps from acting like it never happened.
I’d like to go shopping and deliver gingerbread men to the fire station a few blocks away, Mr. President. I don’t want to buy into the insanity of the Republicans, I want Congress respected and the base taken care of. Sticking it to our hideous journalism corps would be such sweet icing for country after those accomplishments, please close up the Executive shop, warmly send everyone home and assure the country that of course all will be well by reaching no deal. You’ve got this.