If you've been paying attention to politics and the media lately, you know that a there was an unusual amount of attention devoted to civility and responsibility last week by nearly every media source, including us.
What you may have missed - if, for instance, you were hosting guests over the weekend, or you were busy hanging around with family - was that the temporary truce between the chronically stupid and the rest of us has apparently already ended.
It began with a town hall-meeting edition of Christiane Amanpour's "This Week" for ABC News, recorded last week.
One of the victims of the shooting tragedy in Tucson was not just allowed, but asked to attend the taping of "This Week" - along with the leader of the Arizona Tea Party. Contrary to the denial some folks we know still suffer from, the Arizona Tea Party has been one of the more militant branches of that vague political movement. In case some of you had forgotten, the Arizona Tea Party includes folks who came to a speech by the current President of the United States carrying assault rifles.
The nearly inevitable reaction of explosive anger by a victim of the Tucson shootings, when the Tea Party leader spouted off some of his rhetoric, should have surprised no one. As veteran media observers, we're willing to bet the "This Week" producer who asked the victim to attend was, in fact, hoping for just that kind of "bonus" media coverage for their show.
The shooting victim was immediately hospitalized for mental evaluation, and has since apologized to the Tea Party leader for that outburst. To his credit, the Tea Party leader doesn't want the victim jailed but rather wants the victim to get the mental health care he needs. Unfortunately, the Tea Party leader still insists his organization is in NO way responsible for inciting ANY kind of violence via incendiary rhetoric.
Sadly, the slide back into the regular levels of stupidity has also already reached Washington, DC.
Republican Eric Cantor and other members of the GOP chastised the Democratic House for not putting forth a budget just a few months ago. Now they have already demonstrated their inability to lead - even though they're now in the majority - by refusing to put forth their own budget .
Yes, instead of proudly taking up the mantle of "Majority" party in the House, the GOP House "leaders" are already claiming they don't really have any power and insisting that the President must put forth a budget BEFORE they do. That way, the Republicans can simply stand on the sidelines and lob rhetorical water balloons at the budgetary decisions of the President.
Many of those same Republicans are also putting forth a great deal of bluster, claiming they're going to repeal health care insurance reform. It doesn't seem to matter to them that the majority of the American public actually wants the law to be MORE expansive, not repealed.
Regardless of how much sound and fury Republicans attempt to whip up on this issue - or any other - the facts still don't change. The GOP House has to pass a budget, they'll have to pass the debt ceiling, and if they want to get anything at all passed into law over the next two years, they'll have to work TOGETHER with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic President, who has the power of the Veto.
In the spirit of last week, we're not going to beat you over the head with more facts that further prove our point. We'll simply remind those in Washington (and elsewhere) who are already attempting to go back to their old divisive ways, to not be surprised when their false fury and needless stupidity meets the cold, hard reality that the only way forward is together.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Hard, Solid Thinking Needed
Whether you were aware of it or not, today, Monday is a holiday across the United States, a day to celebrate the wisdom and accomplishments of the civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. King accomplished much during his much too brief lifetime, not the least of which included pressuring Congress and the President to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. He believed strongly in the concepts of non-violent resistance, and contrary to the recent display of ignorance by certain Pentagon officials, Dr. King would not likely have supported the current wars Americans find themselves in at this time.
In fact, he'd probably find the current state of our partisan, hateful rhetoric even more disappointing than the political climate of the civil rights era.
While it's disputed, even by King's own family, exactly why he was killed, what isn't in question is his long-standing record as a mediator, of being able to find common ground between people of highly disparate positions. His success as a intermediary was tied directly to his willingness to ask to the tough questions, and tackle the "hard, solid thinking" that he saw few others willing to tackle.
We see that same weakness in our lawmakers now. Unfortunately, we have far fewer persons of stature around, like Dr. King, to hold those who make our laws accountable for their actions.
For example, after a near assassination of a U.S. Congresswoman, a large number of our Federal representatives are willing to admit - off the record - that they'd be willing to reinstate the common sense restrictions of the assault weapons ban. Yet, because of their fear of the NRA and its power to affect elections, we see only a tiny handful of legislators willing to actually put forth legislation on that idea.
Things are no better at the state level.
As we mentioned briefly on Friday, Nebraska's Governor Heineman calls his next two-year budget proposal 'bold, innovative and strategic'. We see very little that is innovative or strategic about chopping Nebraska's state services into bits with a budgetary meat cleaver, while digging into the state's piggy bank in order to cover his budgetary backside.
Likewise, in Virginia and Maryland, the Governors of those states plan to either make small cuts or borrow money in order to achieve their own political goals - which, by itself may be fine. The problem is that while their own political goals may be accomplished, neither Governor's actions are likely to significantly handle the needs of their citizens.
We understand that today is a day where Americans are supposed to reflect on the accomplishments of Dr. King, and the growth of our own country towards a more color-blind society - and we agree with that concept wholeheartedly.
However, we also hope that Americans don't ignore the many other lessons Martin Luther King Jr tried to teach us - especially about tackling the difficult issues in life.
Dr. King accomplished much during his much too brief lifetime, not the least of which included pressuring Congress and the President to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. He believed strongly in the concepts of non-violent resistance, and contrary to the recent display of ignorance by certain Pentagon officials, Dr. King would not likely have supported the current wars Americans find themselves in at this time.
In fact, he'd probably find the current state of our partisan, hateful rhetoric even more disappointing than the political climate of the civil rights era.
While it's disputed, even by King's own family, exactly why he was killed, what isn't in question is his long-standing record as a mediator, of being able to find common ground between people of highly disparate positions. His success as a intermediary was tied directly to his willingness to ask to the tough questions, and tackle the "hard, solid thinking" that he saw few others willing to tackle.
We see that same weakness in our lawmakers now. Unfortunately, we have far fewer persons of stature around, like Dr. King, to hold those who make our laws accountable for their actions.
For example, after a near assassination of a U.S. Congresswoman, a large number of our Federal representatives are willing to admit - off the record - that they'd be willing to reinstate the common sense restrictions of the assault weapons ban. Yet, because of their fear of the NRA and its power to affect elections, we see only a tiny handful of legislators willing to actually put forth legislation on that idea.
Things are no better at the state level.
As we mentioned briefly on Friday, Nebraska's Governor Heineman calls his next two-year budget proposal 'bold, innovative and strategic'. We see very little that is innovative or strategic about chopping Nebraska's state services into bits with a budgetary meat cleaver, while digging into the state's piggy bank in order to cover his budgetary backside.
Likewise, in Virginia and Maryland, the Governors of those states plan to either make small cuts or borrow money in order to achieve their own political goals - which, by itself may be fine. The problem is that while their own political goals may be accomplished, neither Governor's actions are likely to significantly handle the needs of their citizens.
We understand that today is a day where Americans are supposed to reflect on the accomplishments of Dr. King, and the growth of our own country towards a more color-blind society - and we agree with that concept wholeheartedly.
However, we also hope that Americans don't ignore the many other lessons Martin Luther King Jr tried to teach us - especially about tackling the difficult issues in life.
"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
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