We're not sure really what more can be said about the debt ceiling and budget battle raging in Washington. Things likely have already gone past the point where real and significant damage has been done to both the credit rating and the reputation of America.
The truth is, this 'crisis' has been wholly manufactured by the extremist, regressive, far right-wing of the Republican Party - and it's being done against the will of the American people. This is absolutely NOT a "both sides" issue, something that too many media organizations have been glossing over.
More than two-thirds of the American people want REAL, true compromise right now on this issue. In poll after poll, Americans support a mixed solution of targeted tax increases on those who can afford them, smaller cuts in government spending, dumping tax cuts we can't afford, and a few other strategic moves - like bringing our troops home - to save money.
This is exactly what the President has been proposing all along - and growing numbers of Americans seem to understand that he is still on their side.
Even Wall Street, against whom we have (legitimately) railed many times over the years, is opposed to the current positions taken by House GOP members. As long as this political deadlock continues, investors cannot grow their businesses, invest, or hire more workers.
By insisting on NOT taking any of a number of deals weighted heavily in their favor, the party that has claimed for decades to be pro-business has also abdicated its responsibility to businesses, large and small.
Not surprisingly, liberals on the left have whined about the false weakness of President Obama for being willing to go as far as he has in some proposed deals that have fallen through. Yet the all-too-real lack of effectiveness of House Speaker John Boehner has become blatantly obvious as he's failed to pass even his own proposals through the House he allegedly controls.
Speaker Boehner's latest plan - a plan designed specifically to pander to the extremists in his own party - doesn't look like it will succeed as originally designed, and is being "reworked" even as you read this. Even if it would garner enough Republican votes to pass the house, the Congressional Budget Office has said it won't reduce the debt by as much as it needs to - and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised it would fail in the Senate.
In comparison, the President asked Americans on Monday night to call their elected representatives if they were angry about this issue. The American people proceeded to crash the websites and phone lines of multiple Congresspersons, primarily Republicans. If it were true that President Obama is weak, such a task should be beyond his reach. It's quite obviously not.
News organizations around the world are as focused on this issue as most American media. If the United States defaults, or even if its credit is downgraded - as appears increasingly inevitable - the resulting shock will harm people from all corners of the globe.
At this point, like some other wise folks, we're just praying that President Obama's lawyers discover legal precedent that proves the 14th Amendment is legitimate after all.
Otherwise, we could all soon be facing a return to a pre-colonial economy - which would be extremely ironic, since the Tea Party extremists are the people who've been warning us all for years about Muslim terrorists dragging the U.S. back to the 14th century.
Looks like it may be our own homegrown fanatics who drag our nation into oblivion after all.
