While kids from all over America are already choosing, buying, and assembling their Halloween costumes, many adults are also getting ready for the season by building haunted houses and polishing up their best scary stories.
While we've always been partial to the tale of the headless horseman, the scariest story we can think of right now is the story of the headless, spineless Republican Party, and the horse they rode in on.
Elections used to have consequences, and everyone involved understood - if you lose the election, you don't get to push your agenda through Congress. Your side guts its political teams, you push away or minimize your more troublesome donors, and quietly but vigorously spend the next few years finding better candidates, so that you can retake Congress - and then you can push your agenda.
Instead, according to a report released over the weekend in the New York Times, the GOP - led by its extreme right wing - spent the months after their brutal 2012 loss by planning both the federal shutdown crisis and the looming debt ceiling crisis in a insane attempt to get by blackmail what they couldn't get at the polls.
That's right, Republicans. This shutdown? You built that. Further, if Republicans in Congress use this shutdown and the even more scary debt ceiling to cut off the head of the American economy? The GOP will own that disaster as well.
That doesn't mean Democratic, Independent, and even politically unaffiliated Americans don't share some of the blame for putting us through this economic horror story. As Jonathan Chait noted over the weekend, the unexploded ordnance of the debt ceiling is a weapon Americans have left lying around in the machinery of our government for a some time - but it's a weapon only "the most ideologically hardened or borderline sociopathic" would use.
As both Bill Moyers and Colbert King noted, the neo-Confederates that truly are the core of extremist Tea Party certainly fit that bill as societal sociopaths. As Sara Robinson pointed out earlier this year, while the Confederacy technically lost the American Civil War, the culture of the arrogant, belligerent, anti-Democratic old South has never truly fit in with the culture of America at large. Now that they see whatever sliver of their world they thought still existed slipping away, many of those right-wing extremists are willing to do anything, and fight any battle, in order to keep their delusion alive.
The Civil War metaphors aren't just bouncing around in academia and the media. Indeed, as one Republican member of the House revealed to Byron York recently, the more sane members of the House GOP leadership are looking at the shutdown and debt ceiling fight like a Civil War battle they wandered into by accident.
The fact is, the GOP leadership in Congress didn't wander into this fight accidentally. Republicans - whether they're Tea Party extremists or not - planned for this disaster. Many of them even gleefully campaigned on the idea of shutting the government down in 2010.
Now, those same weak GOP leaders who supported sociopathic extremists like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas are now allowing them to wildly swing around the economic weapons of both the shutdown and debt limit. The combination of both could potentially deliver a fatal blow to the American economy, and the world's economy in the process, setting the entire world back 200 years, economically, overnight.
If that's not a modern horror story to curl your toes, we're not sure what might do it.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
Truly Essential
As we roll to the end of the first week of experiencing the 2013 Federal Government shutdown - courtesy of the arrogance and ignorance of a few clueless extremist Republicans in Congress - we thought it would be a good time to reexamine what "essential" really means.
We know that yesterday, Capitol Hill police and members of the Secret Service were absolutely essential.
On Thursday, 34-year old dental hygienist Miriam Carey attempted to use her car as a weapon, in Washington, DC. She crashed both the White House and the grounds outside the Capitol, in an escape attempt that ended in her death. Ms. Carey had her one year old daughter in the car with her - and at the time we're writing this, no reason is known for her actions.
Many of the brave members of the Capitol Hill police and the other security forces who sprang into action Thursday all had one thing in common - they're not considered "essential" personnel under the shutdown. Many of the men and women who instantly jumped into action were essentially doing their jobs for free, since no one knows when they'll actually get paid.
While those men and women were rushing towards chaos, not knowing what they were facing, people like Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul were talking about "winning" the government shutdown in front of TV cameras they thought were off. Congressman Darrell Issa was barreling around Capitol Hill at that point, pushing some of those same security people about. All three of these members of Congress were happily picking up their paychecks, since according to the rules, they're all "essential."
Frankly, we think those in Congress need to get a dictionary and look up what the word "essential" really means. While they're there, Republicans especially might want to learn the definition of what "compromise" is, too.
There are a great many things our staff members consider "essential." Our families, friends, and pets top those lists, along with fresh food and clean water. Safe places to live and work are also essential - though for Americans along the Gulf Coast today, that safety could be seriously threatened. Americans across the nation at the beginning of this year's flu season are also in danger, though we doubt workers at the CDC will get called back to work, like some of the workers at FEMA.
Whenever a crisis occurs, most people think about those they care about most. We've never encountered anyone who can't tell us why they'd do almost anything for those people they consider essential.
Yet, as the America some members of Congress claim to love continues hurtling headlong towards this completely preventable, man-made debt ceiling crisis, many Republicans seem to have no real idea why they've shut down the government. Speaker Boenher and the Republican "leadership" in Congress also don't seem to truly grasp the seriousness of what defaulting on our nation's debt would mean.
What we do know is that while those clueless members of Congress are still getting paid, some of those Capitol Hill police and other security officers - people who were willing to potentially lay their lives on the line to protect people we consider essential - won't be getting a paycheck today.
Maybe "essential" just has a different meaning to those of us who have less to lose in life.
We know that yesterday, Capitol Hill police and members of the Secret Service were absolutely essential.
On Thursday, 34-year old dental hygienist Miriam Carey attempted to use her car as a weapon, in Washington, DC. She crashed both the White House and the grounds outside the Capitol, in an escape attempt that ended in her death. Ms. Carey had her one year old daughter in the car with her - and at the time we're writing this, no reason is known for her actions.
Many of the brave members of the Capitol Hill police and the other security forces who sprang into action Thursday all had one thing in common - they're not considered "essential" personnel under the shutdown. Many of the men and women who instantly jumped into action were essentially doing their jobs for free, since no one knows when they'll actually get paid.
While those men and women were rushing towards chaos, not knowing what they were facing, people like Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul were talking about "winning" the government shutdown in front of TV cameras they thought were off. Congressman Darrell Issa was barreling around Capitol Hill at that point, pushing some of those same security people about. All three of these members of Congress were happily picking up their paychecks, since according to the rules, they're all "essential."
Frankly, we think those in Congress need to get a dictionary and look up what the word "essential" really means. While they're there, Republicans especially might want to learn the definition of what "compromise" is, too.
There are a great many things our staff members consider "essential." Our families, friends, and pets top those lists, along with fresh food and clean water. Safe places to live and work are also essential - though for Americans along the Gulf Coast today, that safety could be seriously threatened. Americans across the nation at the beginning of this year's flu season are also in danger, though we doubt workers at the CDC will get called back to work, like some of the workers at FEMA.
Whenever a crisis occurs, most people think about those they care about most. We've never encountered anyone who can't tell us why they'd do almost anything for those people they consider essential.
Yet, as the America some members of Congress claim to love continues hurtling headlong towards this completely preventable, man-made debt ceiling crisis, many Republicans seem to have no real idea why they've shut down the government. Speaker Boenher and the Republican "leadership" in Congress also don't seem to truly grasp the seriousness of what defaulting on our nation's debt would mean.
What we do know is that while those clueless members of Congress are still getting paid, some of those Capitol Hill police and other security officers - people who were willing to potentially lay their lives on the line to protect people we consider essential - won't be getting a paycheck today.
Maybe "essential" just has a different meaning to those of us who have less to lose in life.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
None So Blind...
As America enters day three of the government shutdown, with exactly two weeks to go until the much more dangerous debt ceiling default, there are plenty of reasons for pessimism - and we've likely said, heard, or read most of them in the past three days.
The facts on the shutdown remain stubbornly the same. Congressional Democrats and President Obama are still waiting for a "clean" continuing resolution to get passed by the GOP-led House. A relatively small group of right-wing extremists in the House continue to hold Speaker John Boehner as an ideological hostage, refusing to let him put a clear CR up for whole House vote - mostly because they know it would pass without their small number of votes.
For now, we think Brian Beutler and Jamelle Bouie have it right - that GOP moderates should stop the whining of their more extreme party members, reopen the government, and take their lumps for throwing in with the insane fools of the tea bag right. At least they'd be able to get affordable health care for their lumps, thanks to the opening of the health insurance marketplaces at healthcare.gov.
For all the preaching against Obamacare from those on the right, the real truth already appears to be that Americans are loving the opportunity to get decent health insurance that isn't robbing them blind.
In the first day of the health insurance exchanges being open, the Health and Human Services Department counted 4.7 million visits to Obamacare websites across the nation. As Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post's Wonkblog pointed out, the biggest problems for the rollout of the Affordable Care Act aren't glitches, but overwhelming web traffic, as millions of Americans for the first time ever check to see if they can get a better deal on their health insurance.
Reports like those from Ms. Kliff or Sy Mukherjee continue to relate stories of people who will save thousands of dollars annually on their health insurance costs, thanks to Obamacare. Even as the right-wing media harps on about glitches, as Jonathan Cohn makes clear in The New Republic, those glitches matter far less than you think.
What matters, actually, is what we and so many others have pointed out recently - that the GOP is willing to stake its very existence in a losing battle to stop Obamacare, because they're terrified people will like it. As Henry Blodget outlines in his piece at Business Insider, Republicans have a whole grab bag of reasons to fear the success of Obamacare.
The biggest single reason that we believe Republicans continue to inveigh against Obamacare, even as the incredibly important debt ceiling looms, and the federal government remains shut down, is that they fear most Americans will realize the truth.
Once Americans realize they can always get affordable health insurance without being tied down to a specific job, employers everywhere will no longer be able to control their workers via the prospect of taking away that coverage. Americans will love that they're free to be employed where they want, how they want - and they'll still have affordable health insurance, regardless of how their bosses act.
In other words, Americans will be more free - and Republicans will be revealed as the political party that kept affordable care away from Americans for most of the last century.
No wonder Republicans are afraid Americans will like Obamacare so much.
The facts on the shutdown remain stubbornly the same. Congressional Democrats and President Obama are still waiting for a "clean" continuing resolution to get passed by the GOP-led House. A relatively small group of right-wing extremists in the House continue to hold Speaker John Boehner as an ideological hostage, refusing to let him put a clear CR up for whole House vote - mostly because they know it would pass without their small number of votes.
For now, we think Brian Beutler and Jamelle Bouie have it right - that GOP moderates should stop the whining of their more extreme party members, reopen the government, and take their lumps for throwing in with the insane fools of the tea bag right. At least they'd be able to get affordable health care for their lumps, thanks to the opening of the health insurance marketplaces at healthcare.gov.
For all the preaching against Obamacare from those on the right, the real truth already appears to be that Americans are loving the opportunity to get decent health insurance that isn't robbing them blind.
In the first day of the health insurance exchanges being open, the Health and Human Services Department counted 4.7 million visits to Obamacare websites across the nation. As Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post's Wonkblog pointed out, the biggest problems for the rollout of the Affordable Care Act aren't glitches, but overwhelming web traffic, as millions of Americans for the first time ever check to see if they can get a better deal on their health insurance.
Reports like those from Ms. Kliff or Sy Mukherjee continue to relate stories of people who will save thousands of dollars annually on their health insurance costs, thanks to Obamacare. Even as the right-wing media harps on about glitches, as Jonathan Cohn makes clear in The New Republic, those glitches matter far less than you think.
What matters, actually, is what we and so many others have pointed out recently - that the GOP is willing to stake its very existence in a losing battle to stop Obamacare, because they're terrified people will like it. As Henry Blodget outlines in his piece at Business Insider, Republicans have a whole grab bag of reasons to fear the success of Obamacare.
The biggest single reason that we believe Republicans continue to inveigh against Obamacare, even as the incredibly important debt ceiling looms, and the federal government remains shut down, is that they fear most Americans will realize the truth.
Once Americans realize they can always get affordable health insurance without being tied down to a specific job, employers everywhere will no longer be able to control their workers via the prospect of taking away that coverage. Americans will love that they're free to be employed where they want, how they want - and they'll still have affordable health insurance, regardless of how their bosses act.
In other words, Americans will be more free - and Republicans will be revealed as the political party that kept affordable care away from Americans for most of the last century.
No wonder Republicans are afraid Americans will like Obamacare so much.
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