Obama ignores the debt ceiling.
The Supreme Court doesn’t
order the country to default.
The House impeaches the President,
but the Senate doesn’t convict.
The government gridlocks,
but no one notices.
Cable TV finds a new kerfuffle and
everyone lives happily ever after.
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The President is getting nowhere
in his dealings with Congress.
He seems to be using Clinton’s
tactics with Carter’s strategy –
cleverly protecting his rear
as he careens toward the cliff.
Assuming we make it to the
next election, we face a choice:
“Oh, no!” vs. “Are you kidding?”
One hope is to get Howard Dean
into the primary. He can’t win, but
he could teach Barack to scream.
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Republican discipline keeps members
from voting their personal judgments, or
representing voters’ views. Rebels risk
primary opposition and possible defeat.
It used to make sense to support the party
one agreed with most, but now Republicans
get everything they want when they win,
so voters need to agree with everything.
Wisconsin and Ohio elected Republicans and
now live with laws they never imagined being
proposed, much less passed — specially when
polls proved most citizens strongly objected.
Fortunately, Americans have an alternative.
They can vote for Democrats, whether they
agree with them or not. That party has no
discipline, so nothing significant will pass.
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He let Congress muddle healthcare,
squander most of the stimulus,
and extend all the Bush tax cuts.
But in choosing a course for Libya,
Obama seemed to collect conflicting
opinions, then flip the coin himself.
Now the War Powers Act gives him
an excuse for a face-saving do-over –
let Congress cut off funding. But No.
He’ll stand on principle, argue that
firing missiles and helping allies bomb
isn’t hostile enough to be called war.
Who would have believed this president
would prove better than his predecessor
at contorting the English language.
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Congressman Weiner set an example.
He apologized for doing something shameful
and promised to stop.
Now those who signed the Norquist pledge
against tax increases, and took the oath of office,
should do the same.
Defending the constitution on the cheap
is just as awkward and adolescent as pursuing
sex on Twitter.
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Listening to Republicans debate
how much blackmail they can get
by threatening to destroy the
economy shakes my faith in politics.
We elected them to put people back
to work, but they voted to eliminate
abortion, destroy Medicare and reduce
taxes on corporations and the rich.
Perhaps I’ll find an explanation
in a new book by Jon Ronson –
The Psychopath Test: A Journey
Through the Madness Industry.
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New Yorkers chose wisely Tuesday.
They elected a Democratic representative
to replace the Republican who resigned.
I hope they’re fed up with the GOP’s
refusal to tax big corporations or the wealthy.
Perhaps they hate Ryan’s Medicare plan.
Unfortunately, voters in the 26th district
may just think a brunet congresswoman
would be more conservative than a blond.
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Congress negotiates
like kids make up rules
on the playground.
Whatever one wants,
another says, “no fair!’
We can’t cut entitlements,
change anyone’s taxes,
or live with the status quo,
so the game goes on until,
like kids, someone cries.
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If Senate Democrats pass a clean bill
raising the debt ceiling, they leave
Boehner and House Republicans
in charge of the nation’s credit.
Since default will hurt major GOP
campaign contributors more than
anyone, let them make the Tea Party
a Godfather offer it can’t refuse.
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Republicans seem to be winning.
By killing jobs to fight the deficit,
they slowed the recovery and may be
pushing us toward economic disaster.
That’s the first thing they need to do
to defeat the president. It’s too bad
so many people have to suffer, because
they’ll never accomplish the second.
For a real victory they must nominate
a credible candidate who’ll do
a better job of selling their program
than Obama — there isn’t one.
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The painting was for an ad
promoting a tranquilizer.
It showed a young mother,
two screaming children,
a slew of toys on the floor,
bombs exploding on television,
pans boiling over on the stove.
A clearly labeled bottle of pills
sat next to a glass on a table while
she smiled at the cat in her lap,
who looked up with eyes so loving
one could almost hear it purr.
The art director said, “perfect,”
then the artist added a garish orange
bow around the cat’s neck.
“Why are you doing that?”
“So the client can improve it.”
Obama’s speech on the budget
was good, but he forgot the bow.
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As usual, the president found
the centrist way around a problem.
He enlisted the Arab League,
Security Council and a coalition
including Qatar to thwart a dictator
trampling the rights of his people.
It might be considered daring
if it wasn’t so clearly done to avoid
going after worse despots who
happen to be business friendly:
Walker, Kasich and Snyder.
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Obama failed to fix the economy
or stop the wars, but perhaps he taught
us something: even a smart individual
can’t run this country. He proved we
need the factions the founders feared.
A sizable group that shared common
objectives and worked together
might have delivered change, but
we elected a man with few political
ties to Democrats, and got compromise.
We can’t eliminate primaries, but voters
can start considering loyalty to a political
organization in selecting a candidate.
To make this work, however, liberals
have to get busy and organize a party.
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Republicans decided
they might win in 2012,
even without a decent candidate,
if they get one more recession.
So the deficits Reagan proved
“don’t matter” became a threat
that requires spending cuts,
prevents the stimulus we need.
Conservatives aren’t stupid. They
know deficits prop up an economy,
like long sticks keep wet sheets
from sagging on the clothesline.
So those smart guys try to tell us
sticks will damage the lawn. They’ll
take them away to protect the grass,
and sell us new soap next year.
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We had a budget surplus until Bush
cut taxes and started two wars. Now our
leaders say we must reduce all spending
and entitlements to eliminate the deficit.
It’s like a drunken guest deciding your
house needs more fresh air in January,
breaking windows and saying, “Cancel
your vacation, you need a bigger furnace.”
If our officials can’t do the obvious, we
should toss them like we would the drunk,
then elect some who will end the wars, and
restore taxes and expenditures to ‘99 levels.
When that’s done we can talk about other
steps, if any, that are needed to reduce the
national debt. We should also be careful
who we invite to our next party.
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Everyone Knows America Is Broke
Everyone knows is Republican jargon
for “maybe this lie will beat Obama.”
They’re desperate to regain control so
they can dismantle entitlements before
folks learn that’s not the problem.
The military-medical-financial cabal,
that gets most of the federal budget,
prefers the GOP because their voters
settle for meddling in private lives, while
Democrats want a share of the fiscal pie.
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The president’s budget is DOA.
Too bad. As a conservationist
he should’ve killed it before
printing, and saved some trees.
As usual, he’s entering negotiations
by meeting his opponent half way.
A true liberal would float massive
cuts in defense, more aid to states.
To deflect some GOP torpedoes,
he’d add a big stimulus to create
jobs, and repeal of all Bush tax cuts
to promote fiscal certainty.
It would take some fancy rhetoric
to bring that into sync with his
campaign promises, but that’s one
thing I’m confident he could do.
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Egypt’s youth deposed a dictator.
One could argue they succeeded
because they were unarmed.
300 died fighting hired thugs,
but without guns numbers prevailed.
The army could have won a shooting war.
Most protesters might be dead or jailed.
Instead, they’re writing a new constitution.
One would hope, theirs won’t have
our second amendment.
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It’s well past time the President
spoke to the Chamber of Commerce.
They do so much for his image.
The millions of dollars they spend
branding him a “socialist,” obscures
his cautious conservatism.
If he visits more often, and they look
at what he really does, maybe they’ll run
him in the Republican primary.
Obama would be better for business
than any likely Tea Party candidate.
Democrats could look for a liberal.
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Republicans are convinced
the deficit is our big problem.
Obama endorses their view
by offering a token freeze.
Now Democratic legislators,
and a new governor or two,
support spending cuts because,
they say, history says to.
In the meantime the ranks
of the unemployed continue
to grow, nourished by schools
that get worser and worser.
This scares me because it proves
the politician who seems to have
learned the most history is one who
says the founders ended slavery.
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