One good thing about the debt ceiling “crisis” is that the Republican Party is in shambles. The business community is now fully aware that it was crazy to help fund tea party candidates. But, the New York Times correctly points out this morning that the Democratic Party is in similar shambles. Legislative Democrats are angry that we are saddled with a President who has not used his leadership ability to get the public behind a jobs program. Instead, he has scolded the members of both parties for not compromising (while he negotiates with himself) and has tried to stand above it all pleading for our government to become functional – playing into the Republicans’ claim that government does not work.
Yes, the job problem started on Bush’s watch and the deficit was substantially increased by his policies, but we should not ignore the extent to which the job problem is attributable to Obama’s failure. As Tikkun emphasizes this morning in an e-mail (and as I have complained about many times myself), Obama appointed conservative economic advisors from the start when he could have appointed the likes of Robert Reich and Paul Krugman.
I doubt the debt ceiling will be maintained, but Rabbi Lerner of Tikkun has an interesting idea if it is: “Instead of being such a wimp, Obama could even now simply announce the following plan for what will happen if the debt limit isn't reached: he will pay the social security, medicare and other benefits to those Congressional districts whose representatives voted to raise the debt limit and not to those which did not. And similarly all other federal services. Military installations in the Congressional districts whose representatives did not vote for the raising of the limit will be immediately shut, and all military personnel outside the U.S., starting with Iraq and Afghanistan, will be ordered to return to the U.S. They play hardball, so could a progressive Democrat, if we happened to have one in office, which we don't.”
Obama (and Clinton before him) knew that liberals will have to support him rather than let the lunatics claim the Presidency. But I will give my financial contributions to House and Senate Democrats in the next election. If Obama supports the banks rather than the unemployed, he can run with the banks money as far as I am concerned. Does anyone think that Hilary Clinton would have played Ms. Ineffective Nice if she were President? I wish I had voted for her in the primaries.
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