By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
We can’t go on this way. Seriously. We can’t continue to dither over ridiculous things like a few measly billions of dollars while wasting upwards of 24 billion in these last weeks for no apparent reason other than the intransigence of a handful of people, few of whom understand democratic process nor care to. We can’t keep allowing ourselves to be sidelined back into archaic tugs of war — as Fe so aptly put it, signifying nothing — while the problems that endanger our future not only persist but escalate.
We are on the horns of a dilemma. How do we heal a soul-sick nation, clinging to an old paradigm understanding of nationalism and exceptionalism and unwilling to face the changes at hand? Even as a majority of Americans reject both the philosophy and the tactics of the hard-right — there’s the blessing, do not miss it — we are captive to their tantrums, at least for the moment. Economist Bob Reich calls our current congressional agreement a cease fire, describing the GOP’s dogged determination to carry on their war against modernity, populism and all things Obama. From what I read, we can trust that to be true.
Religious zealot and lawmaker Michele Bachmann has indicated that she finds the reopening of government “a very sad day,” presumably because the GOP got so little out of the bargain, but given her recent remarks and past record, we can assume she’s actually disappointed that Jesus isn’t presiding over Congress accompanied by a bevy of sword-wielding archangels smiting godless liberals.