The very definition of insanity

October 21, 2013 a world of progress, letters, progressive living, progressive media center No comments

A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again, each time expecting a different result.

Well, House Republicans have voted 41 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the law is still in place.

In desperation, the GOP shut down government, trying to de-fund the law and make it impossible to implement.

That didn’t work either, although it did cost us $24 billion, according to a Standard & Poor estimate.

So now, what’s the plan?

Well, Ted Cruz, the freshman senator from Texas, says he wants to shut down the government again.

And here at home in NC Congressional District 11, our representative, Mark Meadows, has been called the architect of the shutdown because, back in August, he reportedly wrote the letter calling for the shutdown unless “Obamacare” was de-funded.

Economist Steve Morse of Western Carolina University said the shutdown cost people in this district about $1 million a day in lost tourism revenues.

October is the busiest time of year here because of the changing leaves and mild climate, and the shutdown cost people in the tourism industry half their October business.

Meadows has backpedaled on his insistence that the Affordable Care Act be de-funded, probably because people in this district were so angry at the closing of the national park and at his role in bringing about the shutdown (which he now denies, by the way).

So, perhaps Meadows now sees the folly in his obsessive hatred of the Affordable Care Act. His constituents don’t want to lose their businesses over it; they don’t want another government shutdown — hell, they didn’t want the first shutdown.

Cruz was elected because he claimed he could bring government to its knees, which he did, briefly.

Now he claims he wants to be president. Well, let him run and see how far he gets. The American people overwhelmingly disagree with his far-right stands and we are not amused by his antics.

Cruz could still cause trouble, but it’s doubtful he can orchestrate another shutdown and it’s even more doubtful he could take the White House.

Cruz has shown his hand and it’s a loser.

 

Is adult behavior too much to ask?

April 7, 2011 a world of progress Comments Off on Is adult behavior too much to ask?

All I’d like to ask is that Republocans in Congress act like adults. Yes, they have the majority in the House, but Democrats still have the Senate and the White House.

Oh, and I’d like to see Democrats stand up for the people who elected them instead of cowering and simpering that they’re trying to reason with the Republicans.

Democrats have made compromises and the Republicans have refused to budge. So the Democrats made more compromises and the Republicans refused to go along. So Democrats offered pretty much everything the GOP asked for in the budget and they budged — farther to the right.

They want a government shutdown so they can blame Democrats. They might want to recall that this has been done before, and they didn’t benefit. In fact, they lost the public relations battle.

Of course, the Right pretty much owns the media now so it’s harder to get the truth out.

Already, Republicans and their big media allies have managed to villify the unemployed as lazy and unambitious even though there eight unemployed people for every job opening.

And working people, who only want to get by while the wealthiest 2 percent are making more money than ever? Portrayed as greedy, money-grubbing bastards.

But the poor big banks and investors. Why, the government wants to regulate them to death.

Why do so many Americans believe this crap?

But people will notice when government services go away. Who you gonna call when your tax refund doesn’t get issued? How about when that campground you planned to visit on your vacation is closed? And what do you tell the tens of thousands of government employees and their families who depend on a paycheck? Those are real jobs too, you know.

The Republicans are acting like playground bullies and the Democrats are cowering. I’ve lived through some interesting and scary times, but nothing like this.