Banana Republicans

The extreme hard-line attitude of many Republicans has significantly raised the prospects for a national default and rating agency downgrades that would sweep across the nation and many states, causing an economic cataclysm and public outrage unlike anything ever seen in the history of the republic.

If the deficit talks collapse and the house of cards falls, the biggest losers will be Republicans, who almost certainly will lose control of the House.

I have always expected a deal to raise the debt ceiling, but also warned of the danger that World War I-style miscalculations could result in a default that leaders do not want. Now comes a last-minute proposal dumped by another gang, without major details, in an inflamed and dangerous situation, to radically change America by Aug. 2. This "plan" will not pass in time. It only confuses a gravely dangerous situation.

What brought America to this moment of danger? The Republican Speaker made an offer, accepted by the president, for a grand bargain to deal with the deficit. The Speaker then reneged and opposed his own proposal after it was attacked by the Republican majority leader, who is the voice of the faction I call the Banana Republicans.

The Banana Republicans oppose the very concept of negotiating in good faith. They have certain views far outside the mainstream of traditional Republicanism, and far outside the mainstream of traditional Americanism, which views our nation as a melting pot of diversity, requiring a coming-together of shared purpose.

The Banana Republicans do not want America to come together. They seek domination by their minority faction, destruction of their political enemies and dismemberment of the body politic, which is the source of their extremism and would be the cause of their being blamed for the crash, if it comes.

The Banana Republicans are deeply hostile to the governing values of former President Reagan, who believed deeply in the principle of good-faith negotiation on matters foreign and domestic, and who entrusted brilliantly able people including James Baker, Howard Baker and Ken Duberstein.

The Banana Republicans hold views that are ignorant of economic history and modern finance, including the growing school of (insane) thought that default would be good for America.

The Banana Republicans include many who have only been in government for months and have close to zero experience, sense of history and institutional memory. They believe the great Republican leaders in modern history were wrong, while they always are right. They express contempt for the majority of registered Republicans, who believe a deficit deal must be balanced and fair, a view Banana Republicans hold in contempt.

The Banana Republicans have no idea about the magnitude of public wrath that will befall them if America defaults and rating-agency downgrades ripple through the nation and states and crash bond markets, collapse equity markets, destabilize the world economy and drive joblessness even higher and interest rates through the roof.

Banana Republicans believe the Senate should be destroyed as an institution by the tyranny of the minority. They prevent a Nobel laureate from serving on the Federal Reserve Board. They prevent nominees for the Treasury Department from being confirmed even during a national economic crisis.

If the bough breaks and the cradle falls there will be blame enough, but every poll shows the Banana Republicans are out of touch with the pulse of the nation, which wants a fair and balanced deficit deal.

The Banana Republicans would destroy the American compact of shared sacrifice, shared reward and fair compromise in a nation of shared purpose. If they cause the crash, the voters will conclude that the Democrats are no angels, but will send the Banana Republicans straight to political hell.

This column was originally published at The Hill.

 

Comments

[Rudy E]

11:15 PM on 07/23/2011

Born in foreign country I fell in love with the U.S. at very early age, I am 44 now and very sad of the fact that modern feudalism is here already however my American brothers are too busy and miss informed to realize that. America I love you and I am in pain.

[denise4925]

11:36 AM on 07/22/2011

Great article and very true.

[Gryphon87]

07:49 AM on 07/22/2011

Good article but all this praise of Ronald Reagan needs to stop. The man was a disaster for this country and paved the way for so many problems we face today.

[gconners]

12:59 AM on 07/22/2011

"If the deficit talks collapse and the house of cards falls, the biggest losers will be Republicans.."

Sorry, no. The LOSER will be the COUNTRY; and the "biggest losers" will be the American people! ALL the American people:
Republicans, "tea partiers", Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, etc...

[Charlley Ward]

07:07 PM on 07/21/2011

The Tea Party is shooting itself in the foot. They've aroused the ire of the Baby Boomers, and we still have an awful lot of clout. Fact is, my generation worked and contributed to Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid for years, and we WANT OUR MONEY. If they think they can cut our benefits and let the rich keep their tax breaks, they are very wrong. They are too young to remember the sixties, but we aren't. We still remember how to take it to the streets, and if they keep this crap up, we will.

[Gryphon87]

07:46 AM on 07/22/2011

Oh please, it was the 55+ voting block that put us in this spot.

[SuperhighMe]

06:25 PM on 07/21/2011

dont underestamate the gop propaganda machine at election time! unlimited funds dumb people im very worried this is going to be the end of it all! we are killing the golden goose

[Sagrimore]

04:34 PM on 07/21/2011

"The Banana Republicans have no idea about the magnitude of public wrath that will befall them . . ."

What makes you think that?

The corporate-controlled media, with their lazy "false equivalency", will tell the public that BOTH SIDES were unyielding and are at fault. Then they will repeat as fact the Republican's ridiculous talking points, no matter how demonstrably false they are.

After that they will put in front of the camera a Teabagging Republican, a "mainstream" Republican, one or more members of the Republican leadership, and for "balance" and a conservative Democrat who votes with the Republicans most of the time. No liberal Democrats will be allowed.

The few people who can turn away from "Real Housewives of New Jersey" won't have a clue about what is really going on.

[NJP1]

03:54 PM on 07/21/2011

The theocrat right wingers have convinced gullible millions that they can bring back frontier politics superimposed on 21st century reality. They want to reduce the country to nothing in order to rebuild it under extreme right wing doctrines. Their equally deranged supporters are now convinced that in some way non-government will bring back the means for every man to carve out his own destiny. Far right wingnuts want this, because when the economy goes down the resulting chaos will be a breeding ground for a dictatorship where the Jesus business supersedes economic reality. Study history, every dictator has snatched power out of chaos. Their fundie principles will allow default on debts, the economy will collapse as world business confidence vanishes overnight. The USA will become an unstable third world country. The 40 million on food aid will begin to starve and unemployment will soar as the internal chaos wrecks the minutiae of normal government. This is the abyss folks, stare into it if you must, but don’t let the fundies persuade you to leap into it shouting halleluja! The USA is the only nation on earth with a fully armed population, rapidly diminishing resources, insurmountable debt and an obsessive belief in infinite consumption sanctioned by a god. (not forgetting the returning Messiah of course, folks are going to annoyed if he doesn’t show up soon) Hard to imagine a more lethal combination as a new form of fascism arises cloaked in religion http://www.yourmedievalfuture.com/

[Christopher Beech]

03:41 PM on 07/21/2011

Those who call themselves " Tea Party members" in the House are a minority, sure they may out number Democrats but are a minority compared to the "mainstream" Republicans so how is it they ( Tea Party) have so much control, so much voice over the other Republicans. It is like a person getting a " pit bull") to use against his neighbor never realizing that one day the pit could turn against him. The tea party was created with the support of the Republican party( back door) to attack President Obama, make it harder for him or his plans to make any progress, not about jobs or a smaller government as they claimed. Some had warned the Republicans the Tea Party would come back to haunt them; they didn't listen or believe, too late now, they wanted this pit bull now they have to figure a way to get it under control.

[Jill Irish]

04:05 PM on 07/22/2011

Very, very true. Why don't the leading Republicans, who do seem to retain a distant memory that workings things out requires bipartisan negotiation, tell the "Young Guns" how the government's work gets done, in no uncertain terms? They could if they wanted to. Instead, they repudiate their own words and pander, pander, pander.

[disappointedliberal]

03:32 PM on 07/21/2011

Great article. I posted something earlier on this article that has vanished for some odd reason. Anyway, I saw an interview recently where a TPer said that merely being willing to negotiate was their compromise. This political minority viewpoint (TP) apparently believes that it was elected King, Emperor, or some other political designation indicating ultimate power. It is pretty arrogant when someone speaking for a political minority viewpoint says that their concession was being willing to come to the table.

[TRex86]

02:37 PM on 07/21/2011

As president of SAG Reagan was an experienced negotiator (back when he was still a Democrat). Despite profound differences with the "Evil Empire" he negotiated with Gorbachev to control nuclear proliferation, perhaps the greatest achievement of his presidency. Now the Republican party demonstrates no understanding of the etiquette of negotiating in which the tactic of escalation is prima fascie evidence of bad faith. This is basic stuff. Boehner's refusal of his own proposal is classic escalation--start with an agreement and then raise the stakes--and he's done it twice.

The desired end result of negotiation isn't compromise, where everyone loses something; it's collaboration, where everyone ends up ahead. the gold standard is to achieve the highest "joint utility." Unfortunately, a successful negotiation requires a genuine understanding of the other side's views, not bludgeoning them to death. Seeking understanding is anathema to the Teapublican cult of true believers, who suffer the triple malady of ignorance, arrogance, and unwillingness to listen or learn. I never imagined that I would yearn for the old fashioned Republicans of my youth, but clearly none of them would make it in this contemporary gaggle of crackpots. Where is Nixon now that we need him?

[Bombadillo22]

01:59 PM on 07/21/2011

'The Banana Republicans have no idea about the magnitude of public wrath that will befall them "

They must know it and I hope the author is right about the comeuppance, but consider: it was Banana Republican CEO of Diebold that guaranteed the election the first head banana (Bush) and gave us the mysterious, Trojan horse that is the ‘black box' electronic voting machines we use to vote. I fear they do not, therefore, care about the wrath of the public, its rationality nor its sense of decency. Fearing little consequence, they now unabashedly go about astonishing us all with appalling, anti-government, anti-public rhetoric and mayhem—the way any villains who couldn’t lose would.

It's the only explanation for suddenly becoming obvious pariahs--willing to touch 'the third rail' programs like social security and Medicare, and do all the atrocious things mentioned in this piece.

It's only my opinion (or paranoia) of course, (and you can blame unassuming, and now' taken aback' Americans for putting them there) but their faction, which so boldly denounced affordable healthcare and proclaimed divisive ideologies once shunned by decent Americans, should never have gained traction in our government, and would not have--but for strategically placed, subtly cheating programs running deep within unverifiable voting tabulation machines.

[artistdavid]

01:55 PM on 07/21/2011

SIR, YOU SAID IT ALL... AND YOU SAID IT RIGHT.

[Zygote9111]

01:52 PM on 07/21/2011

Maybe they all should move to the real Banana Republic (and bring Rush with them) if they hate Americans and American values so much.

[michiganguy586]

01:48 PM on 07/21/2011

i know that it would totally collapse the economy if this debt deal isnt reached, but part of me kinda hopes that nothing does happen. Maybe that way people will finally understand how the gop are nothing more than domestic terrorist holding the country hostage to their ignorant ways. And that could possibly, and im hoping for this part, the end of the gop/ teaparty once and for all.

[blackraisin]

03:03 PM on 07/21/2011

Or it could show how the government not paying for operating freight differential subsidies, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Foreign Agricultural Service, The Office of navajo and Hopi relocation, the DEA, and most of the other waste the federal government spends money on. Social Security, Medicare, Veteran's benefits and interest on the debt can continue based on incoming revenue.

[disappointedliberal]

03:39 PM on 07/21/2011

What are "freight differenti­al subsidies?" You wrote "and most of the other waste the federal government spends money on. Social Security, Medicare, Veteran's benefits and interest on the debt can continue based on incoming revenue." Most of the "other" what? Are you saying that the programs you mentioned are waste?

I am not attacking your position. I don't understand your comment. Was a word left out or did you mean to say something differently?

[CreativelyCharming]

05:13 PM on 07/21/2011

I noticed you left out the bloated defense budget in your list of wasteful spending there, good to know you're only interested in ditching the spending YOU don't agree with.

[ProgressiveRG]

03:33 PM on 07/21/2011

I have been thinking the same thing. For the public to really understand how destructive these people are, maybe the worst has to happen. We avoided the 2nd Great Depression with the stimulus, but they paint it as a total failure. If we avoid catastrophe this time, then they will claim there never was going to be catastrophe. And they won't let the experts interfere with their propaganda machine spreading the lie. Osama Bin Laden is laughing down in hell watching us destroy ourselves from within.