Last week, Speaker Boehner described the Senate deal for extending middle class tax cuts and unemployment benefits as acceptable. This past Saturday, 89 senators -- including the vast majority of Republican senators -- voted for the bipartisan compromise to extend unemployment benefits and a middle class payroll tax cut for two months.
No sooner did the Tea Party House Republicans begin to fear that this good faith compromise just might succeed than they stepped forward and smashed the deal. Within a few hours, Speaker John Boehner went from saying the Senate compromise was "a good deal" and "a victory" to saying "it's become clear that what the Senate did pass is going to cause job creators all kinds of problems."
What happened? The anti-government ideologues happened.
The Tea Partiers rejected the deal their leader blessed -- knowing full well the Senate would not capitulate to their demand -- and thereby risking the livelihood of 160 million Americans who depend on the extension of unemployment benefits and payroll tax cuts.
These are the Grover Norquist disciples who want to "drown government in the bathtub" as Norquist, whose pledge they've all signed, famously said. Why? Because if they actually let government work, then people could have faith that government can work.
In short, when your entire philosophy is that government is the problem, you make government the problem. Even conservative economists agree that unemployment benefits create jobs by allowing consumers to spend more money. Yet this conflicts with the Republicans' predetermined ideology that no government action can help. Broad majorities agree that having millionaires pay their fair share in taxes would reduce our deficit, and allow us to invest in jobs. But apparently no amount of evidence can convince Republicans that our government can be part of the solution.
The Republican philosophy goes something like this: If you take your car to the mechanic and instead of fixing it, they take out the engine and charge you an arm and a leg, you should conclude that mechanics can't fix cars and you should probably just take yours to the junkyard and sell it for scrap metal.
But the truth is; you probably just hired a bad mechanic.
That's exactly what we've got here in Washington. A bunch of bad mechanics. Our democracy is built not only on compromise, but on trying solutions from both parties. And with an economic crisis as deep as ours, we can't afford to ignore ideas that create jobs. Our government is not broken, but Republican ideology certainly is.
Ellison represents the 5th District of Minnesota in the United States House of Representatives and Co-Chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
This article originally appeared on TheNation.com.
Follow Rep. Keith Ellison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keithellison
Just effect a few minor changes, taken directly from the repugnant-can't playbook, and Amerika will rise to new heights of exceptionalism .....
If Republicans are going to turn down anything Obama and Democrats put forth, why then aren't Obama and Democrats fighting for the BEST plan out there? Everyone who has ever negotiated a contract knows this. Every lawyer knows this. You put everything on the table, and you don't take anything off unless and until you get something in return. In poker parlance, Obama folds on a straight flush.
There should be tax HIKES on corporations and the rich. There should be massive cuts to the military. Banks should be threatened with nationalization unless they begin lending to small businesses. There have been more than 3.5 million home foreclosures but there are 11 million more in the pipeline -- There must be principal write-downs.
Why aren't Obama, Pelosi, Reid and Democrats talking about the Progressive Caucus's budget and plan to balance the budget (reduces the deficit by $5.1 trillion)? It beats Obama's AND Republicans' plans.
As Krugman has said, the Progressives' budget:
But Obama takes solutions that work for the People, the vast majority of Americans, off the table. Whether it's ending Bush's tax cuts or the wars, the '14th Amendment Solution' (and it was, indeed, a legitimate option), etc., Obama kneecaps and handicaps the Democratic voters who put him and Democrats into power.
Democratic politicians should be beating this drum, loudly, constantly, and pushing the People's Budget instead of working off of a set of corporate lobbyists' plans.
Their tactics are vile, and unpatriotic: "when your entire philosophy is that government is the problem, you make government the problem."
I find it ironic when elected government officials claim 'government is the problem' & incongruous when the claims are to shrink a Government for, by & of the people. It also seems (baffling) as if the desire is to lead by self-fulfilling prophecy or by cognitive dissonance? If one believes government to be illegitimate, why would one desire to improve it? (baffling)
On the other hand, there are those who seem to be committed to the effective use of Government or political institutions to solve problems.
What is more important for elected government representatives? Proving that government is the problem by making it so? Or actually trying to solve problems?
The root reason for what the Republicans are doing is to make America a failure.
"Because if they actually let government work, then people could have faith that government can work."
This is too destructive for America!
or as Lenin said
"if you see something about to fall, knock it over"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDF-8Y43G6c ( Contains a few seconds of Gomert repeating a prayer at the beginning - which makes one wonder how many heads would explode if Ellison said the word Allah on the house floor for any reason.)
Ellison seems to Miss Reality in Total ? DEM UI is only Welfare for the people who would not
qualify otherwise ?
USA is in a Depression and DEMS are certain it is business as usual, more DEBT ?
DEMS = DEPRESSION
Fanned you.
:-)
Define "monetary crisis".
What do you mean by " DEM UI is only Welfare for the people who would not
qualify otherwise ?"
We are in a Depression. Can you tell me what brought it about???
The House produced a highly partisan bill loaded with toxic riders, knowing that the Senate would reject it.
The Senate started with a one year extension, but could not agree on how to pay for it. The two month provision was an admission that they could not reach an agreement for a full year within the time they had. The Senate bill was overwhelmingly bipartisan and endorsed by Boehner until the House republicans decided to create another crisis.
House republicans may claim that an agreement can be reached, but that is not the current reality. What they want is another chance to extort concessions no matter how many people get hurt in the process. The republicans just won't take yes for an answer.
Keith Ellison in the 5th district, and Michele Bachman in the 6th. How do you do it?
Ellison - Always speaks for working people. Member of Progressive Caucus which wrote a budget that balnaces the budget w/o ending Medicare and social security. Does not claim a mandate from God.
Bachmann is a Dominionist; Ellision is a Muslim, and it's not the Muslim pushing a theocracy.
Stimulus spending, Started by Bush, TARP, signed INTO LAW by Bush, "Obamacare?" Excuse me, don't you mean "Mittcare?" ALL of the things you sited were created by Republicans and continued by the President. ALL OF THEM.
Facts? Who needs facts when the right has bile and lies a third grader wouldn't believe.
You won't be getting a reply from Hastings.
It is not a coincidence that the candidates that are seriously talking issues and solutions are the ones being ignored by the Usual Suspects in MediaLand, yes FOX, that includes you.
Any candidate who isn't joined at the hip to AT LEAST one deep pocketed lobby is seen as a candidate who's asleep at the switch. And who wants that kind of representation?