Hostage Taking Politics Have To End

What we have seen is the exercise of hostage taking politics by the Republican minority since President Obama took office. The Tea Party and Republicans are perfectly willing to repeatedly kidnap any segment of the American economy and hold it with threats of destruction unless they get their way.

The latest hostage was the hard earned credit rating and global economic standing of the United States unless they got what they wanted. This type of politics is no way to run a country and hopefully voters will realize who was willing to take the United States into default to get their way and take away Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. Education programs are seen as wasteful spending by this all or nothing group. Bridges falling, roads crumbling and transportation projects stalling may be in our future.

You see, small or no government spending may sound ideal until you need something you once took for granted and it is no longer there. One city got a fast lesson in how things work when they voted down a tax increase and were later informed that there were not enough funds to provide school bus service and it would cost $400 per child. That is how things work. Smooth public roads, the military and national parks all come from government spending.

Most people are too young to remember almost guaranteed poverty and suffering during old age before Social Security and Medicare came into being. Do we really want to go back to that old life? Why don’t you ask your parents or grandparents if that is how they want to live?

Land Of The Free And Home Of The Deadbeat?

Land Of The Free And Home Of The Deadbeat? Is this the new world wide label that the Tea Party wants Americans to be known by if a default takes place. "Mama, look it's one of those deadbeat Americans" the child told his mother as he pointed to an American tourist after the United States defaulted on it debts. Wake up, get the debt ceiling raised and argue about everything else later.

This is what takes place when a group of people are elected to Congress who don't know the difference between talking points, campaign slogans and doing what is in the best interest of the United States. When a group of politicians that represent a small percentage hold the hard won sterling credit standing of the United States hostage over ideology and pledges, we have truly entered the twilight zone of political insanity.


 Some of those that would be hurt the most are the very citizens encouraging their Tea Party Representatives in the House to not vote to raise the debt ceiling. If a default occurs, interest rates on loans and credit cards will increase and a tax increase on everyone will take place in the worst way.

Wake up! We don't have to be known as "deadbeat Americans" so why would we choose to be so.   

President Obama Sucker Punches Republicans In Debt Ceiling Debate

President Barack Obama employed a masterful use of political rope-a-dope to lure the Republicans into a no-win position in the debt ceiling negotiations. President Obama seemed to be losing the debt ceiling battle. Republicans lunged forward demanding huge cuts to the budget. Obama suddenly peeked from behind his gloves and said I agree, just raise taxes on the wealthy.

Speaker of the House John Boehner knew he had been sucker punched and had to go to his members in the House of Representative and tell them that they got what they have been seeking. Social Security and Medicare were on the table, but there was one small hitch, they had to raise taxes on the rich.

Boehner already knew that the cause was lost. There was nothing that could be given to convince his Tea Party captors to increase taxes on the wealthy. So looking like a man given his marching orders he gave up the holy grail of reforming Social Security and Medicare in order to not raise taxes on the wealthy. John Boehner had to speak into a microphone that his party would pass up deep budget cuts in favor of smaller cuts in order to keep tax breaks in place for millionaires and billionaires.

Somewhere George Foreman and Ali are smiling and shaking their heads while asking, “Didn’t the Republicans see that coming?”

Republicans Will Crash America Before Raising Taxes On Rich

Republican John Boehner - Speaker of the House

Let me get this right, the Republican leadership seems ready to see the United States default on its debt obligations before they would raise taxes on the rich to help bring the deficit down. If you listen to the Republican leadership carefully, they are saying that they can't get a tax increase on the rich passed because they don't have the votes.

This means that the pledge signers and tea party faction has the ability to ruin the economy even more because of their loyalty to a position over what seems to be logical, increasing revenues. I think their stance is starting to really sound odd to the public at large. The response that come from Republican House of Representatives and Senate leaders to any suggestion of raising taxes on the wealthiest among us makes it seem like the suggestion of such a thing is a mortal sin.

Has there been an explosion in the number of millionaires and billionaires in the middle of this economic downturn? That must be the situation. If the wealthy are suddenly the majority voting block then maybe the way Republicans are throwing their bodies in front any effort to increase taxes on the rich could be rationalized, but that is not the case. The bold and brazen calls by elected Republicans to make cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and increase the Social Security eligibility age while refusing to even consider tax increased on the wealthy are shameless. What is really going on here?

It seems that even many of the people that voted the Republicans into office are starting to question a group that came up with a plan to end Medicare as we know it while also saying that higher taxes on the wealthy is unthinkable.

As the clock ticks it seems that special interests have won a crucial victory. The new GOP battle cry is not keep you government hands off of my Medicare, but keep your government tax increases away from my rich friends.