The popular analysis going around Washington these days is that the Tea Party-backed GOP is willing to push their budget agenda to the point of a federal government shutdown. Some have even suggested that the most conservative elements in Congress WANT such a shutdown to show their minions that they mean business.
Personally, I think this all is nothing more than a well-publicized ploy to provide the Democrats with the political cover to continue to cede more and more turf to the right. The Democrats can then go back to their base and say, "We didn't want to do it, but they put a gun to our heads!"
Mind you, as a poor person on disability, food stamps and Medicaid, I certainly don't like the idea of the government shuttering its doors for a time. I am one of those individuals who might be severely impacted by such an occurrence. With that stated, if the Democrats weren't playing along with this charade, they should be the ones threatening a shutdown, not the other way around.
If the Democrats genuinely were on our side, they should draw a line in the sand and say, "We will not cross this line. We refuse to cripple the poor and middle class." They would also make it crystal clear that if the GOP wants to discuss budget cuts, the Democrats demand to talk about increasing revenue by increasing taxation on the well-to-do.
But they aren't doing either of these things. No, they keep agreeing to bigger and bigger cuts. The line of "compromise" keeps shifting to the right and the Democratic leadership keeps shifting with it.
In essence, the Democrats seem more than willing to burn down the house in order to save the front door from being locked!
Personally, I think this all is nothing more than a well-publicized ploy to provide the Democrats with the political cover to continue to cede more and more turf to the right. The Democrats can then go back to their base and say, "We didn't want to do it, but they put a gun to our heads!"
Mind you, as a poor person on disability, food stamps and Medicaid, I certainly don't like the idea of the government shuttering its doors for a time. I am one of those individuals who might be severely impacted by such an occurrence. With that stated, if the Democrats weren't playing along with this charade, they should be the ones threatening a shutdown, not the other way around.
If the Democrats genuinely were on our side, they should draw a line in the sand and say, "We will not cross this line. We refuse to cripple the poor and middle class." They would also make it crystal clear that if the GOP wants to discuss budget cuts, the Democrats demand to talk about increasing revenue by increasing taxation on the well-to-do.
But they aren't doing either of these things. No, they keep agreeing to bigger and bigger cuts. The line of "compromise" keeps shifting to the right and the Democratic leadership keeps shifting with it.
In essence, the Democrats seem more than willing to burn down the house in order to save the front door from being locked!
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