An Aha Moment?

Trey Smith

I never thought I’d write these words, but here goes: Thank you, John Boehner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for finally admitting on national television that all the fiscal cliffs, sequestrations and budget battles you’ve created are, indeed, artificially fabricated by ideologues and self-interested politicians and not the result of some imminent crisis that’s out of our control.

America owes this debt of gratitude to Boehner after he finally came clean on yesterday’s edition of ABC’s “This Week” and admitted that “we do not have an immediate debt crisis.” (His admission was followed up by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who quickly echoed much the same sentiment on CBS’ “Face the Nation”).

In offering up such a stunningly honest admission, the GOP leader has put himself on record as agreeing with President Obama, who has previously acknowledged that demonstrable reality. But the big news here isn’t just about the politics of a Republican House speaker tacitly admitting they agree with a Democratic president. It is also about a bigger admission revealing the fact that the GOP’s fiscal alarmism is not merely some natural reaction to reality, but a calculated means to other ideological ends.
~ from GOP: We've Been Lying All Along by David Sirota ~

Could this be one of the great aha moments in US history?

Hardly. Most Democrats, including President Obama, have been playing along with this charade. Sirota muses that maybe Boehner's admission will lead to a "more reasoned debate."

That's one way to look at it. Here's another. Boehner simply articulated what everyone in Washington already knows. Federal politics is a game and each side plays their assigned role.

If this admission was truly a bombshell, then it might have a great impact on the upcoming mid-term elections. I'm not holding my breath. I think Boehner merely stated the obvious and it won't change the workings in Washington one bit. For those who work there everyday, this ain't shocking news at all. It's like stating the sky is blue.