O Che Can You See

            I haven't commented much on much as of late. And there is so much to comment about around this newsworthy world. My bad. I guess I hadn't been prodded sufficiently to emerge from my exegetical seclusion. I emerge tonight after a profound poking with the stick of Tea Party polls released a few days ago.

            I have much sympathy for the Republicans during this shutdown, a bit nostalgically as I used to be one. Their Party appear to have lost its course after the reign of Bush the First. Without a compass, or a soul, depending on who you talk to, this Party is always being taken over. Recently it was the Party of corporate shills, K Street incarnate. Remember Tom DeLay? The Neocons had their turn at the helm, until the Party rewrote that sad history. Now, the Tea People, around 34 of them in my reckoning, are scaring the bejezus out of the other two hundred or so House Republicans. Another day, another Party take-over. All the fun of rejecting European-style health care while gaining Italian-style governance.

            So the Republican Party is conquered and the Government is shut down. What do our new overlords want? I'm not quite sure. I don't know if they're quite sure either. It seems to be a bit of a Seinfeld shutdown.

            Indiana Tea Person Martin Stutzman said "We're not going to be disrespected..." Is that what all this is about...respect? You guys realize the economy is losing millions a day. The last government shutdown cost the economy over $2 billion. If you just want respect, we'll  give you a plaque that acknowledges your terrific hair and prolific sexual prowess. Anyway, that's why a lot of guys get sports cars.

            Representative Stutzman continued, "We have to get something out of this, and I don't even know what that is." That's a truly remarkable negotiating strategy. You know, when my six year old throws a tantrum, at least he is clear that he wants Cocoa Puffs.

            Other overlord spokespeople said they are fighting for "principles". I'm guessing  reducing government spending might be one of these principles. Do they realize the shutdown doesn't reduce spending, but rather increases spending? The government employees are on back pay and the money will be spent when sanity again prevails. However, tariffs, fines, and fees, i.e. revenue, will not be collected during the shutdown, and thus lost. Then again, reducing government spending might not be one of their "principles". In that case, never mind.

            I note they have introduced targeted bills to keep essential services running, like the Border Patrol...fully funded. I also note they don't fund pussy agencies like the EPA or NOAA, the agencies that track hurricanes. It seems we have a hurricane currently forming and heading this way. New Orleans is reverting to traditional storm tracking practices by throwing beads at drunken college girls. At least one can tell if it's cold outside. So I guess one of their "principles" is that it's more important to keep a nanny from crossing the border than a hurricane? Better name the next one Consuela.  

            There is some certainty in the Tea People agenda. The current focus of their ire is ObamaCare. Wouldn't it really piss these guys off if over time people came to actually like this Law and it became knit into the fabric of American life like Medicare? Think about it. What a fantastic tribute these guys paid to Obama by actually calling the Law by his name. We don't have RooseveltCare or JohnsonCare, other Presidents weaving the social safety net. But the Tea Party ensured that generations to come will laud President Barak Obama for their great health coverage. So the Tea Party is fervently praying to Jesus (who is after all a Republican) that this Law crashes and burns. If it doesn't, that's ok guys, somebody else will just take over the Republican Party when you're gone. 

            A major Tea Person objection about ObamaCare concerns the erosion of personal liberty, which is what that naughty Obama likes to do. Nobody should be between you and your doctor. Obama and his regulations are putting the Government between you and your doctor. Hmmm...since the insurance industry wrote the Law and ObamaCare directs you to private insurance coverage, it seems to me that insurance companies are between you and your doctor (which is my major objection to the Law). Tea People, it would be great if you and your doctor could stroll hand in hand and you could actually pay your own health care costs. But....for a hip replacement, the hip costs $350 to make. The company sells it for $13,000, and insurance company bills you $30,000. These numbers are accurate. Have a good stroll. But I digress as my train of consciousness visits many stations.

            Ok, to the point of why I'm writing.....A poll of Tea Person beliefs indicate that about half 44-53% depending on the question believe that (1) Obama wants to usurp the laws of the land and remain in power when his regime is over, (2) believe that armed revolution might be necessary, (3) believe that Obama is foreign born and illegitimate to hold office, and (4) that defaulting on our national debt would be a good thing.

            It seems to me that I have heard these Tea Party beliefs some years ago, espoused by leftist radicals. Let's see....don't trust the Man, conspiratorial, advocating armed revolution, power to the people, crash the corrupt system and the corrupt economy. Yep, it's all in there. A similar message then and now, but the haircuts are shorter these days.      

            Also similar is the uncertainty of what the Tea Party is creating. What does a Tea Party America look like? We know what Marxist radicals were against, In like manner, the Tea Party gives us a good idea what they are against, but what are they for? It seems these new radicals are an obstructionist Party, not interested in governing or reforms, or even cutting deals. They are ideological purists and view opposing ideologies as the enemy. Why obstruct? They believe the government is too big, spends too much money, and is out of control. It is their patriotic duty to obstruct and oppose. The Tea Party folks love to invoke the language of the Constitution. I point out that the authors of that document set the common good as their legislative criteria. The Tea Party takeover moves us all onto uncharted ground within our democratic experiment.  

            The two Parties are using the shutdown and debt limit (again) to gain political capital for the 2014 elections. Democrats are hungry to take the House. Republicans want to survive their civil war. The new radicals are chanting "Burn Baby Burn".

            All of this nonsense spotlights the profound lack of leadership across the board. The Parties are trying to "win", but both sides are fighting on the edge of the cliff. This precarious position may produce unintended and unforeseen consequences. Bygone Marxist radicals could never have imagined how to create the potential economic and political chaos we now face. This situation is a holiday gift brought to us all by our dysfunctional elected officials.