They keep shooting themselves in the foot
by Jesse J. Lewis, Sr.
This is what the Republican Party is consistently doing. It is good for the Democrats but bad for the country. I, for one, put country first; party second. The Republican Party is “losing the political war” in Congress as the country approaches the third week of the government shutdown and said they are going to be forced to back down.
“To save themselves in both the House and the Senate, they’re going to have to compromise,” an Indiana Democrat said Sunday on Fox News.
House Republicans are going to have to give on raising the debt ceiling and on spending. The House, in all likelihood, will just have to accept it. You can’t default the country. A deal with Democrats will “create a lot of heartburn for the Republicans.”
What we need at this point are cool heads, pragmatism, and a sense of patriotism. Reopening the government, raising the debt ceiling to meet our obligations, and restoring the government services impacted by the government shutdown, and the damage done to our international credibility by the threats of defeat, has nothing to do with the GOP or Democrats winning or losing. The only winners or losers in this sad spectacle are the American people. Our economy is far from being strong enough to sustain the damage inflicted by ideological decisions, greed, and the determination of a few to position themselves for 2014 and 2016 elections. People like Ted Cruz are only interested in their political career and their overt ambitions. Senior Republican leaders, such as McCain and Graham, still have time to marginalize the most radical elements within the GOP and save their party from irrelevance.
There are some people who, if they cannot have their own way, their next step is to destroy everything possible so everyone will have nothing. This is the Tea Party’s mission. As we know, the Tea Party is the right-wing extreme of the Republican leadership. They are the ones who will ultimately destroy the Republican Party.
When you think which Republican is ahead in the polls for president, Ted Cruz is the leader. I would not be surprised if he runs for president that he would choose Sara Palin as his running mate. Can you imagine these two people being President and Vice President?
I write my article on Tuesday; read it again on Wednesday, always making changes. I’m hoping by the time this article is published that the Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement to open the government and pay the debts America has already run up.
After these two things happen, then they can discuss reducing the deficit, which is ridiculous. We need to discuss entitlements, the tax code, Social Security, Medicaid and how to put Americans back to work so we can maintain our status in the world as the greatest county. Our next song would be “America the Great.”
e-mail: jjlewis@birminghamtimes.com
