No this is not a parody on freedom fries and all things anti-French American.
Once my brain stopped rattling today - I came to an epiphany that had long been hibernating in the darkest corners of my mind. It was one of those "ah -hah!" moments that are generally a cause for self-congratulation. But not in this case. My epiphany can be summed up in a simple sentence: Our government is no longer a functioning entity.
Our Government has been hijacked a religious and ideological faction:
Our government no longer functions because it has been hijacked by religious and ideological extremists locked in an unholy alliance with a Machiavellian oligarchy. The power rests with the monied elite in the oligarchy while the tea party extremists are merely tools for business interests. The tea party enables and the oligarchy continues to disable what little is left of our republic.
After Nov. 2010 - I thought we were through with the "silly season" of politics for a while. We had quite a time - between Carl Paladino wielding a baseball bat, Sharon Angle, and her "second amendment solutions, and Christine O'Donnell - who reportedly still is not a witch. For a trip down memory lane with some prose and videos, you can go to BOO!!! The Silly Season of Politics Turns Scary! or Concession Speeches dos and donts.
As entertaining as all this was - the specter of would-be public representatives behaving this was uniquely disturbing. The reprieve from lunacy ended abruptly with the Iowa straw polls where the politics once again descended from the merely absurd and dangerous to the insane and surreal. Once again - you can't make this stuff up.
Ed Schultz - of MSNBC's "The Ed Show" reported that Michelle Bachman is now promising that if she became president, gasoline would return to levels not seen I was earning my Ph.D. (I think we went north of $2.00/gallon in about 2002). Promising gasoline prices less than $2.00 a gallon which would be achieved by a "drill baby, drill" policy of off-shore drilling. According to Bachman, this would increase our production by 500,000 barrels a day by 2030 - magically creating a glut of oil and lowering prices. Hmmm.....500,000 barrels a day is a drop in the bucket - no pun intended. And 2030 is almost 20 years away last I checked. Ed Schultz rightly pointed out that the price of gasoline is driven by world demand and that gasoline prices below $2.00/gallon would require a worldwide economic melt-down. But then again - maybe that's the whole point. A Bachman presidency might but the catalyst to do just that. I'm just sayin'.....
That's pretty much what Obama and the Democrats are up against in Congress. In my previous post on hostage politics, I mentioned the tyranny of the majority had been supplanted by the tyranny of the minority. The tea party is governing from the minority and they are willing to drive the US and world economy off a cliff in the name of their warped ideology. As discussed in the Federalist Papers - it was theoretically possible for a minority faction to take the government hostage. But the question remains - how do you negotiate with a radical faction like the tea party.
As a Realtor® - I negotiate for a living. Under any kind of normal circumstances, I would say that you catch more flies with honey. I encourage my clients to be honest, up-front and reasonable and I give the heave-ho to any client who plays games with a very serious negotiation. But there is one critical difference between a real estate transaction and negotiating with the tea party. In real estate - either party can choose to walk away. You have an option NOT to negotiate with any given party. This often happens when one side digs in and refuses to budge. A buyer can move on to a new house, a seller can wait for another buyer. There is no such "out" for members of Congress and the president. They have to work with what they've got - and what they've got is a brick wall. If there is one thing I have learned by being in real estate. Trying to move a brick wall is well nigh impossible.
Contrary to standard and prudent practice in real estate - this is a situation where the President and Congress must DIG IN and say "no!" when things get out of hand. They have to face the stare-down on the other side and not blink or they will be held captive to it. Here is how Stephen Colbert would handle things.
Seldom in our history has so much been given to those who already have so much. And this past week we seemed to give away the store. Welcome to Hostage Politics - and the future of the American political system if we are not careful. This is a perfect example of how a small but united faction can force their political will on Congress and the President by extortion.
No this is not a parody on freedom fries and all things anti-French American.
