The debt ceiling fiasco has brought a fear - that has been deeply rooted in the foundation of our republic - to violent life. Many of the checks and balances that are a hallmark of our constitution were created to avert just such a situation. Our founding fathers protected us against the tyranny at the hands of the majority with tremendous vigor. The preservation of liberty depended on dispersing power throughout the three branches of the federal government.
The Tyranny of the Minority..
But these checks and balances, by their very nature, create a window of opportunity for small factions to make a power grab of their own. An unscrupulous minority could possibly abuse the loopholes and procedures and subvert the majority. This could be done by holding vital pieces of legislation hostage to their agenda.
That is exactly what happened in the debt ceiling fiasco. In this case, a normal. simple procedural vote - vital to our financial interests - morphed into a poisonous situation - where America - and even the world - was held hostage to a small group of radical conservatives. If they didn't get their way - they would single-handedly create a train wreck of the world economy. The ability of the United States to pay its sovereign debt was literally held captive by this small Congressional rabble. Their demands - which were met, may hurl the economy back into another great recession. The alternative - the second Great Depression would begin on Aug. 2.
In protecting us from the tyranny of the majority- the country was inevitably left vulnerable to the tyranny of the minority. The fiasco we just witnessed has its origins in the composition of the constitution. Jefferson addressed the issue of factions in the Federalist Papers. He felt that a large enough nation would be able to prevent factionalism from taking root. Obviously, he was mistaken. And that is how an extreme - radical minority bent on tanking the American economy managed to nearly drive the world economy off a cliff. Their behavior was unpatriotic bordering on treasonous and that is no exaggeration.
Welcome to Hostage Politics - The next phase in - ahem - governing….
Beyond the obvious fall-out from the legislation passed in the Senate today, what does this portend for the future of politics on the national level?
The short answer is "nothing good." This is probably the beginning of Hostage Politics being business as usual. I would love to say that Dems should rise above this. But I GIVE UP! If this is the way the tea party chooses to play the game - we will have to take the battle right back to them on their own terms. It's dirty, sleazy and disgusting - but if that's the way they chose to play - we have little choice. So put on your crash helmet it's going to be a treacherous ride.
in the segment below - Jon Stewart says that "government still exists." Perhaps he is right - but just barely….just barely…..
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[...] 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. As [...]
ReplyDelete"But I GIVE UP! If this is the way the tea party chooses to play the game - we will have to take the battle right back to them on their own terms. It’s dirty, sleazy and disgusting - but if that’s the way they chose to play - we have little choice. So put on your crash helmet its going to be a treacherous ride."
ReplyDeleteYou're not giving up on decorum. You are simply understanding reality. Sewer rats are incapable of genteel behavior and always misconstrue kindness for weakness. Crush them before the evil spreads.
Love the analogy to sewer rats...I actually did give up on decorum a while back. This is total BULL CRAP and it is getting worse.
ReplyDelete