He says, she says

Ah, the debt ceiling.  Democrats say, “Republicans want to kill grandma.” Republicans say, “The president owns this economy.” Democrats say, “You’re not going to get your Social Security checks.”  Republicans say, “We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.” Democrats say, “Eat your peas.” Republicans say, “We can put this country on a Path to Prosperity.” Democrats say, “Economic Armageddon will happen in June…I mean July…wait, I meant August, if we don’t raise the debt ceiling.”  (Reminds me of the crazy pastor predicting the end of the world.) Yada, yada, yada.

Tired yet?  So am I.  This “he says, she says” game grows tiring, as our debt grows alarming.  It makes me wonder if anyone is really serious about the fiscal crisis we are in.  Commissions are impaneled and then their results are ignored.  Rating agencies issue warnings, which are summarily dismissed.  The Fed issued QEII, promising no more, and now they are contemplating QEIII—“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke didn’t rule out expanding the central bank’s asset purchases aimed at stimulating the economy [Hint: QEIII], saying he doesn’t want to see the U.S. relapse into a recession.”  About 42 cents of every dollar we spend is borrowed, and we are now beholden to China–a communist, atheistic government (Hey didn’t we defeat one of those?).  I could go on and on.

It appears that the majority of our politicians, especially those in leadership, are residing in some sort of la la land where they are jockeying their ponies for pol position, while Nero fiddles in the background.  Congress looks more like a menagerie of the macabre, than the hallowed halls of the longest enduring, most stable republic in human history.

Where are the statesmen, the real grownups in the room?  Actually there are few, but you would never know it based on the information most receive from the Lame Stream Media (LSM).  Congressman Paul Ryan delivered 7 minutes and 25 seconds of a cogent, concise assessment of where we are and where we are headed that every American should see.  As I write, only 4,430 people have viewed it on YouTube, and I have yet to see any portion of it on the boob tube.

And what I find utterly stupefying is how President Obama is being perceived as the “adult in the room” when it comes to the handling of the debt ceiling negotiations.  Is this not the same man who lead the implementation of  the failed $787B Porkulus package; spent more in his first two years in office than any President in history; promised that unemployment would peak at 8%; offered no solutions to us in January’s State of the Union; proposed a budget that was voted down 97-0 in the Democratically-controlled Senate; leads a Party that has not submitted a budget for over 800 days; and while I could continue, I think you get the point.

How is it possible that the LSM fails to remind us of these facts, while being all abuzz about the resurrection of the “Gang of Six”—reminding me of the endless string of zombie movies, where you just can’t keep a man down?

I believe Charles Krauthammer has proposed the one solution that could carry us through this present impasse:

It seems to me there is one way out. It’s sitting there. I’m shocked that the Republicans haven’t acted on this. They need to pass a short-term [cut], again, say half a trillion dollars. We will give you five months, cuts only. There is no [way] Obama can veto it with any reasonable argument.

The reason he wants to go along, as Juan has said, he wants the big deal. He wants a big deal because it means he won’t have the issue arise again until election. It’s purely a partisan political maneuver on his part. It is indefensible. If the Republicans pass a short-term cut, they reverse the public relations on this and they actually could get a cut.

It is a thing of beauty for its elegance and simplicity: debt–reduction–by a thousand cuts.  So why haven’t the Republicans thought of it?  My guess is the leadership is too busy positioning their little pony, Rarity, in the political race to pay much attention to what Dr. Krauthammer has to say.

Frankly, I don’t give a damn if any of them win their next election; I am more concerned about the next generation.

Copyright 2011 Julie Schmidt.