GOP Debt-Ceiling Politics: I don’t remember voting for Grover Norquist
“All of Obama’s problems are ones he created. And my role is to help fix it by forcing the focus on spending, and not allowing it to be distracted onto tax increases.”
His role? Who decided this, and where was I when it happened? I have no recollection of GG Norquist running for public office, much less being elected to such office. His “Starve the Beast” populism has struck a chord with the Tea Party, this century’s version of the Know-Nothing Party and its politics of fear. The magical belief that more money to the wealthy will lead to job creation has the comforting ring of something that might be true; because surely the rich must know what they are doing, or they wouldn’t be rich. A couple of poor shlubs trying to start a business in a garage are certainly not going to create any jobs. No, sirree! Big corporations and rich people got that way by being smarter, more honest, and more socially concerned than your average middle class wage slave. And besides, poor people are nothing but leeches, anyway. Just keep your hand off of my stack.
Slashing and burning the governmental structures that evolved to support our basic American social contract must be a far better alternative to careful reform, because… Well, why actually do people believe this?
I am convinced that deep down, almost nobody believes that a scorched earth approach to the federal budget is a good idea. The problem is that many people in this country do not trust our lawmakers. And when you distrust someone, you don’t give them ever harder assignments with greater responsibility. You find ways to get rid of them. And given the overall quality of politicians from which we have to choose, many voters have simply decided that getting rid of government is the best way to get rid of politicians.