Smoke and Mirrors
Mitch McConnell on Meet The Press this Sunday, when asked about a Senate vote on ratification of the START treaty, defers to Harry Reid for setting the legislative agenda. In almost the same breath he says that Congress shouldn't move forward on ANY legislation until the Republicans get their way and extend the Bush Tax Cuts. So who's legislative agenda is it...McConnell's or Reid's?
This is not a move in support of the American people, many of whom are poor, unemployed and the middle class, but is especially for the protection of the financial interests of the wealthiest Americans. In other words, it serves McConnell himself, and his myriad campaign contributors, now allowed to donate in secret thanks to the SCOTUS decision in the Citizen's United case.
In the meantime, the extension of long-term unemployment benefits is held hostage. When pressed on the matter McConnell tells David Gregory that he "doesn't want to negotiate deals on Meet The Press". He doesn't wish to negotiate ANYTHING. It all about ultimatums.
There is great irony, when political stunts like this are staged. McConnell make claims of Democratic power grabbing, yet he as leader of the minority party, is attempting to seize control of the Senate. Seems like an attempted power grab. No?
The so-called mandate of the American electorate calls for our political leaders to get serious about sacrifice. When pressed for details, of the cuts they intend to make, Republicans haven't specifically identified any single cuts in spending. They know damn well that voters don't reward politicians who insist on sacrifice.
It's unclear how this will play itself out. Cuts are inevitable. Republicans will attempt to spin this as the failure of Democratic policy decisions and leadership. Cuts in spending are required today as the result of reckless spending habits of both parties, but in recent history it's been Republican spending and tax cuts that have contributed to the debt and the deficit. If the American people fall for this line of bullshit and continue to elect fiscally irresponsible Republicans, we'll be in serious financial trouble for decades to come.
They don't want to talk about George W. Bush anymore, or the majorities they held in the House, the Senate, the White House, and Federal Court appointments across the country, up to and including the conservative majority in the Supreme Court. What did they do when they had all that power and control? They "screwed the pooch". Now they'd like to convince us they learned their lesson. What indicators are there that this could be true? It's the same cast of bad actors, strutting and bloviating their way into the next election cycle, led by McConnell and The Orange One.
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