Jitterbugging for Jesus

The Republican Party is destroying America.

Harsh words, yes. But inescapably true. It’s a bit of a murder-suicide. House Republicans’ willingness to lay waste to the country to satisfy their fringiest faction will ultimately guarantee the GOP irrelevancy as a national party, unless they change their ways. In the meantime, they seem determined to take us all down with them.

— Kristen Powers (click here for more)

Kristen: A powerful way with words and an independent streak.

Those are harsh words indeed from Kristen Powers. But, as usual, I happen to believe she’s right, even if she’s a product of the Left.

Powers worked in the Clinton Administration and other high-profile Democratic Party jobs back in the day. But she’s now my favorite political commentator because she seems genuinely more concerned about the common good–and common sense–than she is about any political party or party official. She’s fiercely independent and articulate and as non-partisan a commentator as you’ll find on Fox News.

Powers, for example, is the powerful writer who recently took down the new Texas liberal hero Wendy Davis for the Texas state senator’s woeful ignorance on the very issue that Sen. Davis champions. (Click here for that blistering take-down.)

Powers’ hard-hitting take on the current Republican fringe’s attempt at government-by-blackmail got me thinking about the fundamentals of Democracy as I understand it and as I was raised by my parents and village and school teachers to understand it.

In what has become a recurring nightmare, House Republicans are using budget negotiations to play chicken with the stability of the American economy.This time, they want President Obama to agree to defund his signature achievement. . . If he refuses to strangle his own baby in the crib, Republicans are happy to retaliate. They’ll shut down the government. These are not people with whom one can work.”

— Kristen Powers

Back in public school a hunnerd years ago–when I was a schoolboy in Navasota, Texas–the state’s education curriculum had this required course called “Civics.”

It was in this class that we learned, in exquisite detail, about government, from local levels to the federal levels, and how government works in a Democracy.

It was assumed from day one that America was just that–a Democracy: with government of, by, and for the people.

We learned about the voting process, and it was assumed from day one that come election time, there would be winners and losers–and the losers would have to live with how the winners lead and governed.

We learned about checks and balances, of course, and it was assumed that the losers, who fought hard at election time, would be no less passionate in fighting the winners based on their beliefs, convictions and principles.

Democracy, we learned, is messy. But it was assumed that while everyone had a voice and a kazillion voices were bound to disagree and argue, politics was an art as well as political science. There is such a thing, we learned in the classroom back when Civics was taught, that politics was about the art of compromise in order to make government work in order to serve the common good, for the most people possible, as best as possible.

But the biggest assumption from day one in Civics class was this: that when the voters have spoken, the voters have spoken. If you lost, you got over it and moved on to work with the winners and take what you could get from them.

Which brings us to President Obama, who, like it or not, was elected, by the voters, to the White House. Twice.

He won.

Republicans lost.

It’s way time for some of the losers–a lot of people, who are childishly sore losers in D.C.–to get over it.

Obama has certainly had his failures–and certainly over-promised in the first election by stupidly promising he would wipe out unemployment in no time. He failed with that bold promise bit-time.

But it didn’t help that the opposing party was right up-front in saying they would work around the clock to make sure that this President, elected by the people (twice!) fails.

And BTW–name a President in history who didn’t over-promise, or lie, or distort the truth to get elected, and severely so, in the passion and fury of a presidential election.

Quick–name one presidential candidate who got elected and managed to score on all his major promises, the ones that count, and if you can think of one, be my guest and reply down below. Just be ready to back it up with some facts and legitimate sources for us, for me, to check out.

All of which brings me to the cry-baby ultraconservative radicals–who want to blame all of America’s money problems on food stamps for the needy while corporations and fat cats feather their nests with our taxpayer dollars at every turn, radicals who seem hell-bent on bringing down the first black President even if it means bringing down the country.

From what I learned in Civics I assume that this kind of government by blackmail is morally reprehensible. It’s not even Christian, unless you’re a self-righteous Christian in Congress, who is so convinced of his or her correctness that–or so corrupted with your power and wealth you’ve attained in Congress–that you’re as spiritually blind as a bat.

Bats, by the way, are creepy. They’re “batty.”

We want a Republican Party that returns to problem-solving mode,” he said. “We are suggesting that what works in American politics and our system is when parties focus on how you can solve the big problems and how you can have some give and take. There is one party that has lost its way and is being dominated by people who by historical standards are on the fringe.”

Look, dear reader. I’m by no means in love with President Obama or any other ex-President alive, including the Almighty Mr. Bill and the Mrs. There’s not a politician alive that I trust anymore, which some people may see as a cynical attitude. I see it as a healthy one, considering that these people are elected to work for me.

That’s Civics 101: They work for us, but work for all, not for their parties, not for corporations and whichever special interest group or lobby has the most coins to contribute.

May the good Lord deliver us from political zealots who are now clearly more concerned with their power and righteousness than with the common good of this good and great Democracy.

And meanwhile, may calmer and more conservative voices in Congress and the once-Grand Old Party prevail in the latest round of government by attempted blackmail in setting up another potential government shutdown.