Is there ONE adult left in the GOP?!?

You certainly wouldn't know it from the way the debt ceiling business has gone on...

A simple procedure that was little more than a rubber stamp while Ronald Reagan was tripling the National Debt - and George W. Bush was doubling it - has suddenly become THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD.

To understand what it's all about, read this.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the debt ceiling has been increased by Congress 74 times since 1962. On average, that's about 3 times every couple of years. Under George W. Bush, it was raised 10 times in 8 years. We never heard about it. But now a Black guy is President. Makes you wonder...

But once again, the Republican Party is REALLY hoping you have a short memory. When Americans blamed Republicans for the government shut down in 1995, one would think the GOP learned their lesson. But the eternally short memories of Republicans and their apparent inability to deal in historical fact once again compels them to try something that failed. What is it about the GOP that makes them believe that they can hold America hostage?

As the debt ceiling deadline approaches, Republicans are once again sticking to their guns, refusing any and all deals that include tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.

BIG surprise (rolls eyes).

I have continually said for over a decade that, unless you make over $250K/year,Republicans do not give a damn about you - they seem hell-bent on proving me right.

Their recklessness and general irresponsibility over that span of time has put us in the economic situation we are currently in and once again they are willing to dig us deeper into economic calamity. It’s as if they think that a recession isn’t enough, that what they really want is a second Great Depression.

If Americans weren't clear about Republican intent before, they damn well better have clarity now. The Republicans have thrown hissy fit after hissy fit over the insistence of Democrats (and over 2/3 of the American people) that raising taxes on the wealthy and closing tax loopholes on large corporations be part of any debt ceiling deal. Their refusal to agree to revenue increases of ANY KIND means that they are negotiating in bad faith. President Obama, despite taking heat from his own party, put Social Security and Medicare cuts on the table and that still wasn’t good enough for the GOP. As the President stated earlier, Can Republicans say yes to anything? Republicans expect Democrats to cave in and givhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife Republicans everything they want, and at the same time refuse to give Democrats anything in return. It’s a dishonest and dangerous game. It reminds me much of Yasser Arafat in 2000 - the Israelis made him an offer that gave the Palestinians over 90% of what he said he wanted, and he walked away, throwing Middle East peace away with both hands. That is precisely what Speaker Boehner is doing to the US Economy.

Republicans are already trying desperately to lay the blame at the feet of the Democratic Party in an attempt to spin away from the fact that they have been intentionally sabotaging the economy for political and personal gain. Eric Cantor is set to gain financially if the economy crashes and it is likely that many other Republicans have something to gain as well. They have made bets that the United States will fail, and they are doing everything they can to bring it to ruin. The Republican Party is using fear over the economy to advance their agenda and gain power. Their main goal is to make President Obama fail and has been since the day he won in 2008.

That’s why they won’t say yes.

But their plan is beginning to backfire.

As things get worse, the American citizenry is waking up to realize that the Democrats are the adults in Washington and that Republicans are acting like children that can’t have everything their way. Speaker John Boehner rejected a grand bargain that would have required compromise from both sides. He has also claimed that Democrats haven’t offered anything, which is a flat-out lie. Eric Cantor stormed out of the debt talks simply because taxes were brought up. Mitch McConnell continues to accuse Democrats of not negotiating in good faith. But all Democrats have asked for is that the wealthy pay only a bit more in taxes and that the tax subsidies for Big Oil and other corporate tax loopholes come to an end.

Republicans have continually sided with corporations and the wealthiest 2% of Americans. They have spent all of their time in Congress tearing down programs that benefit the other 98% of the American people. They have managed to spend every single moment in the House of Representatives focusing on their social agenda and have not spent any time on jobs and the economy. In fact, they have contributed to the unemployment rate by slashing government jobs and have destroyed jobs that depend on government funding such as Planned Parenthood. Their biggest campaign issue in 2010 was job creation, and now they don’t want to take it seriously.

When August 2nd arrives and America defaults, it will absolutely, no doubt about it, be the fault of the Republican Party. When Social Security checks fail to go out, senior citizens WILL notice. When our men and women in uniform go unpaid for their sacrifices, they WILL notice. And when businesses come to a standstill because the government shuts down, small business owners and even greedy CEOs WILL notice. And who will they all blame you ask? Surveys are showing that most Americans will blame the GOP for a government shut down. 71% of Americans disapprove of Congressional Republicans. And even if Congress kicks the can down the road, Republicans will still be blamed for not negotiating in good faith and for their irresponsible political posturing on behalf of the wealthy and corporations that results in no real solution to the big issue. Republicans are ignoring the vast majority of the American people at their own peril and may even take heat from their own masters since their profits ultimately depend upon a stable economy. Default is not good for anyone in these troubled times and Republicans are only making things worse (as usual).

The Republicans had the spending cuts they wanted on the table and they rejected them solely on the grounds that their corporate masters would see an increase in taxes. The way I see it, if the Republicans got the spending cuts they demanded, Democrats should get to close some tax loopholes for the rich like they’ve demanded. Of course in a perfect world, Democrats would take Social Security and Medicare off the table, and replace them with cuts to defense instead. The silver lining in all of this is that Republicans will get the blame. They actually believed that history wouldn’t repeat itself and that they could turn the tables on the Democrats this time. But just like they were in 1995, Republicans are being stubborn, uncompromising, and insensitive to the majority of Americans that demand a raise in taxes. As long as Republicans continue to demand spending cuts and reject revenue increases, they are finished politically and THAT is without a doubt something to look forward to, as this version of the GOP needs to go down HARD and be replaced by adults.