This
is meant to answer the question of why Republicans would refuse to
raise the debt limit. It is for those who accept the premise of this
article in The Wall Street Journal, A Federal Default Invites Catastrophe.
"I have always been amazed that anyone would choose to play Russian
roulette. Who could ever be so bored, so irresponsible, or have such low
future aspirations that they would flirt willfully with death while
having nothing to gain?
Yet Congress is doing just that with the debt ceiling. Except there won't be just one victim. Every American will suffer."
This
warning has been echoed by financial experts of both parties, the only
disagreement being who is at fault.
Ultimately, that question pales when considering the potential
destruction that could be caused by the chain of events that could take
down the house of cards of our international economic system.
If this is simply partisan politics at play, the refusal to give the Democratic President a "win," then nothing could be more misguided. Two polls, Gallup and NBC-WSJ have shown a precipitous drop in approval of the Republican brand, the public blaming them, just as in the quoted article. Obamacare has enough faults that will become evident over time, the latest described in today's N.Y.Times on the conceptual, managerial and technical causes of the Sign Up software "glitch." I have a list of my own on AlRodbell.com. Ironically, the Republican threat of activating the debt limit debacle has actually increased Obamacare's popularity.
Since there is no rational reason for Republicans not to defuse the debt crisis and reopen government (they have already voted to pay the salaries of those they won't let do their jobs), I see only these two explanations. The first is fundamentalist evangelical dogma, as articulated by Michele Bachmann who was for a time the leading candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination. Just last week as reported in a Christian News Website, in response to another issue, she is quoted as saying that although she believes the events described to be a sign of the end times, she is not fearful: "Rather than seeing this as a negative, we need to rejoice, Maranatha, come Lord Jesus, His day is at hand," Bachmann said. "When we see up is down and right is called wrong, when this is happening, we were told this: that these days would be as the days of Noah."
So, for those who , like Bachman, welcome "end times," a worldwide economic catastrophe would be an event to be wished for. The other possibility is more mundane; that for certain key house Republicans, controlling exactly when this threat will be diffused is to influence a highly volatile stock market. Last week, based on whether the news was optimistic or not, the aggregate market swung by hundreds of Dow points, representing trillions of dollars of capitalization. A handful of powerful Representatives could take positions in leveraged options that would soar or plummet as we approach D day. They have one major advantage over you and me, control over the events that determine the timing and direction of the gyration.
North County San Diego's Representative Daryl Issa is one of the most powerful Republicans in the House, who as a businessman understands the veracity of the quoted WSJ article; yet on his website we see no acknowledgement of this. If he chose to have a press conference on Monday, breaking with the "Russian Roulette" wing of his party, it could open the floodgates of rationality among all but the most rigid tea party ideologues. This threat overhanging the world could be over. Just by accident, I and most of those who receive this email get to vote on whether he keeps his job. If he realizes that there is a surge of anger in his district against letting this ticking time bomb of a debt limit explode, he could decide to choose rationality over fanaticism.
This sentiment has to be conveyed to him, and quickly! This is the link to send Issa an email, (on the bottom "general topic" drop-down, click "Federal Budget.") If you want to follow up with a call, the number is 202-225-3906. Those not in his district can start here to find your own Member of Congress, but this only matters on this issue if he/she is a Republican.
This is no game; or if it is, those who are orchestrating it should be punished for imposing it on us all.
------------------------
10/15/2013 I PM EST
This morning I spoke to Bachman's office which confirmed the quote in the letter. I also tried to reach Issa by phone before and after 9 AM and was told their phone message cache was full. I called several other representatives, all of whom, except the speaker, had staffers to take my message,referencing this site.
Monday, on CNN Issa was interviewed on Situation Room, and responded to Wolf Blitzer's query, "Would you vote for the Senate compromise to extend the dates several months with no substantive change to Obamacare" with "Absolutely" He then explained why this would work, having never previously stated agreement with what I describe in the letter above as this pragmatic rational viewpoint.
If this is simply partisan politics at play, the refusal to give the Democratic President a "win," then nothing could be more misguided. Two polls, Gallup and NBC-WSJ have shown a precipitous drop in approval of the Republican brand, the public blaming them, just as in the quoted article. Obamacare has enough faults that will become evident over time, the latest described in today's N.Y.Times on the conceptual, managerial and technical causes of the Sign Up software "glitch." I have a list of my own on AlRodbell.com. Ironically, the Republican threat of activating the debt limit debacle has actually increased Obamacare's popularity.
Since there is no rational reason for Republicans not to defuse the debt crisis and reopen government (they have already voted to pay the salaries of those they won't let do their jobs), I see only these two explanations. The first is fundamentalist evangelical dogma, as articulated by Michele Bachmann who was for a time the leading candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination. Just last week as reported in a Christian News Website, in response to another issue, she is quoted as saying that although she believes the events described to be a sign of the end times, she is not fearful: "Rather than seeing this as a negative, we need to rejoice, Maranatha, come Lord Jesus, His day is at hand," Bachmann said. "When we see up is down and right is called wrong, when this is happening, we were told this: that these days would be as the days of Noah."
So, for those who , like Bachman, welcome "end times," a worldwide economic catastrophe would be an event to be wished for. The other possibility is more mundane; that for certain key house Republicans, controlling exactly when this threat will be diffused is to influence a highly volatile stock market. Last week, based on whether the news was optimistic or not, the aggregate market swung by hundreds of Dow points, representing trillions of dollars of capitalization. A handful of powerful Representatives could take positions in leveraged options that would soar or plummet as we approach D day. They have one major advantage over you and me, control over the events that determine the timing and direction of the gyration.
North County San Diego's Representative Daryl Issa is one of the most powerful Republicans in the House, who as a businessman understands the veracity of the quoted WSJ article; yet on his website we see no acknowledgement of this. If he chose to have a press conference on Monday, breaking with the "Russian Roulette" wing of his party, it could open the floodgates of rationality among all but the most rigid tea party ideologues. This threat overhanging the world could be over. Just by accident, I and most of those who receive this email get to vote on whether he keeps his job. If he realizes that there is a surge of anger in his district against letting this ticking time bomb of a debt limit explode, he could decide to choose rationality over fanaticism.
This sentiment has to be conveyed to him, and quickly! This is the link to send Issa an email, (on the bottom "general topic" drop-down, click "Federal Budget.") If you want to follow up with a call, the number is 202-225-3906. Those not in his district can start here to find your own Member of Congress, but this only matters on this issue if he/she is a Republican.
This is no game; or if it is, those who are orchestrating it should be punished for imposing it on us all.
------------------------
10/15/2013 I PM EST
This morning I spoke to Bachman's office which confirmed the quote in the letter. I also tried to reach Issa by phone before and after 9 AM and was told their phone message cache was full. I called several other representatives, all of whom, except the speaker, had staffers to take my message,referencing this site.
Monday, on CNN Issa was interviewed on Situation Room, and responded to Wolf Blitzer's query, "Would you vote for the Senate compromise to extend the dates several months with no substantive change to Obamacare" with "Absolutely" He then explained why this would work, having never previously stated agreement with what I describe in the letter above as this pragmatic rational viewpoint.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment pending approval