Not confrontational enough

Let's see, my choices in the voting booth are between a party that has shown itself to be anti-democracy and a party that stands for the progressive causes I believe in but has shown itself to be too wimpy to accomplish much of my progressive goals. Yes, I know they passed a big health care law, but it is so much less than what I had hoped for.

That complaint is highlighted by the following two quotes.
VP Joe Biden: "We're open to speaking with Republicans. Compromise is always possible."

Probable new House Speaker John Boehner: "There will be no compromise."

Which sounds to me like Obama/Biden plan to roll over and let the GOP rub their bellies, all for the goal of bipartisanship. That has left professional commentators wondering. Obama has seen bipartisanship fail spectacularly over the last two years. Why does he think, with a stronger GOP, that it's going to work over the next two years.

Paul Krugman, in the New York Times, agrees. He compares this pending divided government with 1995-2000, when a GOP congress dealt with a Dem president. That is seen as a golden time, at least in the American economy. Back in 1995, says Krugman, Clinton wrestled with the GOP to a standstill, shutting down the government. The GOP got the blame and then decided to be less confrontational and work with the prez. (and also work to impeach him).

Lesson learned? Better ask which lesson. The GOP new says they weren't confrontational enough with Clinton. Their goal, once in the House, is to not do anything to help the economy improve by claiming the deficit is too big, yet increasing the deficit by extending tax cuts to the rich.





My friend and debate partner sent a reply to my post about this election determining whether we are headed for a fascist takeover of America. He wrote:

I'll tuck away a copy of your missive and my short response for future consideration.

Comments:
Courage, young man. This too shall pass, and sooner and more harmlessly than we fear.

I don't expect the TP to fizzle or vanish -- extreme right wingers have been among us all my life. But I don't fear them. Their future vision is so absurd in modern America that it could be imposed only by eliminating elections. Americans will reject anyone who seriously mucks with Social Security and other rocks of our modern national life. It is beyond imagination that Ron Paul and his ilk will have their way. The actual responsibilities of governing would destroy the TP's ideological crust -- and cannot be avoided if they actually come to power. Under that broken crust is only bluster and decay. The more successful the TP is at taking over the government (and I don't think they will get far), the nastier their crash against the brick wall of reality. Americans will not stand still for TP doctrinal "discipline" once our oxen face goring. Witness the voters' turning on Bush in 2006 and '08. It takes a while to see the light, but see it we will.

Further, I think any volunteer movement that lacks an underlying consensus and organizational structure can last at most maybe nine months. The Republicans will play the TP crowd for all they can get, but the Chamber of Commerce types who actually run the GOP for fun and profit will not hand over the reins. The Koch brothers and a few allies funding the TP today may envision shepherding their flock into the future, but the brick wall of reality will limit that.

My guess is that we will see your outcome #1 -- a few TP candidates become loose-nut members of Congress. The media and the public tire of their ranting. The inevitable impure decision making of the legislative process soon destroys their "integrity".

If I'm wrong, you are invited to my new home in Toronto.

I might be buying the house down the street, though I suggest that Vancouver is a much more interesting city.

I will admit I don't know the details about how fascism got started in Germany and Italy and maybe even Spain. That has me wondering about how well we might circumvent it here. One aspect seems important to me. In the 1920s and 30s Germany and Italy were not all that far from being monarchies. They didn't have a long tradition of democracy. With our long history of democracy are we as a nation able to say, "Stop right there! That undermines our democracy and we refuse to allow you to proceed!" Or has the GOP, over the last couple decades eroded our faith in democracy that we (or at least the younger among us) no longer sense that long tradition?

My friend noted the Koch brothers, who fund the Tea Party behind the scenes. According to my sources on how fascism develops, the drive comes from such a liaison between corporations, who want no regulation, and the rabble who have become disappointed by government. Once democracy is dispensed with, there is then a power struggle between the rabble and the corporations. The winner of that struggle determines the nature of the fascist state.

I mentioned the Biden/Boehner quotes at the top. We know the GOP is backed by huge corporate wallets, who want something for their money, in particular a marketplace without any regulations. There are speculations (by people whose credentials are unknown) that the Dems also have their strings pulled by those same masters (Dems are also raking in the corporate cash). And those masters are telling Dems to roll over and let the GOP rub their bellies. If true, that explains why the Dems are so wimpy.

Newsweek has a cover article about what the GOP can realistically accomplish over the next two years. I get the feeling it is all based on the assumption the GOP will play with a sense of decency, an assumption I no longer share. There is a second article by Jonathan Alter about why voting for the GOP is a really bad idea.

Yes, I'm in a grumpy mood over America's future. I've had enough of the speculation already.