Republicans and Democratic Party Favorability Sinks to Record Low
- Details
- Category: Politics
- Published: Thursday, 17 October 2013 15:28
- Written by Roger Caldwell
By Roger Caldwell
"You can't depend on Washington because the train is long overdue," says the late Gil Scott Heron. Both parties are blaming each other for the mess in Washington, instead of compromise and the train is falling off the track. It has been 13 days since there has been a government shutdown and our politicians have been petty and vindictive.
The good thing is both the parties and the president are talking to each other even though they both think they are right.
House Republicans are offering legislation to avert a default and end the government shutdown, but they want something in return. President Obama still refuses to negotiate but he is at lease having meeting with both sides, and we would identify that as constructive conversation.
Both sides realize, as the debt ceiling gets closer, you either pay your bills, or you default on them. The games must end when it comes to writing checks. A check is either covered with sufficient funds or there are insufficient funds, and there is an overdraft. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said it was time to "put this hysterical talk of default behind us and instead start talking about finding solutions to the problems."
In the recent Wall Street Journal poll the Republicans received a 28% favorability rating and the Democrats received a 37% favorability rating. Both parties should be embarrassed, and ashamed to call themselves professionals. Each party is doing a terrible job, and 60% of all Americans think both parties should be fired.
But our politicians for some ridiculous reason think they are doing what their constituents want them to do. They think their reason for getting voted into office is to fight the other party and show how different they can be. There is paralyzing gridlock in the federal government and everyone is mad about something.
With the House Republicans there is the radical arm of the party, and they want the ACA defunded, and they want all or nothing. On the other end of the spectrum there are Republicans who want to reopen the government, and stop being accused as shutting down the government Speaker Boehner is trying to keep the party united but at this point, he has no idea of what they are fighting for, and what they are trying to achieve.
The Democrats are the minority party in the House and they support Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the President, because they lost the majority in 2010. The president at this moment is playing hardball but everyone knows that he must negotiate with the Republicans to get the government open. As much as Americans think this is foolish behavior, it is better than shooting each other on the Congressional floor, as they do in certain countries around the world.
As President Obama and both parties get closer to the debt ceiling, both parties want the same thing. The majority in both parties want to resolve the twin crises, and get back to the main function of government, which is allocating finances and taking money from one person and giving it to someone else.
One estimate says that 83% of the government functions are still underway. But there are still 350,000 federal employees, who are furloughed, and the Republicans are charging the Democrats with being nasty and cherry picking what is closed. The Democrats are charging the Republicans with being silly and the reason the federal government is still shutdown.
It's getting late and the train is overdue. We only can depend on President Obama and our politicians to get their act together and remember that they work for all Americans. Being petty and vindictive is silly, and it is time for a bipartisan coalition to get the government re-opened and pay our bills.