Just Go Home

I know, I get in trouble with someone when I delve into pure politics here at Celestial Lands. But I just can’t help myself. I’m not even completely serious about this one, because for the Democratic Leadership in the U.S. Senate and House to do what I am about to suggest would be irresponsible at best and morally reprehensible at worst… and yet…

And yet I feel this strong urge for them to just go home. I feel a strong urge for them to call the Republican bluff. I feel a strong urge to answer the years of stalling tactics of the complete abuse and misuse of the fillabuster cloture rule during the last several iterations of the Congress by simply ending the session and going home for the Christmas break with vital work undone… because the Republican party did not allow the work to be done. They did not allow for majority rule to be the way our legislature works.

Now, I know that there are some pieces of legislation that are currently still being worked on that I care about that would not get passed were they to do what my feelings want them to do. I did say it would be irresponsible… I know that we would be letting a chance at a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to fall away. I know we would be letting go of the best chance to pass the Dream Act. I know that it would cost us an extension of unemployment benefits… and I know that none of these things would faze the modern obstructionist GOP. In fact, killing such legislation has been the goal of their obstructionism.

And yet, it would also mean that the Defense Authorization Bill would not be passed for the first time in forty-eight years. It would mean they would not have passed the government funding bill… shutting down the majority of the federal government next Saturday night. It would mean that the Bush era tax rates, all of them, would expire. It would mean that Republican obstructionism would be to blame for the collapse of a functioning federal government.

I know, Republicans are depending upon the Democratic Party to be responsible, and in the end it is a good thing that they are probably going to be. But there are times, with hostage takers and with terrorists, that you just have to accept the consequences of letting them carry out their threats and not compromise with them in order to convince them that there is a price for their actions. There is a part of me that wants to just tell the Democratic Leadership to go home… and begin running ads explaining why the military is no longer being paid, defense contractors are shutting down, no federal government services are functioning, most federal employees are standing in unemployment lines for benefits that no longer exist, and all of our taxes are going up…

They won’t do it, because they are just too darned responsible. But darn it…

Yours in faith,

David