I'm quickly coming to a point where i believe the two part system has outlived its usefulness and purpose. Seriously, i find myself moving closer to the middle where both normal republicans and democrats seem to be residing. Throw into the mix the independents and i suspect we are easily the majority.
I know the challenges, i know the arguments about stalemates and getting nothing done, but what the hell, that is where we exactly are right now. I am tired of the political gamesmanship and finger pointing from both sides.
Somebody needs to get their shit together and say screw all of fringes and lets become the party of common sense. My guess is way more people would applaud it and jump on the band wagon than point fingers and place blame on those trying to find solutions.
Then the fringes from both sides could and would find themselves on the outside looking in and wondering how the hell did this happen. My answer...look in the freaking mirror dummy.
Third parties are losers right now and Parliamentary system requires amendment to the Constitution. Not disagreeing, but unless you are a teenager, you will never see either.
Thanks David, my thoughts regarding Scott C's question were just that. I have a lot of Canadian friends and while their system is far from perfect, i like the idea you have to work across multiple parties to get anything done. There's never the winner take all mind set we are trapped in. The more i read The Bulwark, the more i see the potential of reaching across and around the goofy fringe players who think they have the power simply because the shout the loudest.
The federal government should not have the power to make the lives of half the population miserable. Barring the really big meteor collision, we will get there eventually. It will be sometime after the earth's population has stabilized, probably at a lower level than it is now. I bet neither you nor I would like it very much.
A structural engineering report stated that there were serious problems at Surfside condo in Florida and that they were increasing exponentially. The condo board said they were not told they were in imminent danger. So, you are absolutely correct.
"most Americans just want Congress to do its job quietly and keep the country running prosperously."
That's probably true but more people are paying attention to politics than ever before. Half of them want the government to operate at minimal levels and not intrude in our day-to-day life any more than is absolutely necessary. The other half want a government that operates full speed ahead to establish social norms that are better left to individuals and states.
Those who are paying attention do so because of strong personal beliefs. They are at opposite poles and make the most noise and the most news.
"My personal opinion is that Republicans should absolutely support both increasing the debt limit and funding the government, but they should follow the John Boehner model and extract concessions for doing so. One of their aims should be to kill the “human infrastructure” bill."
I like the idea of extracting concessions. I do not believe we could get enough concessions to justify much support for increasing the debt limit. Back in the April / May time frame you and Steve both wrote articles about inflation. Your theory was that there would be inflation spikes but they would subside and we would settle back into a period of steady growth. Steve's take was that inflation was here for the long run. Steve's projection appears to be winning.
I do not care who is to blame. Just living in the here and now, it is almost a certainty that, with millions of unfilled jobs and millions of citizens drawing welfare and unemployment pay, excessive government spending will surely increase the rate of inflation and it's duration.
I just watched Nancy Pelosi say that raising the debt ceiling is about paying the bills. What she left out is that it's also about spending beyond currently authorized limits. There are no checks on spending when politicians of all stripes are trying to buy votes.
Yes, another Dirk Pitt fan! I knew there was a reason I kept coming back.
I'm quickly coming to a point where i believe the two part system has outlived its usefulness and purpose. Seriously, i find myself moving closer to the middle where both normal republicans and democrats seem to be residing. Throw into the mix the independents and i suspect we are easily the majority.
I know the challenges, i know the arguments about stalemates and getting nothing done, but what the hell, that is where we exactly are right now. I am tired of the political gamesmanship and finger pointing from both sides.
Somebody needs to get their shit together and say screw all of fringes and lets become the party of common sense. My guess is way more people would applaud it and jump on the band wagon than point fingers and place blame on those trying to find solutions.
Then the fringes from both sides could and would find themselves on the outside looking in and wondering how the hell did this happen. My answer...look in the freaking mirror dummy.
Something like a parliamentary system where politicos are forced to build coalitions is definitely starting to sound appealing.
Third parties are losers right now and Parliamentary system requires amendment to the Constitution. Not disagreeing, but unless you are a teenager, you will never see either.
Thanks David, my thoughts regarding Scott C's question were just that. I have a lot of Canadian friends and while their system is far from perfect, i like the idea you have to work across multiple parties to get anything done. There's never the winner take all mind set we are trapped in. The more i read The Bulwark, the more i see the potential of reaching across and around the goofy fringe players who think they have the power simply because the shout the loudest.
Now the important question, what do you consider the middle?
The federal government should not have the power to make the lives of half the population miserable. Barring the really big meteor collision, we will get there eventually. It will be sometime after the earth's population has stabilized, probably at a lower level than it is now. I bet neither you nor I would like it very much.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." ~ Albert A. Bartlett
A structural engineering report stated that there were serious problems at Surfside condo in Florida and that they were increasing exponentially. The condo board said they were not told they were in imminent danger. So, you are absolutely correct.
"most Americans just want Congress to do its job quietly and keep the country running prosperously."
That's probably true but more people are paying attention to politics than ever before. Half of them want the government to operate at minimal levels and not intrude in our day-to-day life any more than is absolutely necessary. The other half want a government that operates full speed ahead to establish social norms that are better left to individuals and states.
Those who are paying attention do so because of strong personal beliefs. They are at opposite poles and make the most noise and the most news.
"My personal opinion is that Republicans should absolutely support both increasing the debt limit and funding the government, but they should follow the John Boehner model and extract concessions for doing so. One of their aims should be to kill the “human infrastructure” bill."
I like the idea of extracting concessions. I do not believe we could get enough concessions to justify much support for increasing the debt limit. Back in the April / May time frame you and Steve both wrote articles about inflation. Your theory was that there would be inflation spikes but they would subside and we would settle back into a period of steady growth. Steve's take was that inflation was here for the long run. Steve's projection appears to be winning.
I do not care who is to blame. Just living in the here and now, it is almost a certainty that, with millions of unfilled jobs and millions of citizens drawing welfare and unemployment pay, excessive government spending will surely increase the rate of inflation and it's duration.
I just watched Nancy Pelosi say that raising the debt ceiling is about paying the bills. What she left out is that it's also about spending beyond currently authorized limits. There are no checks on spending when politicians of all stripes are trying to buy votes.