One more norm has gone by the books. \u00a0The debt ceiling has been raised dozens of times over the last few decades, with no hullabaloo beyond the out-of-power party occasionally voting against as a political gesture – at no point has it ever been used as leverage to squeeze out some other political arrangement. \u00a0Until now. \u00a0Just like how the Senate never used to filibuster routine legislation and there was no presumption of needing 60 votes for everything. \u00a0Until now.<\/p>\n
There used to be rules. \u00a0There were ways things were done. \u00a0They were there for a reason – because politics used to be the art of the possible, the slow grind of hammering things out day in and day out. \u00a0And you didn’t have this kind of blow-it-all-up nonsense because you knew you would have to come back and deal with these people again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after.<\/p>\n
That doesn’t exist anymore. \u00a0One party – and spare me the false equivalence; there is absolutely nothing comparable on the other side of the fence – one party has decided that literally nothing is beyond the pale and that the goal is to wipe out the other side. \u00a0Thus the past two and a half years of scorched earth. \u00a0Thus the threat of default that has already cost $2 billion in interest and will probably continue poisoning the economic recovery for months if not years. \u00a0Thus the continual mainstreaming of the sort of insanity that was previously reserved for fringe preachers and survivalist nutters. \u00a0All taking advantage of the fact that the media is in thrall to the magic median and that our current President is wedded to the belief that reason and negotiation can accomplish something even in this climate.<\/p>\n
So here we go. \u00a0Expect another government shutdown threat in September when the budget expires. \u00a0Republicans will threaten to blow it all up, because they are a party of extortionist thugs, and Democrats will cave because they don’t want the car to go off the cliff. \u00a0And the Fox-driven media will blame the Democrats, and the rest of them will wring their hands and cry “a pox on both your houses!” and with nothing to fear more than an equal share of the blame, the GOP will continue with whatever they can get away with.<\/p>\n
This is the new normal. \u00a0Idiots relying on the reporting of morons and electing assholes.<\/p>\n
I want out. \u00a0I deserve better than this shit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One more norm has gone by the books. \u00a0The debt ceiling has been raised dozens of times over the last few decades, with no hullabaloo beyond the out-of-power party occasionally voting against as a political gesture – at no point has it ever been used as leverage to squeeze out some other political arrangement. \u00a0Until … <\/p>\n