Over the past month this space has “covered” the debt ceiling debate with its usual detached fatalism and sarcastic apathy. The three pieces; DEBT CEILING STARE DOWN – Issue 7/13, BRING IT ON – Issue 7/20, and last week’s AVERTING THE CRISIS THAT WASN’T – Issue 8/3 provided much fodder for response, so here are the highlights.
WHAT THE FUCK?
—Sean Klimeck
It is hard to fathom that eighty some-odd freshman congress people and a few loons could push this nation for the first time in its history to renege on its debt. Do these jokers realize that these are things already paid for, and in many cases things they support (defense, ethanol subsidies, border patrol, wars all over the place, a pile of pseudo-religious nonsense)? We’re supposed to ignore those (Chinese?) who made it possible?
Idiots all!
—Denise Taggart
Your irresponsible support of this Tea Party rabble is predictable, but hardly in line with your usual; “Hey, once you govern, you have to stop campaigning” rant. Although I agree that campaign promises are usually not worth the goofballs that utter them, I hardly think the populace nonsense currently being spewed by those incoming congresspeople is something to back. They are playing with our nation’s integrity here, and to use this “crisis” or looming deadline to default as a hammer to make a point is the kind of thing that exposes pure capitalists for what they are; tools of the rich.
—Peevers1798Corps
Hmmmm….interesting theory. Let the country sink into chaos for no other reason than to keep campaign promises, prove you wrong about them caving into some weak-ass compromise, or just for the hell of it.
Keep up the radical thinking, Campion. Your kind will doom us yet.
—Sacca The Vangize
I too say go for it. The status quo hasn’t worked, Obama is fresh out of ideas and the Chinese are already making flight reservations to “the new world.”
Deadbeat status maybe, but for sure let this scenario play out and we will really see what a house of cards this thing was….and to think they put Madoff in jail when Obama and his Congress are doing the same thing on an epic scale.
I think it is more doom and gloom bullshit from people who want to ride the gravy train until it finally falls off the rails.
What if this default thing and its death and doom predictions end up holding as much credence as Y2K (I should have won a Pulitzer for my column in The Aquarian on Y2Kooks)? Anyhoo, we should let this thing happen and deal with the fallout instead of pretending we can carry on this charade.
—Bill Roberts
I often wonder if people are getting all their news from talk shows. Do you think that is possible? Talk shows, Jon Stewart, this column and the rest of the freak show out there? Where is the honest, rational debate? Maybe you are right, it never existed. It is a myth, like Big Foot and Ronald Reagan.
—Joy 2112
Hey, generations of us voted these dogs in who then shit all over the floor, and we can argue the minutia until we’re blue in the face—was the route we took to the pound where we found these mangy creatures the best one, did we feed the cretins correctly, give them enough love or discipline—but we’re still left with the fact that we chose them and they’re shitting all over the floor.
—Ken Eustace
Great “Debt Crisis” analogy JC, but let’s face it…every Congressional member up for re-election in 2012 is lookin’ down the road under the influence of the ELECTIONS FIXERS USA: K Street Lobbyist visa The U.S. Supreme Court rulings from the “To Big to Fail – To Big to Nail” Predatory Wall Street Corporate Fascist Profiteers for the Black-Gold Gate Keepers, aka, Texas Black Tea, from the shores of the polluted Potomac! Nation Building: “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”? “YES WE KHAN”! [sic]
—Hapa1234
Here’s the thing; it DOES matter that we cannot cut deficits without raising taxes and we cannot get there without slashing entitlements and these fuck-awful non-stop wars!!!!! It DOES matter that the American electorate, only months after electing radical anti-establishment crazies, answer poll after poll that they want compromise overwhelmingly! I mean, 70 percent or more all of a sudden after sweeping in these Tea Partiers now want everyone to give up their whole gumma-gumma and play nice. It DOES matter that our President doesn’t ever seem to want to get involved in legislative process when he himself was a legislator! It is the one thing we thought he might not fuck up and here goes another half-assed job. And finally, it DOES matter when we get whatever we get that it is not the same old-same old, even though it will be.
I ask you then, smart aleck: When will it end? When will we learn? When will we move into the 21st century?
Is it truly NEVER?
—Monclair Richman III
Negotiation 101: You have three budget issues on the table—increase revenues, cut general spending, rework entitlements. If you take one off the table, like not raising revenues or taxes, then the other two have to take the brunt. Three minus one equals two. And instead of three having to sacrifice 33 and one-third percent, then you have two having to pony up 50 percent. Like three people in a boat and enough food for three, if everyone eats a little less, there is food for all, but then two decide, nah, you don’t eat, we’ll have more.
Maybe if the President or the Speaker of the House could explain the results of that matrix, I would be satisfied.
—S. Gomes
If they did not come to some kind of agreement, the levees would break, the Earth would quake, tremble and crumble, the sun would not continue to shine and life as we know it would cease to exist. The only thing left would be cockroaches and politicians. Like Sting said, politicians all seem like game show hosts to me. It’s all bells, whistles, smoke and mirrors. I can’t even pay attention to it anymore.
—Peter Puglisi
Your analysis of this fiasco has been completely reasoned and right on the money. It is astonishing how you use recent and ancient history to nail these comings and goings of people who claim they are “revolutionizing” our government or “changing” the direction of Washington once and for all and then do the same damn thing everyone else before them did. Talk about history repeating itself and yet entire networks are up in arms in mid-panic. But not “Reality Check.” No, sir. Hitting them where they breathe, as usual.
Hey, they do nothing and will do nothing and continue to do nothing, and you call them on it.
We need you on that wall, Mr. Campion!
Fight the powers that be!
—Janet S. Feraldi
James Campion is the Managing Editor of The Reality Check News & Information Desk and the author of Deep Tank Jersey, Fear No Art, Trailing Jesus and Midnight For Cinderella.
