It is extremely disheartening to me to hear and read all the griping IN THE PRESS regarding the government shutdown. Immediately the "news" outlets try to show the most public examples, such as National Parks, Museums and such. And, depending on the outlet, the story will include somebody accusing only
one side of causing it. The one side, will always be, the Republicans. The Republicans can not win. Not even within their own Party.
The President, and Harry Reid, have openly said that they will
not negotiate. Nobody seems to listen to them. As
Rush Limbaugh pointed out, if you went into a football game and you knew the referees were going to call the game your way, there is no disincentive to not cheat. The Democrats know the media is on their side, so they know they can say whatever they want. They will not be held responsible. (
Is Neal Cavuto a liberal? Is Neal Cavuto part of the main stream media? I don't think so, yet HE is one of many Right leaning commentators who push the line that the Republicans will be blamed, so why not cave in.)
What is missing from MOST of the stories is...that the Federal Government is broke. Democrats and Republicans alike admit they can not agree on a budget that would be on a path to balance even within ten years.
With stories of
IRS officials,
EPA officials,
GSA officials getting caught spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on themselves, and the
Social Security Administration and other
Welfare Programs spending millions on advertising...is there any wonder who WAS NOT caught?
I know people who work for the Federal Government. I can tell you, that from the lowliest of positions, to the upper echelons, the "workers" are dealing with this. They are complaining, and they are PRIMARILY worried about their own paycheck, as they should, but they are dealing. Even "excepted" employees, who are not furloughed, are being told that they may not get a paycheck in two weeks. Sorry guys, while
your valid arguments regarding the impact of sequestration are heard, there is a price to pay.
When people see the
barricades being put up at the World War II memorial, and find out the
Air Force vs Navy football game may not be played...do they ever consider this is the price we must pay?
As it turns out, the World War II memorial is an "open air" memorial...so...it is still there to be visited. The Government can not afford a gift shop, or a Park Ranger who does nothing anyway. The United States Naval Academy football program is funded by itself - no taxpayer money (Air Force, West Point - time to learn).
But.
Instead.
The people want to end the shutdown. Not by balancing the budget. Not by compromising. Just end it, any way possible.
So. My position on the Government Shutdown. I have said many times. Bring...it...on. I applaud the Republicans, and for now, I salute them. The House of Representatives has the purse strings - and they are trying. They are submitting partial budgets to fund the "necessary" elements of the Federal Government. But Harry Reid, the President, and the Democrats say "No, send us a full budget, full of what we want, or no deal." That is not a "deal."
However. Even this - will not even begin to solve our problems. Unless the shutdown goes on long enough that people begin to see that life goes on, and the less Federal Government the better.
But that will not happen.
Worse case scenario - the Democrats win elections based on the premise that they were not the cause of this, and then future Republicans FEAR negotiating. Worse case scenario - the entire argument gets moved towards spending as usual and the continued uncontrolled growth of the Federal Government.
