Government Dysfunction or Terrorism?

Good government would involve our elected Representatives and Senators working to keep the government operating and bad government would find their efforts falling short of that goal.

Big government would involve arguments about excessive regulations or spending while small government would be described as not doing enough to keep the country growing and prosperous.  We hear both proclamations.  Even so, we aren’t hearing very much detail from either side of the divide, so the credibility of both arguments is suspect.

Both Republicans and Democrats have their heels dug in and that would be consistent with a battle of egos.  Both sides seem to be claiming that their main goal is the wellbeing of the American People, yet a government shutdown clearly would not help any American.  Apparently, the only goal that is important is the goal to win.  And maybe there is an unspoken goal that the other side must lose because unless there is a clear loss on the other side it might be hard to declare victory and make it believable.  There is some merit to this line of thinking, but it feels like there might be more that we should know.

If we believe what we read, not long ago the TEA Party faction of the Republican Party was threatening the Speaker of the House of Representatives with the loss of his Speakership if he didn’t support them.  The Democrats have agreed to concessions on the monetary elements of a Continuing Resolution, but that wasn’t sufficient for there to be agreement.  We haven’t heard about the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act lately, but it must still be in the list of demands for there to be such polarization between the sides.

Wait a minute, a synapse just fired!  Could it be possible that the TEA Party contingent wants to force a reduction in government spending even if they aren’t sure where the cuts should be made?  Could they be thinking that if we stopped everything and then made conscious decisions about which bills to pay and which bills not to pay, we could bring about the sort of government reform they are looking for?  This blackmail approach to negotiations would seem to fit that sort of plan.

I have read that the goal of Al Qaeda from the attacks of 9/11 was to bring down the financial system of the Western world and, more specifically, the United States of America.  They must have been shocked at the resiliency of our financial institutions when they witnessed our recovery from their attacks.  Refusal to fund the Government or to increase the debt limit has the potential to cause more damage than Al Qaeda was even imagining so are we talking about Government dysfunction or terrorism?  When I consider the obstructionist tactics of the Republicans and the disorganization of the Democrats, I could make either argument.

The Sausage Grinder is Broken, will you help to fix it?  If you haven’t read A Broken Sausage Grinder; Is Our Government Fundamentally Flawed?, you’re not prepared for the job.

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