The Captain Ahabs of the House

[n2doc]

By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: September 27, 2013


How many more rounds of this must America take?
How many more times must the economic neck of the nation have a knife pressed against it by Republicans demanding a ransom?

It seems the answer is at least once more — or twice.

Washington is still wrangling over a way to avoid a government shutdown next week, while Republicans are already gearing up to refuse to raise the debt limit — something that no Congress under any other president has ever refused to do.

But those presidents were not Barack Obama, the bane of the far right’s existence, and those Congresses were not as infested with members who saw disruption as part of their duty.

As long as Obama is president, these folks will be flush with fever. Opposition to Obama is their raison d’être. America’s national interests are subordinate to their selfish ones.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/28/opinion/blow-the-captain-ahabs-of-the-house.html?_r=0

[wandy]

1. I think the fallacy here lies in "As long as Obama is president"..................

Were Obama to leave office this very minute it would be said "As long as Biden is president". And the ternary would continue as long as any democrat is president!
The republicans have learned that their is profit in hostage taking. Face it, a schoolyard bully is a schoolyard bully and will continue to be so as long as the threats serve their ends.
If ACA is delayed for one year, the next demand will be to repeal it. Once ACA is repealed the next demand may be privatizing Social Security or the elimination of Medicare.
Will we allow this to go on until the demand that only property owners can vote becomes the next republican objective?

A government shutdown may be bad. Defaulting on obligations would be far worse.

That being said, I have to ask one question.

How would we react if these threats were from a foreign power!