Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
MaddowBlog: The consequences of callousness
Republican messaging surrounding their decision to shut down the government is a bit of a mess, burdened by an unhealthy amount of cognitive dissonance. The party wants Americans to believe that Democrats should be blamed for the shutdown, and that the shutdown is a conservative triumph that Republicans were right to embrace. The GOP argues that conservatives fought for this shutdown -- and now boast about it -- but really didn't want it.
And Republicans would have the public believe that the shutdown doesn't much matter, since the federal government is an inherently awful burden that Americans neither wants nor needs. The problem, of course, is that the GOP's shutdown is causing real harm to real people, and every tragic consequence is a reminder, not only of the far-right's party's callous indifference, but of the importance of government itself.
Ned Resnikoff reported yesterday, for example, on several hundred preschool-aged children who can no longer go to a Head Start center in Alabama because its 240 employees have been furloughed without pay.
And Republicans would have the public believe that the shutdown doesn't much matter, since the federal government is an inherently awful burden that Americans neither wants nor needs. The problem, of course, is that the GOP's shutdown is causing real harm to real people, and every tragic consequence is a reminder, not only of the far-right's party's callous indifference, but of the importance of government itself.
Ned Resnikoff reported yesterday, for example, on several hundred preschool-aged children who can no longer go to a Head Start center in Alabama because its 240 employees have been furloughed without pay.
More at: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/02/20785375-the-consequences-of-callousness?lite
