Moms and dads try to teach their children to be loyal and disciplined. Both qualities are honorable, and expected of leaders, especially servant leaders. I remember a day when I would jump to the defense of Republican leaders because they were Republican leaders. I would tell myself that "they only control so much and therefore could only be expected to do so much" or other propitiations of truth to validate my own cognitive dissonance.
This denial is no longer an option. We are facing the grim reality of the end of America as we know it if we don't forego the denial and learn from our mistakes (spending, spending, spending!).
According to a guest on my radio show, Craig R. Smith, most economic indicators are at levels worse than the Great Depression – it is only masked by our social safety nets, like food stamps and unemployment. We don't see food lines going on for blocks not because there is no need, but because need is masked by welfare programs. The same goes with "jobs lines" – we have the cleverly crafted unemployment checks going out at a rate of 42 million per month. Our GDP now equals our debt, and I see no way out. I see that the compromise bill was a cop out. There was virtually no threat of a default, and if there were, it would have been 100 percent on Obama. If Republicans had called his bluff, it could have cost Obama the election. How can Republicans claim victory?
At election time in 2010, our freshmen as candidates promised 72 hours for Americans to review and then weigh in on every bill. They also promised $100 billion in cuts or no budget deal. We don't have that. How can conservatives even know whom to believe any longer?
Politics, like medicine, has become a personal responsibility in that you can no longer depend on any source to gather information or courses of treatment that your life may depend upon. We have to become our own, individual experts to fully see the big picture. Even traditional journalists whom I have trusted for years were just plain wrong on this debt-ceiling issue. Worse, they were spouting the rhetoric of the left, using phrases like "debt crisis" and "default day," which were fabrications the left used as scare tactics toward their constituencies. Instead of the fear tactics only working on the leftist constituencies who are easily played, they worked on noted conservative columnists, conservative talk show hosts and even some staunch conservative elected officials.
Republicans negotiated against themselves. They held all the cards. Neil Cavuto asked me about this issue in January, and I said, "This is the showdown we have been waiting for". Conservatives believed way back then that even though we only hold the Congress, this so called "debt crisis" (which it never was) gave us unprecedented leverage if we properly wielded it – fiscally responsible Republicans had a choke hold on the spending leftists because they would be forced to cut spending if they could not force Republicans to cower and raise the debt ceiling. This was our fast track to a revolution of leadership in 2012. All we had to do was call Obama's bluff and stand firm. We did not.
The administration asked us for a fair, bipartisan bill. Sen. Mike Lee, R- Utah, gave them "Cut, Cap and Balance." Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid tabled it.
My writing partner, Dr. Dathan Paterno and I write often about the Playground Politics and bullying of the left and the right's sometimes too tolerant response. Business Economics 101 teaches that you don't ever negotiate against yourself. You put your offer on the table, and then you wait for a counter offer. Republicans didn't do that. When Reid and company scoffed, ridiculed, name called and ultimately tabled the bill, Boehner seemed to respond with, "Oh, you didn't like that? You think we are mean? Well, we don't want to get blamed for a default (that could only be caused by Obama and Geithner), so let us give you more." He devised "The Boehner Plan." The Boehner plan conceded so much conservatives were already up in arms about it, and we all stood in shock as the train wreck continued to barrel toward us. The GOP negotiated against themselves yet again by compromising on an ominous bill, loosely defined with no campaign promises kept and a creepy "super committee" with unlimited powers, to boot.
The GOP excused itself by saying their campaign promise of $100 billion in cuts in lieu of raising the debt ceiling was "unreasonable." If it were unrealistic as they say now, then why did they make the promise in the first place? That doesn't make constitutional conservatives "Hobbits" or "radicals" or "racists" or "terrorists" – it makes the people who made the promises, promise breakers.
As a mother who is raising five children, I can tell you, the most important part of life is the inherent lesson that is learned from an experience. This is what I believe we have taught our politicians:
- Lie to us. You can get away with it.
- To Democrats? Continue with your fear tactics, i.e., creation of an artificial debt crisis and Doomsday (not only is it great slogan for the masses, even Republicans and conservative talk-show hosts will fall for it).
- Constitutional conservatives can be placated as long as the battle is over and you continue to try to brand us as fringe/ radical/ racist/ stonewallers/ terrorists.
- The spineless, squishy middle is alive and well, and might just re-elect you if you continue to pander to them (it will never happen).
- Circular reasoning works for us. No need to worry about logical conclusions like "if this is the largest cut in discretionary spending in our lifetimes, why do we need to raise the debt ceiling again in such a short time?" Hmmm.
Kids know they can't get away with bad behavior like making promises, name calling, lying, scaring people to get your way and cowering to bullies. Apparently Washington politicians need a little discipline that was missed in this debt debacle. The sad thing is, the American people will pay the price of this lesson in lunacy resulting from a lack of discipline. Is caning still legal in Singapore? A junket might be in order.
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Gina Loudon, Ph.D., is the host of the "Dr. Gina Show that airs in the Midwest and the South daily from 4-7 p.m.. A national speaker, analyst and writer on topics ranging from adoption to immigration, Gina is a regular commentator on Fox News and Fox Business, as well as other national news programs. She is credited as one of the "100 Founding Members" of the Tea Party movement. She is a homeschooling mother of five children, including one with Down Syndrome via the blessing of adoption.