We The People: Right or Wrong

Carl Schurz once said, Our country, right or wrong! When right,to be kept right, when wrong, to be put right.

Now is the time to take action to put America on track to achievegreat things once again. Unfortunately, Senator McConnell and theRepublican Party believe that anything that is good for their partyis truly the ultimate goal to be achieved in Washington. Hisincessant and disingenuous rhetoric is bringing the nation to thebrink of a financial disaster but it does not help the nation inany way.

Let people remember that partisan politicians can become so blindto reality that perhaps what we need are new political parties. Apolitical landscape unmarred by any political parties might bepreferable to the hogwash that the people must endure whilepoliticians play games with political dynamite.

Most people would agree that America needs some direction to put iton the right track. The only compromise that CongressionalRepublicans can suggest requires redundant and repeated votes toraise the debt ceiling in order to give Republican lobbyists andspin doctors ammunition in future elections.

If some of that clever planning and effort was directed towardimproving American education or giving a jump-start to Americanindustry, we would be grateful. Does Congressmember Grimm alsobelieve that the national debt ceiling issue should be made into acrisis and that it is good for America to default on itsobligation?

Some people like to propagate the myth that the Reagan presidencywas a conservative revolution. The rhetoric was certainlyconservative but the economic accomplishments of his presidencywere far short of revolutionary. It did not reduce governmentspending and it did reduce the size of the government.

Government spending was substantially higher at the end of Reagan’sadministration as a percentage of the GDP than when he enteredoffice. He but the term Reaganomics sounds so good. It is like aBilly Crystal comical persona from SNL who exhorted: It is betterto look good than to be good.

Mitch McConnell and his cohorts want to sound good more than theywant to do well. It is time for Americans to take notice andindividual politicians to stand up and demand that action be takento put America right. Has Congressmember Grimm done anything toreach out to Democrat and independent representatives to move thisdebate from partisan wrangling to constructive action?

The U.S. government has been in the business of selecting winnersand losers for more than 200 years. They can put individuals or thenation as a whole on a course for improvement or decline. Insteadof rewarding supporters with tax loopholes and subsidies, can’tthey spend a few years just improving the economic position of thenation?

We need a solution to the debt ceiling crisis now. not at the lastminute. We need reductions in spending and a reduction in our debt.We need our elected representatives to make what is wrong, rightagain.