Wednesday open thread: A political party with no interest in governing
As we all know, the Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress are working vigorously to avoid a default on US debt by raising the debt ceiling. Again, this has to be said: This isn't to pay for new spending, but to pay for debts already racked up, specifically by Republicans in their tax giveaway to the ultra rich. But these same Republicans gaslight and spew the nonsense that raising the debt limit is to cover new spending. Republicans ran up the credit card during Donald Trump's four years in office. Now that they're no longer in power, they have no interest in paying on it.
The Republican Party has no real interest in governing. Its only goal in attaining power is for power's sake alone. It is a party composed of sociopaths who have no real concern for the citizens they represent. This is evidenced in its response to COVID, which is to deny that a problem exists and to allow its constituents to die, encouraging an anti-science regime which leads people to treat themselves with horse dewormer. For Republicans, the reason for attaining power is to give away goodies to their paymasters. To the rubes they feed culture war tropes, confident that will keep them in line. But their real constituents are the likes of the Kochs and the Mercers, not the "real America" the purport to serve. It's laughable that Ted Cruz called the GOP a "working class party", when everything that they do goes against the well-being of that working class.
If the debt limit isn't raised, the US defaults on its debts. The world economy will be thrown into chaos. Social Security and military paychecks won't go out. All very, very bad things that don't impinge on the conscience of the GOP one whit. Again, they're sociopaths; they have no consideration for the real-world effects of their pathology. Trump wasn't the cause of this sociopathy; he merely gave it license to come out loud and proud. The GOP doesn't even pretend to be anything other than a death cult, and its followers keep voting for it.
Now, I'm not worried about the debt limit or the spending bills. Democrats will get the job done. But they will have to do it alone. Our two-party system has only one party at the moment which is interested in governing for the greater good. It has only one party which acts in a responsible manner. This is an untenable situation when the other, irresponsible party commands a large chunk of the electorate. Our two-party system is broken, because one of the parties is beholden to its worst elements.
If you want to live, vote Democrat. Otherwise, enjoy the Apocalypse.