Fools on the Hill

Too many words have been written and spoken about the consternation and constipation Congress is suffering over the debt limit deadline debacle. It is time to act and to do so in the interest of the rest of us, the people the president and others refer to as "ordinary Americans."

I am one of the lucky ones with my wife employed and a 40 year history of saving, and investing, reasonably wisely. Too many "ordinary Americans" are much worse off and suffering unnecessarily because of a stubborn minority that is focused primarily on seeing President Obama fail.

During the dark days of  President George W. Bush's second term, I told my conservative friends that I truly had no interest in seeing the president fail. The good of the country outweighed any short term political gains. I worked hard to see President Obama get elected. I doubt I will devote much time to his next campaign; he's missed too many opportunities. But, most likely, I will vote for him. He has worked to compromise and govern from the center, many say to a fault. So it is especially disheartening to watch as the Tea Party contingent in Congress holds us hostage. Those who supported their insurgency ought reconsider their votes in the face of the tyranny this minority has wrought on the rest of us. The knee jerk rejection of any new taxes--euphemistically referred to as "revenue"--is making thoughtful conservatives, and Republican stalwarts, worry whether the GOP has any grandeur left. Even President Reagan recognized the need for "revenue."

If the current polls are accurate, the majority of Americans, ordinary and otherwise, are starting to see that the hard core obstructionists in Congress, the Tea Party crowd and their enablers, are the heart of the problem. "Ordinary Americans" are starting to speak out and realize that the fools on the Hill have too many blind spots.