I am not about to play a game of chicken with my constituents' lives hoping, hoping Republicans are going to blink in January. - Rep. Shelley Berkely on the tax bill.
Berkley's Nevada district faces near depression level unemployment. Democrats are unwilling to hurt the people in their districts by standing up to Republicans. For that matter Democrats are unwilling to target average Americans in Republican districts. At the end of the day we're all Americans and in this together. There is nothing wrong with this, the question though is are we ready for where it is leading us.
The problem with the tax cut bill is that we aren't getting what we think we are getting. Congresswoman Berkley desperately needs a continuation of unemployment insurance in her district. That would be great, if the Republicans were going to uphold their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, next year the federal debt limit will need to be increased. The Republican party has been quite clear that when this happens they WILL shut down the government. What are Democrats actually getting in this bill? Thirteen months of unemployment, less the amount of time that the government is in shutdown. On the other hand Republicans get all two years of tax breaks, assuming of course we still have a government in two years to collect those taxes.
And then their is the deeper problem, why Democrats got a drubbing in the last election and may get hit again in the next one. At the end of the day the Republican Party is willing to do WHATEVER it takes to get their way. Drop out of medicaid and cut off kids health insurance, sure no problem. Cut off unemployment insurance in the Christmas shopping season, you betcha. When one party is willing to kill kids to get their way voters only have two options: either vote for the crazy and hope that he takes out his craziness on some other group or vote for the person that say's they'll stop the madness. When you have one party willing to kill kids and another that have become pathological compromisers there is only one choice. Vote for the strong candidate and hope that the compromisers constituents are the ones to get the worst of what is coming.
Is this harsh, yes it is. On the other hand we need to get over the idea that what happens in Washington somehow has no effect on real America. People lives are ruined, they or their children die because of decisions made in congress. While I don't agree with Rep. Berkley, I think she understands this. I just wish the President did.