Death By a Thousand Cuts

As the last round of voting on the economic stimulus bill drew to a close, Americans came to realize that the Republican Party was perfectly satisfied with a broken economy. No matter how the majority bent to their childish will, it would never have been enough, and that might also be the case by the time the rubber hits the road.

The Democrats carefully negotiated their steamroller through the obstacle course, relying on three Senators from across the aisle to put the deal together. One was Arlen Specter, who just thinks there's a magic bullet for every problem. The other two were Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both moderates from Maine, who must have enjoyed the limelight after being kept in the dark for so long as to sprout growths.

The House vote reflected a familiar trend, with all 176 Republican members refusing to be part of the solution, just as they did in the first go-round. However, they bristle at the notion that they are the "Party of No". They're standing on their principles, they say, and they sound as sincere as they did about weapons of mass destruction all those years ago.

What they clearly stand for, in debate after debate, is tax cuts. That's what makes the stimulus vote such a curiosity since it was loaded with all sorts of procuratory relief. It must not have been the "right" kind (i.e., tax cuts for big corporations and top-one-percenters).

Observing their actions over the years, one can see that this elephant herd wil go to great lengths to reduce the amount of revenue collected by the federal government. For instance, over a million Americans have lost their jobs in the last couple of months. That's a tax cut. And wages have lost considerable ground to inflation in the last three decades. Shing!

Moreover, home values across the land have fallen, by more than half in some markets. That means lower property taxes. More than four thousand American troops have been killed in Iraq. That's a tax cut as well as a reduction in military spending. (Smaller government, remember?)

Closing the detainee prison at Guantanamo Bay will also save the taxpayers a bit of pocket change, but Republicans really don't like that. Forgive their discombobulation. It was a change election, and by their nature, they don't handle that well.

Americans, therefore, will be more likely than ever to tune out their loud and tired arguments. There's really no reason to listen anymore. These people refuse to compromise - they see it as a sign of weakness. They have no ideas other than the bad ones that put us in the hole in the first place.

The Democrats reached out so much that they had to have their tailors extend the lengths of their sleeves. Having been met with sheer obstruction and disdain, they can feel free to ram any legislation down the wide throats of the opposition, who simply will not have it any other way.

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