Norman Pagett writes:
Nineteenth century frontier politics are being imposed on 21st century reality. That’s the only way to describe the Republicans’ move to undermine Obama’s government, and it is creating a fiscal madness that is bringing America to the point of meltdown.
The fundamentalist thinking behind the Republicans’ move is to reduce the USA to nothing, so that it can be rebuilt in some kind of post apocalyptic image that will please their bronze age god. These people do not want a financial settlement, they do not want an ‘arrangement’ that will allow government to function with any degree of normality in a commercial environment. They have convinced their hard right electorate that minimal or virtually non existent government will in some way bring the country back to its days of frontier glory once more, when a man could carve out his own destiny from the wilderness.
Pointing out that there’s no wilderness left is unpatriotic. The old west had no taxation, so that is the ‘right way’. This is political absolutism, seen through the rose tinted lens of the frontier idyll, with no tolerance whatsoever of any other point of view and no acceptance of the give and take of normal government business. They have the same fixed ideology as Islamic fundamentalists and intend to destroy Obama’s credibility even if that means bringing down America’s financial stability to do it.
The USA has a worsening debt problem, 10% unemployment and 40 million people relying on food aid. The infrastructure can only be supported on borrowed money. This kind of insecurity drives people towards the absolute reassurance that can only be offered by religions or dictators. The right wingers might just do it, and if they do, the consequences will be terrible for us all.
White supremacy is at the heart of the Tea Party movement. They believe economic and political collapse will favor their sentiments. Are they wrong?