How Long?

One of my favorite comedians in my formative years was Richard Pryor. And while his routines were as “blue” as can be, he did have one routine that ended with the phrase…”How long will this bull____ go on?” That seems to be my mantra for the government shutdown on October 1^st. I  have tried to understand and rationalize the reasoning for the sequester that  recently occurred….and could not reach a reasonable understanding. Now I am trying to wrap my mind around the reason and cause for our current predicament. Once again, to me, it makes no sense.

I know all of the mechanics of the shutdown, and the intractable politics of it. But to shut down the most powerful government in the world, because some in the Congress do not want to provide universal healthcare coverage…..this is far beyond my ability to comprehend. What must our neighbors in Canada think, and what must the rest of the world be thinking.

We all realize by now that our current Congress is dysfunctional. Paralyzed for all intents and purposes due to a deficit in leadership.  President Obama has attempted to compromise as best he can on all issues. But it’s hard to play the compromise game, when the goal posts are constantly being moved. So the last gesture by the House is to fund the government…but delay Obamacare for one year, or delay the individual mandate. Of course the Senate rejected it. Why should the Affordable Care Act be delayed any more than it is? We have been preparing for this for well over two years, so anyone affected by it should be on board by now…one would think.

But the Congress dragged  its feet last night, and purposely allowed the government to run out of money for one reason, and one reason only. Because they can do it. It would be easy to state the obvious reason, they want to see President Obama fail…but they also shut down the government under President Clinton’s watch. They not only want to see Obama fail, they want to see Democrats fail.

My overriding question …. is this why we elect officials?  Is this the reason that we send people to Congress? Just so they can continue to frustrate us. Just so they can not listen to us, and get over run by a small faction like the Tea Party? If we learn nothing else from this debacle….it should be that it is very important who we vote for, and who we elect to represent us.  We need to elect people from both parties, who can work collaboratively, no matter the difference in political ideologies.

Overall,  in my opinion, shutting down the government is just plain…stupid. The loss of money to keep the government shutdown is astronomical. The inconvenience and potential suffering it will cause is extraordinary. And all because the majority party in the House does not like Obamacare…..that’s just incredible. We are the United States people….we are better than this.

How long……….?