Our "Leaders" Fiddle While the Nation Burns - A Common Theme

Those that do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat it.  Such is the case with the "head in the sand", Republican-dominated U. S. House of Representatives, which has elected to thumb its nose at the electorate and shut the government down because its efforts to eliminate funding for the Affordable Patient Care Act have failed.

The result this time will be identical to that of prior government shutdown escapades, both of which were also engineered by the GOP.  The Republicans will be blamed and they will eventually have to retreat in disgrace.

There are numerous flaws and unintended consequences in the president's health care legislation, and I believe it is likely crumble under its own weight if significant changes are not instituted.  The law, however, was approved by a majority of the members of Congress, it has begun going into effect, and given that the Senate is under Democratic control and the president is the Democrat that authored the bill, it is not going to be scuttled pursuant to the current actions of House Republicans, whose votes to repeal it and then to defund it are a waste of valuable time and cause them to look foolish.

I do not care for the wholly undistinguished and coarse House Speaker John Boehner, who is better suited to managing his family's Akron, Ohio tavern than being a leader of our nation, but in a sense, I feel sorry for him at this time as by comparison with his troops, he is the voice of reason in a party of reckless renegades whose credo is, "My constituents do not care about keeping the government operating.  I answer only to them and my sole purpose is to be re-elected, so to hell with the country."

Today, we have a partial government shutdown.  Onward and upward to bringing the nation to the first-ever default on its obligations in a few weeks as a standoff continues between the House and the president as to increasing the debt limit.  On this issue, both intransigent Republicans and Democrats are deserving of the assignment of fault.  Along the way to a default, we will get to take a roller coaster ride as the stock market and the world economy negatively react to the stupidity of our elected official "luminaries".  Thanks, "leaders", for swinging the wrecking ball so effectively and letting us know where your interests lie.  It is not with the people.