Jasper Journal

The congressional “Super Committee” that was supposed to work out the financial gridlock paralyzing the country is a bust! How disgraceful. While the entire country and many in the world were watching, these 12 elected representatives couldn’t  reach an agreement to help ease the horrible situation the country is in. They should all be removed from office. Twelve more should be sent in, and if they cant agree they should be removed. At the very least, we will save money on salaries.

We had a totally absent president whom  I believe wanted the negotiations to fail so he could blame someone else.  How else can we view his total recusal from this process? The most important financial crisis  our country has faced and he is AWOL.

But mostly I am furious at the committee members of both parties. Where was the passion, the urgency, the putting country before self?  Where was the belief that they had a sacred trust? Failure was not an option, but they didn’t care. They were willing to sacrifice across the board cuts in vital programs just to make a point.  The market responded negatively today and the long term outlook is now dimmer thanks to their lack of courage.

These people don’t care. This is probably the worst performance by a congressional group that I have ever seen. They should hold their heads in shame and be removed from any leadership positions.

Its time for a real change. From the president on down. We need people who are not concerned with re-election and scoring points. We need to take the country back from do nothing, arrogant politicians who have lost touch with America.  They have humiliated themselves and  the congress and brought even further disrepute on the government, if that is indeed possible.  Fresh faces and term limits are the only answer. Lets see how they spin the super committee failure and if anyone steps up to address the problem.

Wouldn’t you have loved to be in the room when the president and his team met with the republican leadership today? We had a rebuffed president, a barely reelected senate majority leader, and a soon to be ex speaker of the house  having to sit in the same room with the people they loathe. I’m sure the feeling was mutual.

After the formalities, the hangers on were kicked out and only the principals remained. That was where it probably got to be fun. In a poker game  it helps to know who has the winning hand early. In this case it was not the president.

A lot of people were disappointed that the republicans didn’t act mean and surly and stick it to Obama immediately. While I would have liked to see that on one level,  on another they didn’t have to. He is already wounded and will be constrained for the next two years. They acted courteously and said very kind things afterwards.

The proof will come in the next few days when vital issues like the tax rates must be dealt with. The dems will insist on penalizing upper incomes again,  replaying their old class warfare tricks. The republicans will insist on leaving things alone for everyone.  Who will blink first?  If Obama doesn’t compromise on this it means he is willing to penalize all Americans for a partisan point of view .  He can’t be that thick can he?

I just read an article in the New York Times that actually inspired me. According to the article. the crop of newly elected congressmen and senators include thirty five who have previously never been elected to anything. That means that they are not political creatures, but people like you and me who wanted to get involved.

 They include doctors, dentists, a pilot, a youth minister, a pizza store owner, and small business people. I think this is what our founding fathers would have wanted. Representatives that actually represent ; not a political class that lives in Washington in perpetuity. I believe this bodes well for us. Perhaps not for the entrenched republicans and democrats used to buisness as usual. The new members may not win every battle but I ‘ll bet they shake things up.

On a related note, I also read in another article that the new members include 25 veterans. If this is true, this is welcome news. I believe people who have served know the face of battle and war up close. They will be less likely to commit forces to achieve ambiguous ends without a plan and an exit strategy. While I disagree with Colin Powell on political issues, he had it right when he articulated his vision for the use of military force. It worked in the first Gulf war and it can work again. The bottom line, commit only if you intend to win, and then do it quickly and with overwhelming force.
So as veterns day ends and we head into the last vestiges of a lame duck congress, I am inspired that we have fresh blood and new ideas to help us through the next two years.

Have a great weekend and God Bless America!