Sunday, October 6, 2013

Neighborhood Shutdown - All Politics are Local

Walking through my neighborhood, thinking about the impact of the #govshutdown on all these families. There are a lot of immigrants here, so the shutdown could have devastating effects, like federally funded social services running out of money. Of course there are the furloughed government workers having to pay for food, rent and college tuition out of their savings. That's a lot of pain.

As you can see from the video with Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, Congress doesn't feel our pain. It's just sport to them. The House and Senate will not have to buy groceries differently during this #shutdown. They won't have to negotiate late fees with their mortgage company or with Sallie Mae. They don't get it.

We should perform our own version of the government shutdown. We should take down the names of the people who represent us in Congress and not send them or their party back next election cycle. They are counting on us forgetting. They think we have memories like goldfish.

Goldfish. I explained partisanship to my kid like this: A blue hand feeds the fish fish food. Later, a red hand feeds them. The goldfish start arguing over who gives the best fish food. That's partisanship. The reality is it's the same fish food and the fish are trapped in a bowl instead of being out in the ocean where they belong. Can we break out of the bowl this election cycle?

If you are a fiscal conservative and are Ok with me paying more as a percentage in taxes than General Motors, then we disagree about what's fair and should debate the idea. But I wouldn't shutdown the government to bend you to my will. That's what's happening in Washington as far as I can tell.

I bet from the perspective of other countries, it looks like the United States is imploding. Like Germany did during the nineteen twenties. Back then it was the Natioanal Socialists, here it's the Tea Party, in Greece it's the Golden Dawn. Fear-based movements promising order to the ignorant masses looking for saving.

This government shutdown is a beautifully illustration of how the politicians, en masse, don't give a fuck about us. They don't care if your mom's social security check is late. They don't care if your student loan doesn't get processed or if you go broke paying medical bills. Why should we give a care if they advance in their careers as politicians?

Don't vote for these creatures next cycle, only third party candidates or not at all. Only weirdos and activists this time around, better the devils we don't know, the ones we know are shutting our government down!