Not only did they fail, but they admitted failure more than 24 hours before their deadline, which in a way represents a success. They decided to not waste any more time trying to sustain the illusion they’d accomplish what they were created to accomplish.
So now we have, of course, the finger-pointing. First, the republicans:
“The fact that $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts would be triggered by the failure of the deficit reduction super committee to reach a deal made it harder for the committee to make tough decisions on entitlement and tax reform, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a GOP member of the committee said Monday.”
“Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, argued that an agreement ‘proved impossible not because Republicans were unwilling to compromise, but because Democrats would not accept any proposal that did not expand the size and scope of government or punish job creators.'”
Then, the democrats:
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Democrats ‘were prepared to strike a grand bargain that would make painful cuts while asking millionaires to pay their fair share, and we put our willingness on paper,” but Republicans “never came close to meeting us halfway.’
“‘Despite the broad agreement that exists for such an approach, there are still too many Republicans in Congress that have refused to listen to the voices of reason and compromise that are coming from outside of Washington,’ Obama told reporters after the super committee announced its failure.
These are the people we’ve elected to represent our interests. Not only can they not do the job we’ve chosen them to do, but when they fail to do it all they can do is point the finger at somebody else. These people should be our leaders, and yet they show no discernible leadership. Would you follow any of these people, trust them to make the right decisions? Then why, oh why do we keep voting them back into office?
I was in the military for 20 years. I learned a lot about leadership, good and bad, during those years. The most important thing that was reinforced to me in the military – I already knew this because my parents stressed it – was to take responsibility for my actions, both good and bad. Own up to what I did. Nobody in congress can do that. They’re afraid to, because if they admit they screwed up they think it will cost them their chance to be re-elected.
Which it should. We shouldn’t have career congressmen. We shouldn’t have senators who get a lifetime of sweet benefits after one term of service. We shouldn’t have lawmakers who are exempt from the laws they pass. And finally, and I’ll yell this because it is the most important point:
WE SHOULDN’T RE-ELECT THEM WHEN THEY DON’T DO THEIR JOB.
We share the blame with them. Them for their actions or inaction, us for not holding them to task. Nancy Pelosi has held office since 1987. John Boehner has held office since 1991. Why? Why do they keep getting re-elected? We wisely limit our president to two terms – I’m still pushing for president to be one term of six years – and yet we have no limits for congress. Why?
They aren’t doing their job, so it’s past time for us to do ours. It’s quite simple, really: get them out of office. That’s the only power we have, but it is power indeed. Don’t vote D or R next election. Vote I, or Green, or Constitution, or Tea Party, but just make sure it’s not an R or D in disguise. Get them all out, get fresh blood in.
But that’s only half the job. After we get the new blood in, we have our hardest job yet: convincing them to impose term limits on congress. That, more than anything else we can do, will attack the corruption in DC. Career politicians spend years and years lining their pockets with money gained from insider information and gifts from lobbyists. They only care about their constituents when it’s election time. That is wrong. That’s not why we elect them.
We have less than a year until our next election. Make it count. Get the word out. In the last five years we’ve seen two movements gaining traction: the Tea Party and the OWS. People are fed up, but people are also lazy and forgetful. Don’t be lazy, don’t forget. Use your power to send a message.
Let’s take America back. Don’t let me down, people.
Parenthetical Thinking 