Dig out your dark sunglasses America, sharpen those boxes of pencils and polish those apples, because you’re going to be selling them on street corners now the Republicans have won control of the house. Republicans have won the majority of the House seats and haven’t gained this many seats since 1938. There is an upside to this political change. Republicans and their Tea Party partners in crime really have no choice but to come through with their plan to slash and burn the American economy. A promise to repeal or defund social programmes are what brought the Republican Tea Party candidates to office - and it’s ‘put up, or shut up’ time.
Holding Republican’s toes to the fire and making them actually come through with their promises would really put a dent in their ambitions for 2012. Of course like all politicians, campaign promises are usually just that, empty promises.
Republicans elected are already starting to distance themselves from the Tea Party, in anticipation of never really accomplishing what the Tea Party cartoon characters have been pushing for. The Tea Party isn’t a sophisticated political organization and it should have occurred to even the dullest among them, that they were being used.
The Tea Party Movement, who can’t agree amongst themselves, are not going to be taken seriously now the ballot boxes have been counted and will all likelihood fade into obscurity. Senator elect Rand Paul would like to drag his Moral Majority Tea Party group with him to Washington, but that’s not going to happen - no one wants them.
The ultra-conservative Tea Party movement have become a liability now the election is over.
Republicans who have been elected, owe their allegiance to the money which swept them into power. Wall Street, Health Insurance Companies, Big Industrial Corporations, Foreign Donors and of course the Oil Companies. These are the constituents Republicans are beholden to. Private billionaire donors, who because of campaign laws can fund campaigns anonymously, will also be calling in favours to support their agenda. Democratic candidates were out spent 3:1 on campaign financing by Republicans. Very little of this money can be traced, and is a major flaw in American democracy.
In order to follow through with their mandates, Tea Party elected candidates have to vote to continue a tax cut which is due to expire 31st Dec, 2010. This adds $700 billion to the national debt, which is something they are unable to do as they have vowed not to increase the debt. Giving America a tax break without increasing the national debt can’t be done. You can’t have it both ways.
The debt ceiling for the US is $14.3 Trillion dollars. This is money we don’t have, to pay bills we do have. The Government has no choice but to increase this limit or it stops working. Not raising this ceiling would in effect be declaring bankruptcy and would have world-wide consequences.
If Republicans don't raise the debt ceiling, the United States would be forced to default on its debt, leading to a world-wide financial panic. In a global economy that would be disastrous. The problem is of course, all Republicans have vowed to never raise the debt ceiling.
Adopting a ‘scorched earth’ policy, Tea Party Republicans are going to roll back the economic stability of this country to the 1930s era. Every major social programme since the Kennedy administration is on the chopping block.
Anyone who has contributed to the Nation’s Piggy Bank (Social Security Pension Fund) will now see attempts to hand it over to Wall Street, who, with Republican help, will no longer have the legal limitations enacted by the Democratic government. These financial reforms were to protect the investments of the American people, and Republicans have vowed to transfer these funds over to the financial institutions who put them in power.
American humourist Will Rogers put it bluntly “If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” Across the Pond
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