{"id":29491,"date":"2013-03-01T17:44:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T16:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/feeds.feedblitz.com\/~\/38606453\/0\/alternet~The-Sequester-as-a-Tea-Party-Plot"},"modified":"2013-03-01T17:44:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-01T16:44:00","slug":"the-sequester-as-a-tea-party-plot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/the-sequester-as-a-tea-party-plot\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sequester as a Tea Party Plot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Rena Schild \/ Shutterstock.com<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Imagine a plot to undermine the government of the United States, to destroy much of its capacity to do the public\u2019s business, and to sow distrust among the population.<\/p>\n

Imagine further that the plotters infiltrate Congress and state governments, reshape their districts to give them disproportionate influence in Washington, and use the media to spread big lies about the government.<\/p>\n

Finally, imagine they not only paralyze the government but are on the verge of dismantling pieces of it.<\/p>\n

Far-fetched?\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps. But take a look at what\u2019s been happening in Washington and many state capitals since Tea Party fanatics gained effective control of the Republican Party, and you\u2019d be forgiven if you see parallels.<\/p>\n

Tea Party Republicans are crowing about the \u201csequestration\u201d cuts beginning today (Friday). \u201cThis will be the first significant tea party victory in that we got what we set out to do in changing Washington,\u201d says Rep. Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), a Tea Partier who was first elected in 2010.<\/p>\n

Sequestration is only the start. What they set out to do was not simply change Washington but eviscerate the U.S. government \u2013 \u201cdrown it\u00a0in the bathtub,\u201d in the words of their guru Grover Norquist \u2014 slashing Social Security and Medicare, ending worker protections we\u2019ve had since the 1930s, eroding civil rights and voting rights, terminating programs that have helped the poor for generations, and making it impossible for the government to invest in our future.<\/p>\n

Sequestration grew out of a strategy hatched soon after they took over the House in 2011, to achieve their goals by holding hostage the full faith and credit of the United States \u2014 notwithstanding the Constitution\u2019s instruction that the public debt of the United States \u201cnot be questioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

To avoid default on the public debt, the White House and House Republicans agreed to harsh and arbitrary \u201csequestered\u201d spending cuts if they couldn\u2019t come up with a more reasonable deal in the interim. But the Tea Partiers had no intention of agreeing to anything more reasonable. They knew the only way to dismember the federal government was through large spending cuts without tax increases.<\/p>\n

Nor do they seem to mind the higher unemployment their strategy will almost certainly bring about. Sequestration combined with January\u2019s fiscal cliff deal is expected to slow economic growth by 1.5 percentage points this year \u2014 dangerous for an economy now crawling at about 2 percent. It will be even worse if the Tea Partiers refuse to extend the government\u2019s spending authority, which expires March 27.<\/p>\n

A conspiracy theorist might think they welcome more joblessness because they want Americans to be even more fearful and angry. Tea Partiers use fear and anger in their war against the government \u2014 blaming the anemic recovery on government deficits and the government\u2019s size, and selling a poisonous snake-oil of austerity economics and trickle-down economics as the remedy.<\/p>\n

They likewise use the disruption and paralysis they\u2019ve sown in Washington to persuade Americans government is necessarily dysfunctional, and\u00a0politics inherently bad. Their continuing showdowns and standoffs are, in this sense, part of the plot.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is the President\u2019s response? He still wants a so-called \u201cgrand bargain\u201d of \u201cbalanced\u201d spending cuts (including cuts in the projected growth of Social Security and Medicare) combined with tax increases on the wealthy. So far, though, he has agreed to a gross imbalance \u2013 $1.5 trillion in cuts to Republicans\u2019 $600 billion in tax increases on the rich.<\/p>\n

The President apparently believes Republicans are serious about deficit reduction, when in fact the Tea Partiers now running the GOP are serious only about dismembering the government.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Photo Credit: Rena Schild \/ Shutterstock.com<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Imagine a plot to undermine the government of the United States, to destroy much of its capacity to do the public’s business, and to sow distrust among the population.<\/p>\n

Imagine further that the plotters infiltrate Congress and state governments, reshape their districts to give them disproportionate influence in Washington, and use the media to spread big lies about the government.<\/p>\n

Finally, imagine they not only paralyze the government but are on the verge of dismantling pieces of it.<\/p>\n

Far-fetched?  Perhaps. But take a look at what’s been happening in Washington and many state capitals since Tea Party fanatics gained effective control of the Republican Party, and you’d be forgiven if you see parallels.<\/p>\n

Tea Party Republicans are crowing about the “sequestration” cuts beginning today (Friday). “This will be the first significant tea party victory in that we got what we set out to do in changing Washington,” says Rep. Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), a Tea Partier who was first elected in 2010.<\/p>\n

Sequestration is only the start. What they set out to do was not simply change Washington but eviscerate the U.S. government — “drown it in the bathtub,” in the words of their guru Grover Norquist – slashing Social Security and Medicare, ending worker protections we’ve had since the 1930s, eroding civil rights and voting rights, terminating programs that have helped the poor for generations, and making it impossible for the government to invest in our future.<\/p>\n

Sequestration grew out of a strategy hatched soon after they took over the House in 2011, to achieve their goals by holding hostage the full faith and credit of the United States – notwithstanding the Constitution’s instruction that the public debt of the United States “not be questioned.”<\/p>\n

To avoid default on the public debt, the White House and House Republicans agreed to harsh and arbitrary “sequestered” spending cuts if they couldn’t come up with a more reasonable deal in the interim. But the Tea Partiers had no intention of agreeing to anything more reasonable. They knew the only way to dismember the federal government was through large spending cuts without tax increases.<\/p>\n

Nor do they seem to mind the higher unemployment their strategy will almost certainly bring about. Sequestration combined with January’s fiscal cliff deal is expected to slow economic growth by 1.5 percentage points this year – dangerous for an economy now crawling at about 2 percent. It will be even worse if the Tea Partiers  refuse to extend the government’s spending authority, which expires March 27.<\/p>\n

A conspiracy theorist might think they welcome more joblessness because they want Americans to be even more fearful and angry. Tea Partiers use fear and anger in their war against the government – blaming the anemic recovery on government deficits and the government’s size, and selling a poisonous snake-oil of austerity economics and trickle-down economics as the remedy.<\/p>\n

They likewise use the disruption and paralysis they’ve sown in Washington to persuade Americans government is necessarily dysfunctional, and politics inherently bad. Their continuing showdowns and standoffs are, in this sense, part of the plot.  <\/p>\n

What is the President’s response? He still wants a so-called “grand bargain” of “balanced” spending cuts (including cuts in the projected growth of Social Security and Medicare) combined with tax increases on the wealthy. So far, though, he has agreed to a gross imbalance — $1.5 trillion in cuts to Republicans’ $600 billion in tax increases on the rich.<\/p>\n

The President apparently believes Republicans are serious about deficit reduction, when in fact the Tea Partiers now running the GOP are serious only about dismembering the government. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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