We are down to crunch time. Â I can’t believe that our Congress is so dysfunctional. Â There’s plenty of blame to go around. Â Where should I start?
Let’s start with everyone in the photograph! Â D&C 38:27
“I say unto you, be aone; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”
Obviously, they’re not handling this in the way Jesus would have it done. Â Partisanship rancor is ridiculous. Â But we, the American people, sent these shysters to office. Â Apparently we like disunity and dysfunction. Â It’s our fault.
“I pledge allegiance to Grover Norquist”
Who is Grover Norquist, and why does he influence inordinate power over so many congressmen? Â Why are so many Congressmen voting to raise taxes for everyone (by going over the fiscal cliff), rather than trying to help the majority of the American people? Â Some idiot congressmen voted against John Boehner’s “Plan B” because they wanted to claim that they “never” voted to raise taxes. Â But by allowing us to go over the fiscal cliff, they have ACTUALLY voted for the largest tax increase in American History. Are they really so stupid to be the party that voted for the largest tax increase in American history? Â Why do some congressmen care about “Gomer” Norquist more than the American people they supposedly represent?
“John Boehner and the Republicans”
There are plenty of Democrats that would vote for a deal, but John Boehner won’t allow anything on the House floor unless it is supported by the majority of the Republicans.  He doesn’t want to rely on any Democrats for votes.  Because he can’t even get his own party to pass anything, he is asking the Senate to send a budget to the House instead of following the Constitutional provision that all budget originate in the House.  Why do we have an ideologue instead of a statesman?
“Barack Obama and the Democrats”
Obama has said he is willing to offer any substantive cuts in his budgets, but has yet to include cuts in his budget proposals. Â Talk is cheap.
“Who is supposed to offer cuts first?”
Well, nobody wants to be blamed for cutting valued programs: Â Defense, Social Security, etc. Â It’s like a bunch of brats on a playground arguing over who should throw the first punch, so that guy gets blamed for “starting the fight.” Â Where are the statesmen in this crisis? Â We’re stuck with political posturing and a dysfunctional government.
The Washington Post said that former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman would be the ideal candidate to replace John Boehner as Speaker of the House. Â It ain’t gonna happen, but we can dream, right?
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And finally, it looks like we have a deal to avert the “dairy cliff” (so milk prices don’t shoot to $7/gallon). Â And for those who enjoy drama, it looks like we will have our country’s credit downgraded again as Congress fights over the Debt Ceiling again by the end of the year. Â Why can’t we get a Congress that works together?
Mormon Heretic 
Just a thought, before the comments here get all partisan and blamey (and fwiw, I think there’s plenty of blame and that it’s not equally distributed on “both sides”), regarding the “Shysters” picture above: that’s a theme I’ve heard a lot, primarily though not exclusively from conservatives, that the politicking and mismanagement that supposedly characterize government endeavors somehow don’t exist in the private sector. “If (government program or agency) were a private company, they wouldn’t get away with (name of bad things).” When people say that, it makes me wonder how many private companies they’ve dealt with. Politics, conflict, and bureaucracy are characteristic of a lot of human institutions, and are hardly exclusive to government. The nice thing about the free market is that failures often create situations that reward innovation and produce greater economic benefits in the aggregate, but that refers to the market as a whole, not necessarily individual actors. Whether government can or should emulate that is a different question, but to me can’t just be assumed.. Anyway, that’s not really what this post is about so carry on!
Casey,
The government is a monopoly. They can get away with more because there is no alternative for any individual other than moving out of the country. State government has a smaller monopoly because you can simply move to another state where you are still a full citizen. Notice the out-migration from California since it has become a leftist “paradise”.
There is little doubt that many voters knew they were voting for divided government. As the election approached, the presidential polls were fairly tight, but there was near certainty that republicans would retain the majority in the house. Thoughtful swing voters in OH, PA, VA, FL, etc. knew that a vote for Obama would be a vote for more of the same like the last 2 years.
Well, oso, you’re entitled to feel that way, although I’m not sure what it has to do with what I said 🙂