Economist Simon Johnson recaps the immediate and the long-term damage the Tea Party has done to the American economy and concludes the only thing that can save us from the ideological excesses of the Republican Party... is the Republican Party:
In the American system, with its carefully conceived checks and balances, an organized and well-funded minority can do a lot more damage – as we have just been reminded. The only force that can rein in Tea Party extremism – and get the nation off the road to fiscal ruin – is resurgence among Republican moderates. Unfortunately, their recent performance has not been impressive [Simon Johnson, "A Very Expensive Tea Party," New York Times: Economix, 2013.10.24].
That's the plan of Karl Rove, deftly skewered this week by Jon Stewart as an effort to undo the very crazy conservative activism he helped ignite. The National Journal includes South Dakota's U.S. Senate race as one of the contests where establishment Republicans are planning to spend big money to beat back the ultraconservative ideologues who have upset the old order.
With his pragmatism and resistance to silly pledges, Marion Michael Rounds is the mainstream GOP's Obi-Wan Kenobi, their only hope in South Dakota against the evil forces of Stace Nelson, the Club for Growth, and the other dark upsetters of the benevolent old Republican guardians of peace and justice. Or wait: height differential aside, maybe Rounds is Vader, defending the Empire against a pitiful Rebel Alliance led by Stace Skywalker, Princess Lora, and Howie Solo. I don't know—relying on George Lucas for consistent metaphor leads only to literary disaster.
Whichever way you cast the remake, it is clear that Mike Rounds is exactly the man Karl Rove is looking for to defend the Republican brand from the suicidal Tea Party insurgency.
Update 14:03 CDT: Or maybe Mike Rounds is just one of the grown-ups Senator Orrin Hatch says Congress needs.
Mr. Rounds showed us all exactly why he should not go to Washington with what he left us in Pierre. Staggering debt and poor governance, he is exactly what a Model T Party member is all about. That feller Rick Weiland sent out an email blast that says he is within 6 points "The good news is a recent PPP Poll has this race at 6 points. That’s right, 6 points.", so it is not just me who thinks that Rounds sucks, we all seem to be getting the picture of his failed leadership. We all have heard that he is the 9 million dollar man, and that scares the hell out of us.
Believe me, I am no fan of the Tea Party and their rigid ideological death wish.
However, it seems to me, one other thing might save the Republican Party if they can hold their rantings for about a year: An Obamacare Debacle (OD).
If in fact even half of the horrible Obamacare consequences that some pundits predict should happen to come true, it will be the perfect opportunity for Republicans to gain back a majority in both houses next November.
They will only have to say two things: (1) "We told you so!" and (2) "Vote for us and we'll get rid of this monstrosity."
On the other foot ... If Obamacare turns out to work well for most people, the Republicans have doomed themselves for decades with all their reccent rhetoric.
Sometimes you have to give an inch in order to get a mile.
But the Tea Party types, like monkeys tethered by a narrow-necked jar full of nuts, simply cannot get this highfalutin concept to go between their ears.
It seems to me that herding cats would be easier than making Republicans out of teapublicans.
Does the GOP have a grand ole plan to get this done?
If not, is the tea party going to be a legitimate third party?
I hope so!
Profile in courage, I think not. Don't hold your breath waiting for Mike Rounds to show any political courage. He might not be a Tea partier but he sure as hell is scared of them. Nary a word from him pointing out the lunacy of flirting with national default during the recent Tea Party Republican induced craziness in Washington.
Well, Nick, he did sorta kinda say flirting with default was a bad idea... after the final vote was cast, after damage had already been done. You are right that he didn't make an effort to lead the conversation in public or within his party. Still no bold vision or leadership from Rounds.
Bold leadership should come from those that would raise the minimum wage. Here is Bill Maher on the best reasons yet and they may surprise, certainly not new republicans, but those that are not thinking of how this impacts our everyday lives, all of our everyday lives. No matter what, we are subsidizing the big business that drives the economy down. Vote for people who have the vision to get us out of the ditch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HXz1chSa_4
Great link Jerry. I loved it. Bill Maher makes more logical sense than Ryan, Boner, McConnell and the rest of the boys.
Oh Deb, ya gotta listen to this from a McDonald's worker trying to survive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olUsgn-Ubh0 So what these guys are saying openly is that you should just forget about trying to get a raise from them, if you want more moolah, get it from the government like they do. Talk about moochers, these guys have it down pat man. They go to NOem and the rest of the clowns that control the purse strings of our budget with hat in hand. NOem and the rest, dole out the moolah like hotcakes because these are the ones who create jobs. The joke is one us as we allow the moochers to make bloated profits and then allow them to pay the workers chump change. Forget about bank robbers, the real money is to get accomplices like NOem put into office and you get the inside job.
jerry, what do you think happens if rounds falls behind weiand before the end of the primary?
A new republican primary killer is now on the horizon. This is not good news for the Model T Party. My wife will save over 800 bucks a year with the ACA! Who do you think she will support? Do you think that she and thousands of others will just say that the little man is a good insurance man, when they know perfectly well that he is not? Nope, those boys and that English lass, the Bos are in a deep problem now. We know that the way it works now is for them to keep digging. Hand them a shovel and an anvil to go along with it.
http://www.hhs.gov/digitalstrategy/blog/2013/10/marketplace-data-services-hub.html
The numbers show that this ACA Obamacare, is indeed a big deal. The numbers show that is it now halfway to where it needed to be in less than a month. Model T Party dudes and dudetts can only do on thing now, duck an cover. South Dakota voters may not be so willing to allow a bunch of lying liars to continue shafting them by telling them how this is gonna be the end of all that we know and that Obamacare is simply not worth it. Guess what, it is and all of these people will attest to that. Amazing. Here is what I think will happen now. Wadhams throws a hissy fit and dumps so much moolah into the media that it will be the little man 24/7, and it will not help. When the public sees the light, Weiland will be the next Johnson, Daschle combo. He will not be a one sided figure that does not know how to reach out, he has been taught well. He needs our support for sure so we can prevent the real train wreck of the remote possibility of this bunch of wacko's (take your pick on who is the wackiest) that want to take Johnson's place. Now, we all need to get signed up and start saving some moolah. This is not about politics anymore, this is about saving our lives as well as our pocketbooks! Lets go!
Jerry, you are on top of this issue. Keep spreading that good word! Share your wife's story!
It is no secret that the site has a problem with being slow or almost impossible to access in the first place. The good news is that they have been working on it and have made it even better so you can actually see what your possibilities are. Here in South Dakota, you have 33 different plans to check out. You can access what the plans are and you can put your income (total household income with both spouses) and then see how you come out. The call center is available to get you enrolled and off you go.
Myself, I will not sign up for the ACA because I use the VA system and have since my discharge from the military. They were the only ones that have taken care of my service connected issues as I could not get regular insurance in the first place. My wife has pre-existing conditions that forced us to stay where we were and just hope that nothing real serious would happen that would cause us to have real financial hurt. The premiums we paid were the best we could do and as time went on and we saw what the premiums were rising too, we wondered what next.
Like all of the rest of America, we have heard the stories and the incredible nonsense that has been spewed by right wing nuts as the truth. These people know first hand that what they are saying is a big lie, but it does not matter to them if you die in the street or even if you exist, for that matter. So, you may become skeptical of what is out there. Check it out. Check it out to see where you are at. Check it out to show that you are fearless and that you will not be intimidated by those that wish to steal your thunder. You may find that you can save money, we did! On top of that, you get the freedom to know that if you do hit a serious accident or illness, you won't loose the ranch or the farm with current medical bills or maybe long term ones. You will know exactly what your maximum out of pocket expenses are and you can adjust you life accordingly.
I seriously do not understand why lenders are not setting up shops so that AG people, for one, (the backbone of our state's entire financial being) get this coverage. That should be a part of the package to protect the rest of the depositors in that bank for the loans that have been given. This is not good business by them and reflects poorly on how they say they take care of all banking business customers. If loosing thousands in cattle loss to a blizzard is not a wake up call, then you should go to a better bank. What is the difference between a devastating blizzard or a devastating accident or sickness to your pocketbook? None, yet many do not have because of the costs or their past situations with insurance companies who have dropped them or priced them completely out of the market. As of the first of January, those days are behind us thanks to the Obamacare! Get after it and find out for yourselves, then tell us all how you did.