After a heated fight in Congress, the Republiklan and the “Democratic” Party tentatively agreed on a budget April 8 2015. Many Mad Tea Party leaders were disappointed they could not shut the government down, a demand loudly voiced at Tea Party protests in Washington the week before. Clearly they relished the fight. And the demos are running scared. Even Obama appeared to be rattled when he announced yet another compromise.
If, indeed, the Tea Party wanted a government shut-down, was there a preferred date? Judging from the timing of all the wrangling that went on for weeks prior, the tea baggers would have been thrilled if they could have forced the wheels of government to stop on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. Why? That would have been the 150th anniversary of the launch of the Civil War — the day the newly-declared Confederate States of America attached U.S. troops at Ft. Sumter, a military victory that thrilled Southern racists back then — as it does today.
Tea Party Confederates may have to settle for waving the Southern Cross (the “Stars and Bars”) in private celebrations on Tuesday. There will be other opportunities for them to raise hell and, in this round, they got a lot of what they want.
Who will pay for thebudget cuts? It will be poor people, the working class, trade unions, community groups, and the environment. The filthy rich will retain their obscene tax cuts, however. Why? Because they control both political parties.
Contrary to a lot of reporting, the rights of women to an abortion were not actually directly at stake in the budget debate. Federal law already forbids the use of federal tax funds for abortions. However, by targeting Planned Parenthood, the Republiklan put at risk an organization that provides education, health services, and family planning for poor and working people, especially women.
The right wing did not seem to mind that the debate was framed as an effort to end abortions. By attacking Planned Parenthood, the GOOP had the Demographic Party by the short hairs. It was a clever and devious move clearly aimed at the demo’s base. The democrats could not compromise on THAT one. They could surrender nearly every other program, constituency, or “principle,” but not the perceived right to an abortion — which is the only true issue that separates the two parties when it comes to policy.
The Republiklan and the Mad Tea Party Confederacy have their principles just as all fascists do. Until progressives organize and get out on the streets (as some are doing in the mid-West) the “Democratic” Party and their cowardly members have no reason to do anything but stand up against the wall and watch the fascists dance.
