[CarrieSexy]

Im not into politics. I usually just read the news. Maybe Im missing something here.

Just last week we were told that Washington had about one or two days to agree on a debt deal. If not, the government would shut down. Then, if it went much farther than that, which it has by a week, it would be catastrophe.

So now whats going on? I have not heard any more talk about the government shut down catastrophe.

Im just going to go to work and go about my day. We elected these officials to do their jobs and work together. They all need fired or something, or at least counseled, thats what happens at my job, if someone fails to do their job properly and on time they get counseled, after 3 counsels and a review you can be fired.

[smazibummigue]

Apparently the magic date is 8/2.

I could have sworn I read somewhere last week that Washington had just days to avoid catastrophe.

Is this like one of those reality shows where they keep us on the edge of our seats until the final moment and then do something stupid?

[lzwha]

No, Chad, it seems the "doing something stupid" part is ongoing.

Personally, I wish the President would issue an Executive Order that, in the event they fail to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, the very first thing that would stop being paid, as well as the last to be resumed once the crisis is over, would be Congressional paychecks. While it would be largely symbolic, given the net worth of most members, it would be a nice shot, and would let those fools be the first to suffer from their idiocy.

[Grainiary]

Oh nice pinky, I like your thinking.

[karaburatoreror]

This is a letter I sent to my Senator today:

Dear Senator,

I can't sleep. It's 0430 hours and I'm watching the early international news. The USD has slipped against nearly every other currency. The Asian markets are down. The Euro markets are down. The U.S. bond markets are holding, but not for long, the economist predicts. Next up, it's a matter of when, not if, Moody's and the S&P downgrade our credit rating.

Downgrade our credit rating... think about that, Mr. Senator.

Our great nation, the leader of the free world. Our nation, that led this world into the industrial age, that built great railroads across an entrie continent at great sacrifice to its own people. Our nation, that built an auto industry unlike any seen before; that built monumental bridges and dams, towering cities and highways systems. Our great nation that was given an impossible challenge and landed a man on the moon!

Soon, this great nation, the United States of America, will be seen as a country with a government that is so dysfunctional, so broken, that it cannot even pay our bills or agree on a path out of a financial mess of our own making.

I'm angry and I'm frustrated. I'm frightened for myself and for the millions of American workers who will undoubtedly continue to lose jobs, who will lose savings and their homes in the months to come. I'm frightened for the millions of the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the veterans and the children who, without a voice in Washington, will lose the lifeline that literally keeps them afloat.

I fear that Americans are losing faith in the ability of our elected leaders to lead. Most of all, I fear we are losing faith in America, itself. Losing faith in the American dream.

What do I hope for, Mr. Senator? A return to the idea of compromise for the good of the country. I hope our legislators will put the welfare of the American people above all else and do the work they were sent to Washington to do, no matter how difficult the task.

I am willing to share the burden, sir. I am willing to sacrifice. Will Congress do the same?

[interbaoui]

This is a letter I sent to my Senator today:

Dear Senator,

I can't sleep. It's 0430 hours and I'm watching the early international news. The USD has slipped against nearly every other currency. The Asian markets are down. The Euro markets are down. The U.S. bond markets are holding, but not for long, the economist predicts. Next up, it's a matter of when, not if, Moody's and the S&P downgrade our credit rating.

Downgrade our credit rating... think about that, Mr. Senator.

Our great nation, the leader of the free world. Our nation, that led this world into the industrial age, that built great railroads across an entrie continent at great sacrifice to its own people. Our nation, that built an auto industry unlike any seen before; that built monumental bridges and dams, towering cities and highways systems. Our great nation that was given an impossible challenge and landed a man on the moon!

Soon, this great nation, the United States of America, will be seen as a country with a government that is so dysfunctional, so broken, that it cannot even pay our bills or agree on a path out of a financial mess of our own making.

I'm angry and I'm frustrated. I'm frightened for myself and for the millions of American workers who will undoubtedly continue to lose jobs, who will lose savings and their homes in the months to come. I'm frightened for the millions of the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the veterans and the children who, without a voice in Washington, will lose the lifeline that literally keeps them afloat.

I fear that Americans are losing faith in the ability of our elected leaders to lead. Most of all, I fear we are losing faith in America, itself. Losing faith in the American dream.

What do I hope for, Mr. Senator? A return to the idea of compromise for the good of the country. I hope our legislators will put the welfare of the American people above all else and do the work they were sent to Washington to do, no matter how difficult the task.

I am willing to share the burden, sir. I am willing to sacrifice. Will Congress do the same?

Bravo!

*stands and claps*

We all need to get together and send DES to Washington!

[gennickhif]

Im not into politics. I usually just read the news. Maybe Im missing something here.

Just last week we were told that Washington had about one or two days to agree on a debt deal. If not, the government would shut down. Then, if it went much farther than that, which it has by a week, it would be catastrophe.

So now whats going on? I have not heard any more talk about the government shut down catastrophe.

Im just going to go to work and go about my day. We elected these officials to do their jobs and work together. They all need fired or something, or at least counseled, thats what happens at my job, if someone fails to do their job properly and on time they get counseled, after 3 counsels and a review you can be fired.

No, you're not missing anything. Politicians in the US have gone completely bonkers, but like pinky said, that's been an ongoing thing...

It is quite ironic, isn't it, that these nutjob politicians have the power to affect everyone's lives, and yet they themselves will be the most insulated from any damage their idiocy causes.

We all need to get together and send DES to Washington!

Heartily agreed! Reps to DES for your letter. And to pinky as well, because that really is a brilliant idea. I feel like that would be worthy of a blog on Huffpost or something...

[ceagstuntee]

This is a letter I sent to my Senator today:

Dear Senator,

I can't sleep. It's 0430 hours and I'm watching the early international news. The USD has slipped against nearly every other currency. The Asian markets are down. The Euro markets are down. The U.S. bond markets are holding, but not for long, the economist predicts. Next up, it's a matter of when, not if, Moody's and the S&P downgrade our credit rating.

Downgrade our credit rating... think about that, Mr. Senator.

Our great nation, the leader of the free world. Our nation, that led this world into the industrial age, that built great railroads across an entrie continent at great sacrifice to its own people. Our nation, that built an auto industry unlike any seen before; that built monumental bridges and dams, towering cities and highways systems. Our great nation that was given an impossible challenge and landed a man on the moon!

Soon, this great nation, the United States of America, will be seen as a country with a government that is so dysfunctional, so broken, that it cannot even pay our bills or agree on a path out of a financial mess of our own making.

I'm angry and I'm frustrated. I'm frightened for myself and for the millions of American workers who will undoubtedly continue to lose jobs, who will lose savings and their homes in the months to come. I'm frightened for the millions of the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the veterans and the children who, without a voice in Washington, will lose the lifeline that literally keeps them afloat.

I fear that Americans are losing faith in the ability of our elected leaders to lead. Most of all, I fear we are losing faith in America, itself. Losing faith in the American dream.

What do I hope for, Mr. Senator? A return to the idea of compromise for the good of the country. I hope our legislators will put the welfare of the American people above all else and do the work they were sent to Washington to do, no matter how difficult the task.

I am willing to share the burden, sir. I am willing to sacrifice. Will Congress do the same?

I have written my share of letters to our leaders, BUT THIS is excellent, I applaud you for being present, conscious and involved.

Last night during dinner, I apologized to my children for the mess I have brought them up in, at least we had a good discussion about the state of the USA today.

[cigattIcTot]

Thanks, all. That's what a night of watching the cable news and reading the net will do. I'm so utterly disgusted by what's happening in Washington right now. I've called, I've emailed, and I know a whole lot of Americans have done the same, but I swear they are just not listening. I never even got a perfunctory "thank you for your email" from my legislator.

[Gymnarnemia]

Lawrence O'Donnell had a very succinct breakdown of how this is working on Morning Joe this morning, based on his own time in the Senate during the Clinton administration and his current contacts on the Hill.

Key points:
-- This is all political cover. Each side (Obama, Dem Congress and Senate, GOP Congress and Senate) is going through a choreographed series of staged votes and speeches to allow them to be able to point at news clips verifying they fought for their base during election season.
-- Both the GOP and Dems know that the other side will clobber their standalone plans. But they'll keep stringing out votes until the 11th hour.
-- This is why the market has largely (up until the past couple of days) shrugged off the debt limit crisis. The assumption has been all along that once the kabuki process is done, Boehner and Reid would corral their conferences into a compromise bill and get things finished just under the wire.
-- The chaos of the past 36 hours surrounds Boehner's seeming inability to be able to corral his conference. The Tea Party group appears set on being a spoiler in the process. They may very well be performing their own version of kabuki with establishment Republicans to save face to their own constituency.
-- Ultimately, the political script is that both parties would find a sense of responsibility at the last minute and present president Obama with a grudging compromise. Depending on his own political ends, Obama could well reject that compromise and extract more concessions to end up with something that he can sign.


But again, the Tea Party caucus has gone off script. Which is why you're seeing veteran lawmakers begin to publicly scold them for mucking up the works.