It's Frustrating Because They Just Will Not Cooperate
by James Glaser
September 27, 2011

I believe we have become so far in debt nationally that budget cuts alone will not get our debt down fast enough to avoid paying trillions in interest payments over the next decade. Washington, I believe spent recklessly over the years, and we all watched them do it. Now, if we want to pay off our debt before it becomes our children's and grandchildren's debt, we are going to have to pony up more tax money.

Sure, sure I know the argument that we could cut enough programs to get the debt down, but let's face it, the Democrats and Republicans will have way too many pet projects where they won't make sufficient cuts so that will make a difference. Really now, can you actually see the Republicans cutting the Department of Defense to the bone or the Democrats doing the same to the Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Education? Not likely, eh?

Right now we are in this quagmire where neither political party is willing to cooperate with the other. Cooperation has been on the down side in Washington for years now, but the election of the Tea Party candidates in the last round really stopped any that was left.

Tea Party people promised that they would cut the size of government in Washington and that they would not raise any taxes no matter what. Can you imagine how frustrating that is for the powerful long-term politicians in both parties? They certainly don't like seeing these new people come along, and have the gall to keep their campaign promises. It makes every other politician look bad.

Can you remember any politician doing what they said they would do while on the campaign trail? No, really, think about it. Can you? Heck, every politician until the Tea Party came along knew they could say what ever they wanted and promise what ever it took to get elected. They knew, and I guess we knew, campaigning was just some sort of game, and nobody expected a politician to do what he or she said they would.

Those new Tea Party people could ruin a good thing. Can you even imagine how hard it would be for our veteran politicians to remember what they said while running for reelection? That certainly would stop their speaking out of both sides of their months, and I don't think many of them would be able to break that habit.

So, we can see right now that not much is going to get done before the next election, and maybe that is a good thing. Just maybe more new candidates will run for office with the intention of doing what they say they will do. That would be novel.

Even though I believe that it is going to take some sort of combination of new taxes and deep cuts in our existing budget to get our national debt down, I think it is just great that the newly elected Tea Party politicians are keeping their word to those who elected them. Also, it is an added bonus that those lying veteran politicians are so frustrated by the honesty and conviction that those new people in Washington have brought with them.

If we actually get to the point that candidates remember their promises after they take the oath of office, we just might start having a clear choice, and maybe, just maybe, we won't have to pick the lesser of two evils.

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