The long term budget deficit has to be a top priority for lawmakers.
The problem is our two party system is broken.
Our nation can't pass good legislation when the only goal of one of the parties is to oppose. Its not a Democrat or Republican thing. Its a radical vs. pragmatic thing. George Bush Sr.'s approach in Iraq War I was successful-- not because Republican policymakers are better than Democratic policymakers--but because pragmatism beats radical ideology in the court of good government.
What former Chair of the Henry County Republican Party Charles Mobley said in reference to Rep. Steve Davis putting the far right before the citizens of his district is so true-- "When the Republican far right wing is focused upon the center is ignored."
Government is broken. And part of the problem is that "the wings" have made the debate in this country about individuals you should fear, nonexistent hobgoblins.
The fact that our health care debate is focused not on the problem at hand--a broken health care system that puts our longterm economic prosperity at risk--but on "Obama the Socialist" is very telling.
Economist Bruce Bartlett, an economic advisor to President Bush noted recently:
The human capacity for self-delusion never ceases to amaze me, so it shouldn't surprise me that so many Republicans seem to genuinely believe that they are the party of fiscal responsibility. Perhaps at one time they were, but those days are long gone.
Republicans passed "the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s." Not because the "Republican Party" doesn't understand good economic policy--but because the party was taken over by radicals who focused on the right wing to gain political power at the expense of the center.
Now those same Republican leaders are trying to rewrite history.
When what we need to be doing is learning from history.
And passing health care reform.
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