" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Will Holden - Full disclosure: This post was largely inspired -- if not mostly borrowed -- from the now-commented-inundated post on your page, Brad. I dare say this is one of those rare moments when we're both glad we no longer own a 406 area code.
Holden has exactly 6 followers. Good riddance to this guy who mocks Montana.
Here is Holden's original post:
FOR EVERYONE POSTING NEWS ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: I beg you to consider the source.
I just saw a story suggesting that Obama is directly responsible for closing veteran memorials during this government shutdown. My Facebook friends, please, you are all smarter than this. I respect everyone's frustration that national parks and memorials are closed. But making an attempt to turn the shutdown into a debate about veteran benefits and immigration reform is so ridiculously off topic that it would be laughable if it wasn't so insulting to the intellect of a nation that I believe to be well-educated.
For starters, let us consider the source of the story that Obama is purposefully spurning vets. From what I can tell, it is a story being commonly told on conservative blogs, most of which are basing the report on information leaked from the House Natural Resources Committee, which is chaired by six Republicans and one Democrat. I think if you take a minute to consider those sources objectively, you'd have a hard time arguing that the story is coming from an impartial source.
To take what will surely become a personal diatribe one step further, I think all Americans, regardless of partiality, are in favor of both sides sitting down and negotiating in good faith on the spending-based issues that are actually causing this shutdown -- none of which, by the way, have anything to do with the politically-charged issues of veterans benefits or immigration reform. And frankly, I hope the GOP gets some of the spending cuts on their wish list during a good faith debate on a new budget.
But the debate that is happening right now is not a good faith one entirely because it has its roots in a very politically-charged issue.
Based on the fact that it has even been acknowledged by GOP members of the House, here's the truth about the government shutdown as I understand it: A Republican-controlled legislative branch used a once-routine budget negotiation process to stage a last-ditch effort to force Democrats to abandon Obamacare, a piece of legislation that the conservative masses oppose politically, but could not initially fight, as it was mostly passed when Democrats controlled the House.
With that being the story as I understand it, I urge everyone to take part in this worthwhile debate: Are we going to condone a tactic whereby one of our political parties threatens to do willful harm to our economy in an effort to undermine legislation that was passed when they were not in power? What affect would such a tactic have on the tried and true political process of this country?
In other words, when the day comes that a GOP President is in office and Democrats control the House -- a day that could come to pass in the very near future with the approval ratings of both Obama and the GOP-controlled House plummeting during this shutdown -- would you be okay with this country perpetually being one politically-charged issue away from the next government shutdown?
A brief history lesson to provide a bit of context: The last time the Democrats controlled the House and a Republican controlled the Presidency, Democrats could have rallied in the legislative branch and threatened to not raise the debt limit -- the same tactic the GOP is employing right now -- in exchange for a full rollback of the Bush tax cuts -- a piece of legislation opposed by Democrats as fervently at the GOP opposes Obamacare.
We didn't even consider the tactic as a possibility in the media because of the devastating impact it would have had on our economy. Make no mistake, if Republicans stick to their guns past Oct. 17, not just the U.S. economy, but the global economy as a whole could lose much of what it has gained in the wake of those Bush tax cuts.
I would like to think the GOP would never follow through on such a devastating threat, but when I see conservatives pushing politically-charged news all over Facebook and using it as a grassroots rallying cry to push a politically-charged agenda, I can't help but get the feeling that the GOP might be crazy enough to do just that. At the very least, I get the feeling that this illusion of craziness is one the GOP appears to have no interest in debunking if it means getting their way politically.
And so I pose a final question: Are we going to eternally be in a situation where whichever party cares more about the well-being of our economy is forced to give in to whatever demands the other party has, simply because the other party gives the appearance of being just crazy enough to follow through on threats to do massive harm to everyone?
If the GOP proves successful in utilizing this threat-based tactic, I can't help but think that we'll see more of this in the future -- not only from the GOP, but also from Democrats.
Frankly, I don't think anyone should be rewarded for making threats. Pass the CR, raise the debt limit, and then negotiate in good faith on a long-term budget that could include reasonable cuts to both spending and Obamacare.
That's the way a nation of our supposed intellect is supposed to behave.
