So why should I not be ticked off with the GOP right now?

[Travis]

They are trying to shutdown the government so they can try and get rid of a program that will get me health insurance for the first time in a decade.

So why should I not be beyond angry with them?

Anyone want to talk me off the ledge here about why I shouldn't care they are trying to stop me from getting health insurance?

Anyone?

 

[fishbob]

No, go right ahead - you are perfectly justified in your ticked-offidness.

 

[elbe]

Remember, they only hit cause they love.

 

[marplots]

If they are fairly representing the people that elected them, they are doing their job. How is your representative voting?

 

[A'isha]

If they are fairly representing the people that elected them, they are doing their job. How is your representative voting?

The GOP are threatening a shutdown over the ACA because they can't get rid of it "fairly".

 

[marplots]

The GOP are threatening a shutdown over the ACA because they can't get rid of it "fairly".

How can you blame them for using the procedures in place to advance their agenda? I mean, if you grant that they actually believe it's the right thing to do, why wouldn't they try everything they can?

 

[Diogenes]

...if you grant that they actually believe it's the right thing to do...

Right for _________?

a. The nation
b. their party
c. their individual reelection prospects

That's the problem I have, I'm pretty sure the correct answer is not "a".

 

[gnome]

Because if their motives are sincere, they should have been negotiating for changes in the bill a long time ago, instead of throwing everything into forcing a repeal.

I have believed from the beginning that this is not about choosing the best healthcare system, but about blocking the President's agenda because he's from the opposing party.

 

[marplots]

Right for _________?

a. The nation
b. their party
c. their individual reelection prospects

That's the problem I have, I'm pretty sure the correct answer is not "a".

I'd go with "c" on account of they represent a certain subset of the population: the folks that elected them.

 

[PGH]

How can you blame them for using the procedures in place to advance their agenda? I mean, if you grant that they actually believe it's the right thing to do, why wouldn't they try everything they can?

Because a two party system can only function if there is compromise and the occasional acceptance of defeat. If the objective is "We get everything we want or we shut everything down" that isn't trying to do the right thing, it's holding the government of the U.S. hostage to political idealogy.

A political parties agenda is not more important than effectively running the government.

 

[Cleon]

Freedom[tm].

 

[TragicMonkey]

They are trying to shutdown the government so they can try and get rid of a program that will get me health insurance for the first time in a decade.

So why should I not be beyond angry with them?

Anyone want to talk me off the ledge here about why I shouldn't care they are trying to stop me from getting health insurance?

Anyone?

Check your stock portfolio. Are your dividends increasing? As billionaires, we must support our allies in government. Don't be fooled by all that Jesus and America stuff, that's just for the poors and mere millionaires.

Oh, wait, you're not a billionaire? Heavens, to think I wasted my precious time answering a post of yours! I'll have to bill you for this, let's call it even at $48,000. I'll use it to tip my caddy's butler.

 

[DC]

they are merely trying to prevent the USA from becoming a communist hellhole like those scandinavian countries are. who would want to be living in a hellhole like Sweden with theyr socialized healthcare and other communist ideas?

 

[Monketi Ghost]

They're absolute jerks.

 

[A'isha]

How can you blame them for using the procedures in place to advance their agenda? I mean, if you grant that they actually believe it's the right thing to do, why wouldn't they try everything they can?

Because "the procedures in place" don't involve threatening to shut down all of government and force it to default unless their agenda gets passed despite their not being able to get it passed via a proper legislative vote after winning enough congressional and presidential elections to prevail in said legislative vote.

 

[Stimpson J. Cat]

If they are fairly representing the people that elected them, they are doing their job. How is your representative voting?

Incorrect. The job of the men and women of congress is to represent all of the people of their district/state (depending on whether they are in the House or the Senate), not just the people that voted for them. Any member of congress who deliberately chooses to work for the best interests of only a selected subset of his/her constituents, rather than for all of them, is not doing his job correctly.

 

[marplots]

Because "the procedures in place" don't involve threatening to shut down all of government and force it to default unless their agenda gets passed despite their not being able to get it passed via a proper legislative vote after winning enough congressional and presidential elections to prevail in said legislative vote.

This is how the balance of power shakes out in our system. The House of Representatives has considerable power and they are exercising it. I don't see why we should demand they roll over, simply because the Senate and the President have a different opinion.

"Take it to the mattresses" might be just what their voters want from them. The mood may shift with the hard times a shutdown would entail. Are the voters in Podunk Kentucky going to change their minds once the welfare checks quit coming in? Hopefully.

But we complain when politicians don't keep the promises they made to get elected. I think some of these intransigents are trying to do just that.

 

[Silly Green Monkey]

I hope every incumbent in every Congressional election for the next two cycles gets voted out. Might lose some good ones, but most of Congress is wasting time and money by choosing not to do their elected jobs and instead trying out acting in political theater.

 

[Polaris]

You should definitely be "ticked off" with them now. They're a bunch of dry old morons stamping on the ground shrieking, "No! No! No!" like spoiled six-year-olds.

 

[Tricky]

How can you blame them for using the procedures in place to advance their agenda? I mean, if you grant that they actually believe it's the right thing to do, why wouldn't they try everything they can?

This is not using "the procedures in place", at least not in the historical sense. These kinds of procedures haven't been used before, even though they may have been theoretically possible.

But if you want to talk "procedures in place", remember that the law was passed by Congress, signed into law by the President, and then ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court. It has gone through every branch of government and survived over fourty challenges. The GOP is essentially saying, "Screw the procedures in place. We want to have our way."