Tensions are mounting over the political showdown happening at the federal level in Washington D.C., and to ordinary people affected by the drama, it may seem a little bit like the nerve-racking scenes from this weekend's big film release: Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity.”
The shots where astronauts, played by actors Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, drift in orbit above a beautiful, gigantic planet Earth come to mind because it seems a very dangerous situation. Gripping onto damaged solar panels trying to control their panic and breathing, their oxygen is limited. Many in DC apparently are hitting the bars a lot, according to a recent Buzzfeed post, which helps bar owners of course.
However, even after a Wednesday discussion between elected officials failed to produce a pathway out of the mess, and failed to even find agreement over funding the government and other issues, things do seem worse to many. In fact, those veterans of our armed forces who fought to protect this nation when their Commander-in-Chief sent them out to fight at great peril, found themselves shut out of open-air public monuments dedicated to those comrades who lost their lives fighting for freedom. Accounts from Stars&Stripes reporter Leo Shane, HuffingtonPost, Foxnews, and ABC tell of the issue in getting through to pay their respects, despite the time and money spent erecting blockades by the current employees of the present Administration.
Finger-pointing:
The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, accuses Congressman John Boehner and Republicans for the mess, the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is slamming what he calls a "Tea Party-driven, Cruz-led House"according to Breitbart, and John Boehner today is defending his reputation in an ABC "This Week" interview on the matter stating:
"George, the House has passed four bills to keep the government open and to provide fairness to the American people under Obamacare. And even after the Senate has rejected -- they've rejected all four of them. And even after the four rejections, we asked to sit down with the Senate and have a conversation. They said, no."
Further, Boehner stated:
"Listen, Obamacare is a law that's going to raise the cost of health insurance premiums and make it almost impossible for employers to hire new people. It's a law the American people do not want and cannot afford."
Over at Latinofoxnews, Ted Cruz apparently is being cheered by many for making a stand against the Affordable Healthcare Act/Obamacare. In a press briefing on Bloomberg however, Senator Reid stated that he told John Boehner to bring "anything" to discuss. By his own words, however, Reid then stated when Boehner brought him something, a "short-term CR" Reid basically responded in a negative manner. He stated that Boehner "... can't take 'yes' for an answer."
(Panic may be setting in about now... )
Breathe.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, quoted in the Guardian from a Meet the Press interview airing today, stated that no one is "winning" from the showdown. When asked why the Republicans in Congress had shut down the government, over the Obamacare bill which was already law and upheld by the Supreme Court, Senator Paul said it was "Congress's job to oversee spending."
Paul also stated:
"It's not their obligation once something is law to never change it. It's a silly argument for Democrats to say: 'Oh the law's been passed, we can never change it.'"
Some watching this, writers such as Mark Steyn in his piece for the NationalReview, state:
"America has no budget process. That’s why it’s the brokest nation in history. So a budgeting process that can’t control the budget in a legislature that can’t legislate leads to a government shutdown that shuts down open areas ... Up next: the debt-ceiling showdown, in which we argue over everything except the debt. The conventional wisdom of the U.S. media is that Republicans are being grossly irresponsible not just to wave through another couple trillion or so on Washington’s overdraft facility. Really? Other countries are actually reducing debt: New Zealand, for example, has a real budget that diminishes net debt from 26 percent of GDP to 17 percent by 2020. By comparison, America’s net debt is currently about 88 percent, and we’re debating only whether to increase it automatically or with a few ineffectual strings attached."
Nerve-racking times for many, as leaders play tug-a-war. From the website ranker, dialog from the film Gravity seems appropriate:
Matt Kowalsky: "You need to focus. Use the sun, anything, the earth. Give me coordinates."
Dr. Ryan Stone: "I can't breathe."
