Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
When I awoke a short time ago my mind was in its usual morning fog that slowly dissipates as I go through my wake-up routine which includes laying out the 35 or so pills that I take to stay alive. That fog mentally is usually a jumble of wide ranging short thoughts that are later forgotten as the fog lifts after my first coffee. On the way to the bathroom for my morning ablutions I found myself thinking about the biggest news all week which had been the shutdown of the government and the crisis that ensued. Suddenly, as an idea arose that woke me from the fog. Political Theater, it is all political theater. The threatened shutdown by the Republican Congressman, led by John Boehner et. al. was merely a show whose purpose was to destroy the publicity that would have surrounded the inception of enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) dubbed by the conservative PR geniuses “Obamacare”. How obvious this was took my breath away and also gave me some chagrin that it took me so long to see this con job in the making, while I mulled over the ramifications of a government shutdown. As the President has said and as some Republican have opined the GOP’s great fear regarding “Obamacare” is that it will succeed. Since enrollment was scheduled to begin on October 1st, without the shutdown speculation dominating the news cycle there would have been much publicity on the beginning of people enrolling in the plan. There would have been actual discussion of the plan and not just the cacophony of misinformation deftly spread by well placed conservative rumor mongers, broadcast blaringly on FOX News and flacked by the innumerable leaders of the “Tea Party”. Our mainstream media would play their continuing game of false equivalence by blithely accepting all information as being equal and not bothering to supply context when lies are told in the service “informing” the public.
Instead we have a manufactured crisis that sends the ACA to the back pages of virtual news media and we have faux layoffs and service loss endlessly debated. Now in truth this thought make me even a little sad for those “Tea Party” congresspeople that haven’t been let in on the nature of the game, nor their role as pawns in the manipulations of some the wealthy elite in this country. As I explained awhile ago in these guest blogs: http://jonathanturley.org/2011/08/02/tea-party-and-the-myth-of-a-grassroots-movement/#more-38049 and http://jonathanturley.org/2013/02/16/tea-party-a-phony-movement-mantled-as-legitimate/ the so-called “Tea Party” is not a grassroots movement, but the creation of the Koch, via an organization known as “Freedomworks” which they fund. On the Bill Maher show last Friday night one of his panel guests was the President and CEO of “Freedomworks” Matt Kibbe. From my perspective he was debunked by the panel, particularly Congressman Alan Cranston. What caught my attention though, was that Kibbe was at one point railing about how big government was run by insider lobbyists. None on the panel, or Maher, were perceptive enough to call him out on this since he is the quintessential lobbyist for the Koch Brothers. To my mind there is nothing to see here folks, move along and allow yourselves to be distracted by yet another manufactured crisis, designed to prevent you from actually evaluating the health care plan that is now available to you without adequate health care, or who are paying far too much for what should be a basic right of citizenship, health care. The Affordable Care Act is not my ideal of what American health insurance should be about because I believe in the “single payer” system used in most civilized nations. However, it is far better than what we already have and because of that should be fairly evaluated by the public. Perhaps though that fair evaluation will never get a chance since there are those who consciously work to distract us through propaganda, mythology and political theater into supporting what is in our own worst interests.
After I had written and posted this to my surprise I discovered this article in The New York Times. “A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us/a-federal-budget-crisis-months-in-the-planning.html?hp&_r=0 . A short excerpt:
“WASHINGTON — Shortly after President Obama started his second term, a loose-knit coalition of conservative activists led by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III gathered in the capital to plot strategy. Their push to repeal Mr. Obama’s health care law was going nowhere, and they desperately needed a new plan.
Out of that session, held one morning in a location the members insist on keeping secret, came a little-noticed “blueprint to defunding Obamacare,” signed by Mr. Meese and leaders of more than three dozen conservative groups.
It articulated a take-no-prisoners legislative strategy that had long percolated in conservative circles: that Republicans could derail the health care overhaul if conservative lawmakers were willing to push fellow Republicans — including their cautious leaders — into cutting off financing for the entire federal government.”
Perhaps my subconscious was channelling, but it seems that my idea through the morning fog has some weight to it.
Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
libertarians have been around since this country was founded. because many of this countries founders were libertarians. So there’s that.
Blouise,
Rescue attempt successful. The spam filter seems to be set on an “Extra Grumpy” lately.
two attempts ,,, would someone check the spam? thanks
nick, (once more into the fray by which I mean this is my second attempt to post the following:)
“The tea party was actually started during the Ron Paul presidential campaign in 2007 when there was a spontaneous money-bomb that was done on the anniversary of the original tea party.”
According to Boston.com, Paul supporters did organize a “money bomb” on Dec. 16, 2007 dubbed Boston Tea Party 07, timed to coincide with the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.”
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/08/26/ron-paul-takes-credit-for-tea-party-says-gop-took-over-82222
I remember all that very well as my neighbor was a huge Ron Paul fan and participant in the money bomb and to this day despises Republicans for what they did to his beloved Tea Party.
The GOP fringers driving the shutdown don’t want a debate about squat.
They want their way which they didn’t get when the ACA was made law and upheld as constitutional by SCOTUS.
They want their way because their monied backers want maximum profits from their insurance company investments.
It’s not exactly a difficult pattern to detect.
The ACA is law. It’s not perfect and like many I do have issues with it, but the time for debate is over. They lost. Now they are usurping the Constitution in a fit of childish venal pique. If they don’t like the ACA, their option is like every other law they don’t like: attempt to repeal it or propose their own supervening legislation. Holding the country hostage is unacceptable and arguably treasonous.
Gene H wrote: “If they don’t like the ACA, their option is like every other law they don’t like: attempt to repeal it or propose their own supervening legislation. Holding the country hostage is unacceptable and arguably treasonous.”
There is no way they can repeal it with Obama in office. They would have to get a super majority vote, and they can’t do that.
The Republicans are doing what is within their power to do to save this nation from financial ruin. They are voting not to fund it. There is nothing treasonous or unacceptable about this. It is called democracy, properly representing the will of the people of their districts.
If a Republican wins a majority in Congress, and they win the next Presidential election, Obamacare will be repealed. If that happens, will you support that or will you call it treasonous? I suspect you would not support that.
This is how Obamacare got passed in the first place. Democrats won Congress and the Presidency. If that had not happened, there would be no Obamacare. Not a single Republican voted for it. The tyranny of President Obama is what has caused what we witness today. A good president would have reached across the aisle and worked out something that at least some Republicans supported.
nick,
“The tea party was actually started during the Ron Paul presidential campaign in 2007 when there was a spontaneous money-bomb that was done on the anniversary of the original tea party.”
According to Boston.com, Paul supporters did organize a “money bomb” on Dec. 16, 2007 dubbed Boston Tea Party 07, timed to coincide with the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.”
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/08/26/ron-paul-takes-credit-for-tea-party-says-gop-took-over-82222
I remember all that very well as my neighbor was a huge Ron Paul fan and participant in the money bomb and to this day despises Republicans for what they did to his beloved Tea Party.
Blouise,
Somebody pointed out to me last night that a more serious shutdown will really tank the stock market. Then, there will be a lot of blue light specials to scarf up. When the market rebounds…..
And to hell with poor folks. I see that Jan Brewer of Arizona has cut off welfare checks to the poor. Arizona is the only state to do so. Personally, I think the Border Patrol on the Arizona border are not “essential personnel.” They should be furloughed or transferred. When a substantial percentage of Mexico is camped out on Gov. Brewer’s lawn, I would pay to go see it.
Regardless of Republican motives, it ain’t working. Obamacare is a done deal. Healthcare.gov reports they are getting five times more calls than they anticipated. It was so intense, that at first many thought there was a DDoS attack hitting the site.
The law is in place. When one of the Republican congressmen was asked if they got what they wanted, what did he plan to do about the tens of thousands of people who had just signed up for health care for the first time. He fled and never answered.
Blogger BrooklynBadBoy had some suggestions for President Obama. I would have copied and pasted some of his suggestions, but it would have broken the WordPress filter. Link below, but don’t have anything in your mouth when you read it.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/05/1244406/-How-President-Obama-finishes-this-thing
davidm2575 1, October 6, 2013 at 10:43 am
You said:
So the Republicans knew about web site software problems before those glitches were discovered by those who run the website?
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
You said:
Yes, they want more money spent on warmaking and spying on Americans.
Their budget facilitates an 18% increase in all things authoritarian, even during the sequester, after doubling the war budget 2000-2008 causing the economic collapse.
Republicans are full on feudalistic without having the slightest sense of who they are:
(American Feudalism – 3).
Dredd wrote: “So the Republicans knew about web site software problems before those glitches were discovered by those who run the website?”
No, not software glitches, but demand for it. They knew that the demand for healthcare would overload our ability to handle it. Too many patients, not enough doctors, etc. This is part of the reasoning that eventually there will be government death panels to weigh who gets treatment and who does not. I know you scoff at the idea, but the discretion and authority for it is built into Obamacare already. This is one of the reasons why so many waivers have had a legal basis for being granted to Congress and various favorite corporations sympathetic to the President.
Dredd wrote: “Yes, they want more money spent on warmaking and spying on Americans.”
No, the Republicans for the most part are against spying on Americans. There are a majority of Republicans concerned about national security, and therefore you could argue are somewhat supportive of war making, but the Tea Party and other Republicans like me object to that.
Makes perfect sense to me. Republicans had to do something to distract their followers from all the correct information that would begin emerging as people started signing up. And, of course, the democrats, seeing the win/win for their side, just let the republicans go ahead … ’95’s script revisited.
However, a few days ago on another thread, I believe it was Gene, in a discussion with leecarol, who mentioned the strong possibility that certain people were making a lot of money from this “shutdown”. I’m beginning to think that with as often as these shutdowns occur it is quite possible that certain folk do use the tactic as a way to replenish their bank accounts.
The Tea Party was formed in 2009. A party to constrain out of control spending should have been formed during the LBJ Administration.
The Tea Party “concern” about spending would seem more believable if they had given a damn about the spending under GWB.
Juliet wrote: “The Tea Party “concern” about spending would seem more believable if they had given a damn about the spending under GWB.”
The Tea Party has always been very critical of Bush’s spending. They actually came into existence because of the spending of Bush. People in my party were upset that Republicans were supporting spending like Democrats. If Republicans like Bush had not lost their way, there would be no Tea Party. There would just be united Republicans.
I was just getting really to point out to Mr. Spinelli that Tea Partiers did, in fact, exist before 2009. They just called themselves “libertarians.” If the Tea Partiers are so concerned about spending, why aren’t they losing their collective sh*t over the spending we do to expand the military industrial complex, to subsidize companies like Walmart, and to prop up commercial farming?
It’s theater. And, in my opinion, it’s treasonous.
Juliet N wrote: “If the Tea Partiers are so concerned about spending, why aren’t they losing their collective sh*t over the spending we do to expand the military industrial complex…”
It seems like you are not very knowledgeable about the Tea Party. Did you not notice that one of the candidates in the Republican primary was a Congressman named Ron Paul? He was the candidate favored by the Tea Party. Ron Paul wants to drastically shut down military spending. He has always voted in Congress to defund the military. Did you not watch any of the debates? His foreign policy scares most Republicans, which is a big reason he did not win the primary. If the Tea Party votes were the only ones that counted, Ron Paul would have been the Republican Presidential candidate. If he had won, all our troops would have been immediately withdrawn. He never would have sent more troops to Afghanistan, like Obama did.
“I do not see how the GOP could orchestrate the timing of this situation to coincide with the roll-out of Obamacare. Sometimes it is just coincidence.”
DavidM,
When I published my original story at 9:30am I had not read the following article in The New York Times. I re-edited and re-posted my blog including this updated proof. You can go back to my post or you can follow this link which will address your disbelief:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us/a-federal-budget-crisis-months-in-the-planning.html?hp&_r=0
Mike Spindell – Thanks for the NY Times article, but I hope you understand the difference between a strategy not to fund Obamacare and the issue of timing it to distract from the start of Obamacare. The strategy goes back much further in time than the NY Times article claims, but the timing of the need for a CR and the start of signing up for Obamacare is unfortunate for Republicans. It detracts from our message rather than helps it.
Perhaps you do not realize it, but Republicans DESIRE a debate about Obamacare. We believe that looking at the facts of it and the cost of it will lead informed voters not to embrace it. We believe that Obamacare will hasten a financial collapse of our country. Our nation is spending money we don’t have, and constantly borrowing more to keep the ship afloat. It is like an out of control wife who keeps maxing out credit cards, and the family just keeps getting more credit cards to help keep the family afloat financially. Before long, the lenders are going to say, “uh, no, you have too much debt. You are no longer creditworthy.” The Republicans are saying, let’s stop the overspending before our credit is destroyed.
I don’t know any Republican who objects to health care except for me. A few object to forcing people to buy something they don’t want, but most support the health care system that is popular in society. They are just concerned about the spending aspects of it, and also the liberty issue of forcing people to come under extensive government control for their health care decisions.
“Perhaps you do not realize it, but Republicans DESIRE a debate about Obamacare.”
DavidM,
You amuse me no end when you pontificate your talking points. I take my hat off to you in that you are very skilled at what you do…….and thoroughly disingenuous. And yes you are correct I’m not going to debate with you because honest discussion is futile where you are concerned, but I do admire your persistently blowing smoke……on some level.
Republicans are stupid for not fully funding this major legislation, the only major legislation ever passed using the procedural reconciliation, and let the full horror of Obamacare be realized. And, as stated previously, Dems started calling it Obamacare a while back. Nancy Pelosi likes it because it is easier to remember.
It is as if the T-party is infiltrated with those who want to harm America’s reputation in the major nations, some of which have had “ObamaCare” for a hundred years already.
ObamaCare in the major nations is seen as a very good thing, and is therefore good foreign policy (ObamaCare: Good Foreign Policy).
Dredd wrote: “The drama may in fact be a scripted production that is a front to distract from many things, including sign-up day for an obvious need in our society – health care.”
Dredd, I can tell you as a Republican, I have no problem with people signing up for Obamacare. I have personally encouraged many people who trust medicine and doctors to sign up for Obamacare, but the website has problems handling the load of people, which is one of the criticisms the Republicans have had from the beginning.
The Republicans are concerned about the SPENDING. That is all. They do not object to health care. I have personal issues with forcing me and my family to support a medical system that I do not trust, but that is my personal objection, not the objection of my political party.
Nice writing, Mike, and probably very accurate.
To put it another way, the master manipulator here is our leader in chief, President Obama. Your picture at top should be of President Obama, not House Speaker Boehner who successfully passed several CR bills through the House to fully fund all aspects of government except Obamacare.
The drama may in fact be a scripted production that is a front to distract from many things, including sign-up day for an obvious need in our society – health care.
Those who choreograph the B-grade production certainly do not have our national interests at heart, because the AP noted last week that this charade in bad taste is hurting our reputation in the world.
I do not see how the GOP could orchestrate the timing of this situation to coincide with the roll-out of Obamacare. Sometimes it is just coincidence. As a Republican, I am actually disappointed with the timing, because the mess of Obamacare would be more center stage if this wrangling in Congress was not going on. In my mind, it is more likely the strategy of President Obama to keep this government shutdown going on so as to distract from the problems with Obamacare. The Republicans have introduced several bills to keep the entire government funded, except for delaying certain portions of Obamacare. All President Obama had to do was give the green light to Harry Reid that he supported the measure, and there would be no government shutdown. The ONLY thing left to talk about then would be Obamacare. Clearly, the President welcomes this distraction so he can blame the Republicans for shutting down the government and get his media cronies involved in doing that as well.