E. J. Dionne speaks my mind
in an op ed with the title The high cost of hating government. He begins by telling of of the rally attended by Republican Mike Pence of Indiana where that worthy joined the crowd in urging the government be shut down. Dionne notes that the relatively small gathering of several hundred had a size that indicates how unrepresentative of the American people that attitude is, hates the government, and has no respect for the normal give and take of the political process. He then notes succinctly
in no serious country do threats to shut down the government become a routine way of doing business. Yet in our repertoire of dysfunction, we are on the verge of adding shutdown abuse to abuse of the filibuster in the Senate.
Of course, the Senate Democrats refused to do filibuster reform in 2007, which could have prevented many of the logjams which created the national mood that allowed for the rise of the Tea Party and the loss of the House. Surprisingly, they failed again to address that issue earlier this year, meaning even though they control the Senate they still face the obstacle of needing 60 votes for anything important.
But it is the hostage taking of the threat of shutdown which is on my mind today, as it was this weekend, which is why Dionne spoke to me, and which is why I urge you to read his piece and pass it on.