By: Ivan Flores / Columnist
The American government is shutting down!
Well, at least that is what the House Republicans are hoping will happen. Our current budget is set to expire on March 4, 2011, and if the GOP has it their way, March 4 will be the day the American government shuts down until the liberal Democrats in the Senate come around to the Republican terms. This tug-of-war being played puts the economy, the legal system and, most importantly, the jobs of federal workers on the line.
Threatening to shut down the government is actually a boon for the Republican party, who run and thrive on a campaign of fear, discrimination, and paranoia. Stephen Colbert’s 2010 political rally, “Keep Fear Alive,” is clearly a banner that the Republican Party is currently flying under. By stirring up fear, it is easy for House Republicans to finally have their way and cut pointless social services like Healthcare, heating subsidies for the poor and Planned Parenthood.
By threatening to shut the government down unless their demands are met, Republicans are able to play the card of fiscal responsibility and paint Democrats as wasteful bureaucrats who do not want to prevent the government from shutting down because they refuse compromise, with good reason I might add.
Before the house Republicans thought that shutting down the government was a good idea, the House was attempting to pass into law H.R. 1, the 2011 Fiscal Year Appropriation Bill, which would set the budget for the remainder of the year.
Proposed cuts to Planned Parenthood, healthcare, and subsidies for heating all target the poor. The Low Energy Assistance Program, which would have provided $50 million in subsidies to the poor, were rejected by a huge margin because if it is anyone who do not need subsidies from the government for healthcare and heating, it is the disenfranchised.
As the government races towards a shutdown, it is obvious that our culture of partisan politics has gotten in the way of our democratic system.
The last time there was a government shutdown was in 1995 under the Clinton Administration. The budget was not resolved in time and the Republican Party, which controlled Congress at the time, wanted cuts to Medicare and other social programs. I hope this is starting to sound familiar.
As House Republicans continue to whine and make demands like babies Senate Democrats continue to be the dutiful babysitter: patient, understanding, but unwilling to compromise to the demands of a bratty child.
Cutting the budget is not just a financial matter, it is also a moral matter. Both sides need to compromise on programs that do not affect poor and disenfranchised. As Democrat and Republican opinions crash about the role that the American government should have, it is clear that the role any government should hold is to function, regardless of petty differences and political infighting.
The Politick is a political op-ed column. Look for it every other Wednesday.
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