THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 171, July 7, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
DEBT CEILING CRISIS: AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS
By Christopher G. Adamo
CONGRESSIONAL & PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS IN THE CURRENT CONTROVERSY OVER STATUTORY LIMITS ON THE U.S.
FEDERAL DEBT: WHAT IS AT STAKE IN THE DEBT CEILING DISPUTE -- WHY THE POLITICAL LEFT IS PUTTING SO MUCH
PRESSURE ON U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO CAPITULATE & AGREE TO A RISE IN THE DEBT CEILING -- WHAT THE
DEMOCRATS EXPECT TO GAIN FROM A REPUBLICAN CAVE-IN -- THE LIBERAL LEFTIST PROPAGANDA LINE & POLITICAL
TACTICS BEING EMPLOYED -- AMERICA'S PRESENT FISCAL SITUATION & GRIM HARBINGERS THAT CAN BE IGNORED ONLY
AT OUR IMMINENT NATIONAL PERIL -- PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S DISINGENUOUS ROLE IN SEEKING TO THWART
EFFORTS OF CONSERVATIVES TO CONFRONT THE FISCAL DISASTER & RESCUE THE NATION FROM IT
FULL STORY:
While it is important not to offer excuses that might enable Congressional Republicans to retreat on the debt ceiling
battle, the American people need to realize just how much pressure the Liberal Democratic political opposition is
putting on them, in hopes of forcing a capitulation. However, the primary reason Democrats are waging this all out
war is not merely to ensure a continuation of the current bloat and excesses of government. Rather, they know that a
Republican cave-in would be their best central strategy for a Democratic Party rebound in 2012, likely guaranteeing
Democratic President Barack Obama’s reelection, as well as major Republican losses in both houses of Congress.
Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat - New York) is leading an effort to claim that Republican intransigence is part of a
deliberate effort to “sabotage” the economy for political purposes. Meanwhile, the usual Liberal mouthpieces in the
“mainstream” media are offering their own jaundiced perspectives. Chris Matthews on MSNBC tells of the bliss and
euphoria that has erupted in Greece on the heels of that country’s passage of a budget that ostensibly fixes its debt
crisis. In short, the Liberal message is that the only means of preventing calamity and tragedy in America is for the
Republicans to stop playing Russian roulette with the nation’s finances by raising the debt ceiling and accommodating
the outlandish spending excesses of President Obama and his minions on Capitol Hill.
But, as is the case with all Liberal political ploys, this scenario only seems even remotely plausible if it is considered
exclusively in terms of the present moment. If the world began yesterday, and, come tomorrow, will not bear the
consequences for today’s criminally incompetent actions, then, by all means, we can continue offering everything
demanded by America’s “needy” class and never face a day of reckoning. Unfortunately, reality invariably interferes
with such an approach.
Even a cursory examination of the current fiscal situation in America and on the world scene yields some grim
harbingers that are ignored at our imminent national peril. Despite Matthews’ purposeful myopia regarding Greece,
things are far from idyllic there. The present “resolution” of its ongoing budget impasse is only expected to last a few
months at most, at which time the debt monster will raise its ugly head once again, and with an even greater vengeance
than before.
The Greek people, having become conditioned by the irresponsible pandering of the political class to expect an endless
free lunch, were incited to the point of violence over the prospect that their nanny state might have to rein in its delivery
of “benefits,” despite the fact that the money to pay for them has run out. On the heels of brutal and even bloody
protests by Greece’s dependent class, the European Union has come forth with funds to perpetuate the ruse, but only
in the short term.
In other words, the “can” was momentarily kicked down the road, and a deceptive calm has followed. But once again, the
tab for the social excesses of that nation will be borne by others who themselves are not financially any better off. In no
way is Greece on a road back to solvency, let alone prosperity. Not wanting to see its socialist house of cards collapse
under the weight of reality, the European Union is flailing in an attempt to hold things together. Yet, despite the
application of enormous amounts of money from the rest of the continent, that day of reckoning cannot be avoided
forever.
The latest news is that Portugal is not far behind Greece, having had its own “assets” recently qualified by Moody’s as
the equivalent of junk bonds. And, as these dominoes continue to fall, the European Central Bank increasingly has to
take on the bad credit, acquiring billions of what are essentially toxic assets from faltering socialist nations, with no hope
of ever recouping the losses they represent. Meanwhile, the people on the street, from Athens to Madison, Wisconsin,
seem to think that, merely by engaging in loud and angry demonstrations, they can force those in government to
endlessly cough up ever increasing sums of money. Can anyone say “financial meltdown”?
Americans had better realize that things are no better on this side of the Atlantic. Eventually, every Ponzi scheme hits a
wall and falls apart. What Democrats in Congress are counting on is the possibility that, since the House of
Representatives is now under Republican leadership, and GOP Senators are holding fast to their commitment to
foreswear the profligate spending that got the nation into this mess, America will blame them for the austerity that is its
only course to recovery. In short, as the nation’s fiscal situation unravels, those on the political Left continue to play
political games in hopes of reaping benefits for themselves.
Not surprisingly, Barack Obama is playing his usual disingenuous role in this fiscal disaster. Pretending to be above the
fray, he is doing his best to shift the blame from his indefensible financial escapades of the past three years to those on
the political Right who seek to honestly confront the situation and rescue the nation from it. This time, however, the
transparency of his actions has become glaringly obvious. Even some in the Liberal media have expressed their extreme
disappointment with his pontificating and juvenile finger pointing, whether in prepared White House statements or
during his disastrous June 29, 2011, press conference.
The harsh truth of today is the same as it has always been. Any government that continues to spend more than it takes in,
as America has been doing, will eventually fail. No exceptions. Those who, at this late date, remain fixated on how to carry
on in the present mode are exhibiting their total disregard for the nation’s well being or its prospects for the future. If the
good people from the Heartland intend to save their country from monetary ruin, they had better demand accountability
from those in elected office. Anything less will guarantee that, at some point in the not-too-distant future, America’s
streets will look like the streets of Athens, but with no prospect of an overseeing entity coming to their rescue.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, & Special Interest Groups
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
Fiscal Policy: Taxation & Government Spending
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
Christopher G. Adamo is a resident of southeastern Wyoming. He has been involved in politics at the local and state level
for many years. His contact information and article archives can be found at www.chrisadamo.com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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