In pondering a specific, Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ) inadvertently reveals the general difference between his party's attitude toward governance and that of the opposition's:
We've worked too hard to get [Obamacare] passed, and in good conscience, we have to deliver to the American people. I don't want to hear about the Republicans exploiting this. They're going to exploit every chance that they have. They didn't cause this particular problem. And so what I'm saying is that we'd better come up with an option or an alternative to [more GOP sabotage].
A good conscience, a compulsion to deliver, a recognition of owning a self-caused problem, and a determination to get things right--political qualities universally lacking in today's GOP.
Sure, some congressional Dems--especially Blue Dogs in red districts or states--are running scared and looking for any cover, although the White House is expected to provide a more reasonable sort later this morning. Still, on whole, the proposition holds: While Democrats tend to own up to their mistakes, and thereupon set out to remedy them, Republicans are grinningly content with dropping all their vast blunders into someone else's lap--and thereupon declare their superiority.
Pascrell's pointed remarks say much more the words used, yet it's their unspoken meaning that deserves electoral applause.
It is a curious thing. A lot of American politicians behave as if they worked under a parliamentary system such as we in Canada have. That is a system in which a general election may occur at any time. These politicians seem prone to panic. Last month Democrats looked solid and unified in the face of Republican attempts to use the debt ceiling to extort the end of ACA. Today many seem on the verge of a nervous breakdown lest some surprise election take them down. Because of ACA. Chill folks, is what I would tell them. The American economy is moving in the right direction. The ACA issues will be resolved. And next month we will be talking about something completely different.
Posted by: Peter G | November 14, 2013 at 11:23 AM