A mixed bag of news, mostly good, but still, danger lurks.
Paul Krugman is proved correct - again.
The president shows a spine - again.
The economy grows a bit - again.
The GOP bitches - again.
I really REALLY hope that the GOP becomes so angry at the recess appointments at NLRB and Consumer Protection, that they seek an independent counsel, hire a conservative firebrand to persecute the President, spend millions of tax dollars investigating the President, then try to impeach him. The GOP candidates already proved that they are in thrall with the Tea Baggers, even as Tea Bagger popularity has crashed with a resounding thud, even among conservative GOPers. (When you are cocooned inside the Bloatway, those outside news items don't seem to pierce that bubble, leaving the GOP believing its own push polls and news releases. It is the only explanation for Tea Baggers' evident control over the GOP.)
We need to face certain facts. There is little that any one person, even a president, can do to make an economy grow and unemployment fall. If congress and a white house work together, it is slightly easier (for example a huge jobs bill, or a new GI bill for IraqNam and Afghan vets, or better, both) to have a positive impact, but even then, such trends of economic growth take a long time, longer than 6-18 months, and worse, an immediate impact is hard to measure or predict.
On the other hand, it is easy to fuck up, or even destroy an economy. One bad piece of legislation, shutting down the federal government, creating another Faux Debt Crisis, or deliberately attacking a working piece of government, and kaBOOM! any growth patterns or rising employment can shut down or reverse faster than the shake of a ewe's tail. That is what makes the next several months so dangerous.
Most people in Congress realize that their days are numbered. The GOP has never seen such levels of dislike, mistrust and negative polling. The Tea Baggers, bless their tiny, tinny souls, are so obtuse and so in love with their ridiculous memes and AynRandish political/economic theories, that they don't even recognize that the tide has shifted against them. Yet, the GOP continues to follow the Tea Bagger lead, even when some of them know it is leading to disaster. Why? Because they have no choice.
To admit the truth about their failed economic policies (that tax breaks for the rich create jobs, despite 11 consecutive years of failure), or to admit that most Americans really hate their social agenda and proposed changes to it, would mean that the GOP was promoting a series of lies for decades. Even worse, for the past 15-20 years, the GOP has successfully sought to purify its own ranks, throwing out any moderates who could realistically created a third path, or at least give them rational alternatives. Instead, they tied their future to the Tea Baggers, who are even more outrageous and wrongheaded than your average GOP senator or congressman. That leaves the GOP in serious trouble. They cannot even accept a new idea or admit a mistake, because the tail that wags them would turn on them faster than a speeding locomotive . . . had we funded high speed rail, that is.
Because of their successful purging of moderates, all they have left is Tea Baggery, and the rest of their shelf is barren and empty. To compound their problem, they have no real leadership that could, and possibly would change their direction and come up with real answers. The ones running for office still believe that Tea Baggery is paving their road to success. Name one GOP presidential candidate who does not kowtow to the christian conservatives or the TBers. To the contrary, they are rushing to ultra-right, trying to out Tea Bag each other.
We face two dangers, not just one. The first was mentioned above, ie, the GOP can sabotage the economy, if we let them. But the second danger is even worse. Some Democrats may have been stricken by the same Tea Baggery disease, and some may think that tax cuts are the only way to save our economy. They may destroy themselves simply because they don't realize that the political tide has shifted so much.
The solution is obvious. We need to support the president and his wonderful recess appointments. We need to push democrats NOT to follow the Tea Bagger tax cut memes. And we need to prevent some GOP sabotage against a creaky, but growing economy.
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