I can tell that I’ve already alienated people on Twitter because I’ve been on this topic. I’m pretty okay with that. I figure you have to speak up for what you believe in. If your political opinion or religious faith *offend* someone, then that’s up to them to deal with. I believe in loving one another and tolerance, but I don’t believe in ignorance.
I can’t believe that the government has been in “partial” shutdown for nearly four days now. I could get into all the yadda-yadda-yadda about who’s to blame (Tea Party Republicans and the GOP leadership) and why it’s bad for the country (our politicians aren’t supposed to throw a fit to change LAWS they don’t like; we have a different process for that. It’s in the constitution!)
But James Fallows at The Atlantic pretty much nails it. So you can go read his take instead. Remember: both sides are not equally culpable. It’s the GOP who is crashing this country. If you want to blame the President and the Democrats for doing nothing and for not negotiating, you go right ahead. They don’t have anything to negotiate on. The Tea Party is being completely unreasonable.
To review: The Affordable Care Act was passed into law in 2010. The Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional in June 2012. And Obama was reelected in 2012.
Yeah, the law is complicated; most laws are. And yeah, a lot of people have a lot of misgivings and doubts and questions.
But you don’t shutdown a government because you don’t like one of its laws. That’s not how it works. Well, I guess this time it is.
Guess what? Government is shutdown, and Obamacare is rolling out.
I have serious concerns about this shutdown. It is hurting real people. Real families. I don’t think Congress and conservative pundits realize that. I heard a bunch of conservative pundits going on yesterday about how it’s a minor inconvenience.
Guess what, if you have two parents working for the government in non-essential roles, it’s a little more than inconvenient to not be getting a paycheck. Especially if you’ve already been affected by the sequester, and have been furloughed for the past few months.
If you are a poor mom who depends on Head Start to get to your job on time while knowing your kids are fed and cared for until school starts, you’re a little more than inconvenienced. If you don’t have a backup plan for childcare, you’re shit out of luck.
If you are poor, elderly, sick, and you rely on government programs to help you get well or get work, you’re screwed.
And let me tell you something else: the GOP doesn’t care. They aren’t holding their breath until they turn blue. They are getting paid.
They’re telling poor, and sick, and elderly people, they are telling “non-essential” government employees to hold their breath.
Donate to your local food banks. See if they will take formula and diapers because WIC, the program for Women, Infants, and Children, is running out of money and shutting its doors across the country. Write, call, email, and tweet your representatives. I didn’t vote for the Republican in my district, but I’ve emailed and tweeted.
I could very well lose my job, too, and I don’t work in government. The company for which I work depends heavily — too heavily for my comfort right now — on government spending. It’s a little tense around the office lately.
Don’t sit around and think this shutdown stinks because people won’t stop talking about it and some tourists are being inconvenienced.
Act now. And do something in the next election if one of your guys (or gals) contributed to this mess.
Red Pen Mama 
Yes yes yes. The Republicans in the House remind me a little of Agent 86 on Get Smart, proposing a series of “Would you believe”s to someone who has clearly seen through. This is not a time for negotiation. This is a time for the extreme right wing in the house to get a grip.
I addressed this today too. There’s really nothing to negotiate. The Tea Party and their enablers are having a public tantrum because they didn’t get their way, and the rest of us have to pay for it. They don’t care a lick about anything other than getting their way and making Obama look bad. Most of all, they are deathly afraid the ACA will WORK! The whole thing is obscene.
Honestly I am really scared that such a small subset of the population can have such a strong hold on our federal government.
So much of this. That 50-80 members of Congress out of 535 total (House and Senate) is really disgusting. It’s also incredibly scary.
I am so mad about this shutdown that I cannot even compose my thoughts. I’m glad you were able to get your thoughts written down so that I can say “I agree!”. My spouse is a civilian DoD employee who has been at home until Tuesday and I can only hope that he will eventually get paid. Shame on the Republican party for supporting the extremists in their midst. Many congresspeople are millionaires who do not know the anxiety not receiving a paycheck brings. This is no way to treat good US citizens!
The whole thing is disgusting and the idea that the Democratic Senate is at fault for refusing to ‘negotiate’ with the House is a load of platypus poo. The Tea Party Republicans are a bunch of domestic terrorists as far as I’m concerned and I hope Obama decides that there’s no negotiating with terrorists and just doesn’t cave to their little games.
I fear that within the next 100 years or less, American Democracy will be a thing of the past. We’re doomed to failure at this rate.
I can’t agree with you more. People don’t get everything they want and claim they will bankrupt the country if they can’t get what they want – no matter what the rest of us want. The republicans are too afraid to stand up to the wackos in their own party. Can you imagine what our government would do if they had to find a way of making a coalition with the Greens and Socialists like they do in Europe?