One of my favorite cartoons growing up was Roadrunner. My friends and I squealed with glee as Wile E. Coyote rushed off the cliff, realized he was in thin air and plunged to the desert floor while desperately trying to save himself. Over and over. Slow learner. Ok, you know where this is going..
In August 2011, the Republican Congress held the debt ceiling, our national credit rating, and our economy hostage. They created the January 1, 2013 sequester as “the deal” to raise the debt ceiling. Barely a year later, they realized that removing that much government spending from our fragile economy so precipitously would put us back into recession. Oops, Bad Idea. Yes, bad decisions have consequences. However, unlike the Coyote, if you shove our economy off the cliff, it won’t just bounce right up and carry on.
Mr. Guinta and the Republican Do Nothing Obstructionist Congress are furiously backpeddling in thin air to save their sacred cows (no tax increases for the wealthy, more defense spending) from being sacrificed on their Altar of Deficit Reduction.
Before he left town for six weeks to campaign to preserve his job, Mr. Guinta voted with his Republican colleagues to “fix” his prior bad decision. His fix has no revenue being raised, defense spending exempted from cuts and valued domestic programs for infrastructure, education and social programs slashed. Does this sound like a good fix for New Hampshire and the nation? Certainly not a credible one that can achieve bipartisan support.
Mr. Guinta and his fellow Tea Partiers have shown they are unwilling to act responsibly and do some rudimentary problem solving and compromising. It’s time we find someone who can.
And look at that our next opportunity is just a few days away. My buddy the Roadrunner would be making a beeline straight for the polls. Beep. Beep.
Jonathan Caldwell
Stratham
