I’ve heard several people say “a pox on both their houses,” equating the roles of left and right or House and Senate in our delayed but unresolved political crisis. There are idiots in every group of people. However, it takes two to tango but both have to want to dance.

Responsibility for our ongoing crisis starts with the voters who elected the lunatic fringe, as well as those loonies. Further responsibility belongs to John Boehner for not having the gumption to stand up to a few foaming mouth-breathers. Further responsibility belongs to the rest of the Republican majority of the House for being frightened by the loonies and their deep-pocket backers. Unprincipled cowards all.

When you say “a pox on both their houses,” you have handed victory to those who hate government and will do everything they can to undermine it. Don’t let them win.

“[T]his direct assault on our democracy is entirely the Republicans’ handiwork. Never before has one party insisted that a law of the land be altered or repealed or it shuts the government and refuses to honor the nation’s full faith and credit. The assault is being led by an extremist faction of Republicans that hates the United States government. It is being fueled by Fox News and right-wing yell radio, exploiting the anger and economic insecurities of many Americans. And bankrolling it are a handful of billionaires, led by Charles and David Koch, who have made most of their fortune in hydrocarbons, and who will do whatever it takes to reduce the power of the federal government to tax and regulate.

“Obama and the Democrats cannot back down. We must stand up to this extremism and extortion.” — Robert Reich

[hat tip to Fred Reiner]

I urge you to read this article for the details of what really matters to the Radical Wrong.

Dana Milbank:No room for the sick and poor on GOP lifeboat – Editorial – Ohio

On the second day of the shutdown, House Republicans continued what might be called the lifeboat strategy: deciding which government functions are worth saving.

In: veterans, the troops and tourist attractions.

Out: poor children, pregnant women and just about every government function that regulates business or requires people to pay taxes.

The lifeboat strategy was the brainchild of Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the freshman who has become the de facto leader of congressional Republicans in the shutdown.

Dana Milbank:No room for the sick and poor on GOP lifeboat – Editorial – Ohio

Hat tip to Rebecca Lasley.

The Nullification Party « The Dish

How does one party that has lost two presidential elections and a Supreme Court case – as well as two Senate elections  –   think it has the right to shut down the entire government and destroy the full faith and credit of the United States Treasury to get its way on universal healthcare now? I see no quid pro quo even. Just pure blackmail ….

I fear this nullification of the last two elections is a deliberate attempt to ensure that the American system of government as we have known it cannot work. It cannot, must not work, in the mindset of these radicals, because they simply do not accept the legitimacy of a President and Congress of the opposing party. The GOP does not regard the president as merely wrong – but as illegitimate. Not misguided – illegitimate. This is not about ending Obamacare as such (although that is a preliminary scalp); it is about nullifying this presidency, the way the GOP attempted to nullify the last Democratic presidency by impeachment. …

If we cave to their madness, we may unravel our system of government, something one might have thought conservatives would have opposed. Except these people are not conservatives. They’re vandals.

The Nullification Party « The Dish

Quigley does it again. Brilliant. Medicare for all!

Critics miss the point of Affordable Care Act | ABQJournal Online

Winthrop Quigley / Journal Staff Writer | 10 hours ago

Wealthy opponents of the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – in the form of the Club for Growth have launched some absurd television commercials featuring Uncle Sam replacing the kindly family doctor to examine the most private part of a patient’s anatomy. The message is that the government wants to take over your health care.

There are many Americans who would love to see a real government takeover by eliminating the private, for-profit insurance industry and replacing it with that radical, socialistic, alien form of health care finance known as … Medicare.

As it happens, Obamacare has very little to do with health and everything to do with finance. It is an attempt to rescue the nation’s for-profit health-care financing system from itself.

The United States has a lot of experience with rescuing elements of capitalism from capitalism’s strange propensity to self-destruct. [keep reading]

Critics miss the point of Affordable Care Act | ABQJournal Online

As for that leering Dr Sam, he could be the symbol of the fight against reproductive rights. These fools have no shame at all.

A friend expressed an interest in data regarding the Affordable Care Act. My first thought is that data means nothing to the deniers of evolution or the deniers of climate change. They are simply data deniers.

Another example comes to mind: gun violence. In this case, those who profit from gun violence have worked steadfastly to prevent the accumulation of data.

The ACA contains detailed mechanisms for the accumulation of and transparency of data. We will have real data on what works and what doesn’t, data we can use to improve the ACA.

The anarcho-libertarians who control the Republican party fear information. Information is the messenger of change, which these paleo-conservatives fear most of all. Change is the root of all their fears.

The opponents of affordable healthcare don’t give a damn about the economy they claim to want to protect. Their current actions prove that. They fear every example of successful government. A government that works might interfere with their profit taking. Better we should all die, be it disease, the food we buy, guns, or pure ignorance.