But there’s no middle-of-the-road for them anymore. “Moderate” and “compromise” have become dirty words on the right. They’ve swung so far over they’re alienating a relatively conservative nation. Everytime a Republican voices a reasonable position nowadays he’s eviscerated by his own.

As long as the tea baggers call the shots, moderate Americans will find conservatism increasingly unattractive.

Last night, the House of Representatives was actively working on a bill that would not even be brought to the floor in the Senate and would face certain death at the president’s desk. But let’s think about that fact for a minute. Is this the way American government is supposed to work? Seriously? Back room negotiations between the speaker and the president? Bills that are written up on the fly and go nowhere? Bills that never even get considered for a vote for the other body? Bills that are vetoed before they are even passed?

Think about this: Guess how many vetoes President Obama has issued. The answer is two. The average for presidents is 48. FDR vetoed an average of 53 bills per year and he never once had to deal with Republican majorities. President Obama has less vetoes than Warren Harding—and he was only president for four months! It seems to me the system isn’t working properly when the president isn’t seeing bills he doesn’t like. That isn’t a sign of a healthy separation of powers or checks and balances.

The Senate hasn’t passed a budget in years. Bills that should be written the proper way, by the committee designed for the issue or policy, are not written in committee. They’re written in backrooms by the leadership. Bills are not sent between the chambers for up-or-down votes. Filibusters stop even the most routine matters of business. The average Congressperson can’t even write a bill, have it clear a committee, come to the floor for a vote, and then send it onward for consideration. This has gotten so bad, we can’t even get conference committees established.

Now, as a result of all this, we have enabled a group of crazy people who have been given the power to cripple—literally cripple—the federal government itself. This, the richest most powerful nation on Earth, actually has to figure out how to do coin tricks in order to keep from default. What we are experiencing here is a general breakdown in the basic functioning of American government.

This madness has to stop.

The mainstream media is following the script perfectly.

Have you noticed that the idea that maybe–just maybe–the Democratic position might be wrong, isn’t even part of the discussion any more?

Vote with the Democrats, or you’re part of the problem. Or all of it, if the Democrats play it right. There’s the brilliant statesmen who will solve all our problems by raising taxes on the rich, and then there’s the “ultra-right bible-thumpers.”

Like I said. It’s almost a work of art.

“It’s unbelievable, this is horrible,” he said. “I’m angry, I’m sad for my friend the Speaker, and I’m sorry for the country.  We deserve better.”

From here. If Republicans cede leadership to the ultra-right bible-thumping tea partiers, they deserve the lumps they’re gonna take.

http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/right-rages-at-boehner-fiscal-cliff-debacle-85412.html?hp=l1

This is vendetta. Obama and Reid will accept nothing out of the House that makes the Republicans look like any part of a solution, and they are working very hard to make sure that the next few years can be blamed on someone besides Obama again.

It’s ironic that the Democrats are fighting like hell to protect the middle class against Clinton’s tax rates.

Do they even understand how much of their own political mythology they’re burning down? The taxes that Democrats touted for years as responsible for the prosperity and surpluses back then are now perceived as a complete disaster. And the Republicans who created the current rates (“My2K”) over fierce Democratic opposition, and wanted to make the current rates permanent multiple times (again blocked by the Democrats) are now perceived as the only reason these wonderful tax rates are going away.

Congratulations to the Democratic leadership. This is almost a work of art.