How the Democrats Lost Big in the Battle of the Debt

            The debt ceiling deal has been reached and approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was a text book example of the something is better than nothing approach that the White House has been taking lately. Barack Obama surrendered complete control of the issue over to the far right, who somehow convinced everyone that they had bargaining power. But the power that the Tea party actually had was nothing short of a terrorist like plot: they threatened to let the government default if they didn’t have their demands met. But perhaps it is too flattering to liken the Tea Party to terrorists demanding some form of political retribution. The Tea Party is much more like a group of spoiled rich kids who use their parents’ credit cards and complain about their allowances. A deal was reached, but it was the wrong deal.

            Obama and the Democrats had to sacrifice everything they promised to get something passed by the deadline; the only silver lining for Obama is that the deal will last through 2012, so he won’t have to deal with it during the election season. But for all their power (they have the White House and the Senate) the Democrats simply rolled over on this debate and let the Republicans call the shots. The Democrats seem to have a very Stockholm-like Syndrome when it comes to fighting the Republicans and the Tea Party; rather than fight like cornered animals, they simply allow themselves to be taken hostage and victimized.

            The deal itself calls for spending cuts that will burden the disappearing middle class but adds no tax increases on the super wealthy. It was a bad deal that the Democrats shouldn’t have even considered, but because of their breathtaking lack of balls they felt they had to. The Democrats might be a weak party, but they seemed pitiful on the vote. The Republicans, for all their dirty tactics and complete disregard for everything except themselves, came out smelling like roses yet again.

            Since 2008, the Democrats have allowed the government to be hijacked twice by right winged financial thugs who promised to blow the United State to hell if they didn’t get everything they wanted. And the biggest problem is that we have no one standing up for us. We elected Obama to look those terrorists – those teenage brats – in the eye and call their bluff. But instead, he just sighed, signed the deal and gave them back their credit card.