The Birth of Hostage Politics

The American people voted in a Republican-led congress because they wanted centrism in their government, and they wanted jobs. Instead, what they got was trivial nonsense wrapped in the guise of fear until catastrophe loomed. And then what did they get? They got bamboozled. No jobs—in fact, there will now be less jobs. So why did centrism not work? Where are the jobs? Why hasn’t a Boehner-led congress done what it promised us it would? The answer is simple. It was never about jobs. It was never about centrism. It was always about pushing through a Republican agenda under a Democratic president using the most heinous tactics this country has seen. And it was always about playing hostage politics, an incredibly dangerous precedent that puts us at the precipice of something far worse than a debt ceiling collapse.

President Obama has done almost all he can to embolden Republicans to act in this fashion. He’s already given in to this kind of political extortion before. Back in December, the president allowed the Bush tax cuts to be extended, a nearly incomprehensible move considering the lack of government revenue in the face of a staggering deficit. Then, not too long ago in the spring, the Republicans threatened to shut down the government unless given what they want. Once again, the president caved, and the GOP got what they wanted. Now, after much consternation from both sides regarding the debt ceiling, our supposedly liberal president has bent at the knees one more time, giving in to political terrorism on the most despicable stage yet.

The harsh truth of the matter is Republicans have quickly learned to govern from crisis to crisis, using each individual one as a bargaining chip with the people of the United States at stake. Only they don’t care. They don’t care about the rules. They don’t care about the consequences. They don’t care about the people. If you refuse to play by the rules, then every game suddenly becomes winnable. That’s what the Republicans have done. They are the minority party, controlling only congress, yet they govern as though they are the majority by acting irresponsibly time and time again in the face of imminent disaster. They are the ultimate humanized metaphor of the “take my ball and go home” child. The only difference is this game affects us all.

This was the perfect storm of a soft president, a bad economy, and a politically-savvy (albeit radical) party. I’ll start with the first. Our president had any number of outs to deal with the debt ceiling crisis, and he took none of them. He had the chance to demand an increase during the winter months, yet he did not. Instead he said, “Look, here’s my expectation — and I’ll take John Boehner at his word — that nobody, Democrat or Republican, is willing to see the full faith and credit of the United States government collapse, that that would not be a good thing to happen.” Sure wouldn’t would it? Good thing we trusted Boehner and his caucus to act responsibly. Even after all that, the president could have resulted to other legal measures (including the 14^th amendment) to increase the debt ceiling while bypassing a lunatic Republican-led congress. But he did none of those things, and he has failed time and time again to learn the lessons of the not-too-distant past.

Next, we have our bad economy. Plus we have two wars. Plus we have secret Muslim terrorists all around us! Plus gay people are getting married! Plus our own government is funding 90% of all abortions! Plus unions are the reason why we are in debt! Be afraid!…but wait, wasn’t this congress supposed to focus on jobs? So why haven’t they? Instead, the Boehner congress has focused its time and efforts on gay marriage, abortions, union-busting, Sharia law, and reducing government programs such as medicare and social security. This congress could care less about jobs. What they do care about is scaring you into thinking that things like gay marriage and Sharia law are coming to get you. They do care about focusing your attention elsewhere while the economy continues to tank. And they do care about deflecting blame to the president, claiming that his liberal agenda (backed by a supposed liberal media, nonetheless) has caused this sudden quagmire that we all now sit in. The wool has been tightly pulled over the eyes.

Finally, the Republicans are politically savvy, if not political terrorists. They’ve played this game with the Bush tax cuts, they’ve played this game with the government shutdown, and now they’ve executed this extortion plan to perfection with the debt ceiling. They were never seriously negotiating—not until recently, anyway. It was all posturing. They knew full well that if they finally agreed to something at the 11^th hour, the Democrats would have no choice but to pass it save a default on our debt. With no time to fully examine all the details and the country’s future at stake, what choice would they have? After all, it worked during the first almost-disaster, and it worked during the second almost-disaster. Why wouldn’t it work the third time? It’s brilliant. It’s conniving. And it’s the most dangerous precedent we may have ever seen in American politics.

If one political party can hold the country hostage with control of one third of its government, then our system truly is broken. The birth of hostage politics is among us, and the first casualty is going to be the economy. Slashing spending in a depressed economy isn’t going to bolster the budget, and in the long run, it will probably exacerbate the problem. Furthermore, without any serious talk of increasing government revenue (ie. Taxing the rich their fair share), how can we ever justifiably suppose to balance a budget on drastic cuts alone that don’t even include defense at this point? But perhaps the most frightening concept of all are the future choke points and impeding catastrophes that the Republicans now have absolutely no incentive whatsoever to compromise on. And why should they? The Democrats and the president have already set the precedent of unyielding surrender in the face of possible disaster. They’ve hoped that the Republicans would act responsibly and—surprise!—they haven’t. They’ve created an era of political extortion, and used it unrelentingly to their advantage while holding the country over the coals.

The serious philosophical question to pose here is: What happens when one party becomes so extreme that compromise is no longer a viable alternative? The answer is the birth of hostage politics under the guise of centrism. Only there’s nothing centrist here. The president isn’t being kept in check, like Americans supposedly wanted; he’s being held hostage, as are the rest of Americans. Centrism has turned to extremism, and it’s worked.

The only problem is we’re the ones who will suffer for it.