Politics & Government

3 Passages on the Government Shutdown: 'Final Spasm of a Still-Fresh Corpse'

Tens of thousands from our region may be back to work soon. Here's a cheat-sheet to what happened.

Heading into the dinner hour Wednesday, an ugly end to an ugly Congressional mess seemed likely, finally.

If both houses of Congress approve a measure that will at least temporarily open the government and spare Uncle Sam from being jailed for not paying his debts, tens of thousands of people from our region will return to their government and quasi-government jobs this week.

It's been a while. So, here's the shutdown boiled down, with three somewhat random but very telling passages that sum up the mess that was — and probably will be again.

Noam Scheiber, The New Republic, on the GOPs (Apparent) Last Gasp
"... don’t mistake it for anything other than what it was: the final spasm of a still-fresh corpse, the corpse being the GOP’s legitimacy as a political entity, to say nothing of its negotiating position in this particular conflict. If Boehner had actually had the votes to pass a bill that reopened the government and raised the debt ceiling while enacting a few modest Republican priorities—which is to say, a bill that would have been taken seriously inside Washington and put Democrats in something of a bind—he would have done it days ago, in time to give himself some actual leverage. As Boehner told his caucus, you’d 'rather throw a grenade than catch a grenade.'"


Sen. Ted Cruz, Tea Party Republican Who Won by Losing
"Unfortunately, once again, it appears the Washington establishment is refusing to listen to the American people. The deal that has been cut provides no relief to the millions of Americans who are hurting because of Obamacare. The deal that has been cut provides no relief to all the young people coming out of school who can't find a job because of Obamacare. It provides no relief to all the single parents who have been forced into part-time work, struggling to feed their kids on 29 hours a week."

Chaplain Barry Black, Leading the Senate in Prayer
The very wise chaplain offered a prayer to open a recent session of the U.S. Senate that even atheists may have responded to with a big, "AMEN!"
 
"Deliver us," he seemed to ask Congress via God, "from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable."

Altogether now: "AMEN!"


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here