I Never Saw A Purple Caucus.....

Here's a little bit o' PRESS THE MEET'S transcript from March 03, 213 to get things started:

DAVID GREGORY:

I want to try to pin you down on two points. You were just talking about tax reform and your objection, it seems, to this formulation which is allow some revenues to come from tax reform to unlock entitlement cuts and then you'd get rid of the sequester. But you think that's sort of arbitrary. It's just a couple of deductions. Are you open down the line to using revenue derived from tax reform closing deductions to actually pay down the deficit?

SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER:

I'm going to say it one more time. The president got his tax hikes on January the first. The issue here is spending. Spending is out of control. There are smarter ways to cut spending than this silly sequester that the president demanded. And so we need to address the long-term spending problem. But we can't cut our way to prosperity.

We also have to have real economic growth. American family's wages aren't growing. They're being squeezed. And as a result, we've got to find a way through our tax code to promote more economic growth in our country. We can do this by closing loopholes, bringing the rates down for all Americans, making the tax code fairer. It will promote more economic growth.

The above exchange just about sent me lunging at the television; I wanted to reach through the screen and throttle Speaker Boehner, all the while screaming, “CAN YOU JUST ANSWER THE FRICKIN’ QUESTION?????” This man is obtuse, obstructionist, and just plain duplicitous. And We, the People have managed to keep electing him to Congress. Please notice I said, “WE.” All of us own this one.

Just read the NY Times opinion page comments and all you see these days is mounting frustration. Frustration with the government, frustration with the political system, frustration with corporate greed. Some unnamed thing is so out of whack that the only thing people can agree on is that everything is broken. The sad part is, most of We, The People don’t quite understand the depth of broken. It’s ultimately about wealth, power, and manipulation. It’s about suppression and control. And after this last election cycle people are starting to catch on.

There’s this great video explanation of wealth inequality making the rounds these days. It’s a bunch of graphs depicting how we think wealth is distributed, how we think it should be distributed, and how it is actually distributed. It is disturbing…and the comments round it are exceptionally revealing. Yeah, it’s all about how you spin in. But the bottom line (pun definitely intended) is that in inequity is far greater than most people imagine, and when then see it on paper, they wonder how this came to be…and more importantly, how one political party is, even now, standing up to protect that curve on the backs of those who can least afford to support it.

Take a moment and watch this: 

Wealth Inequality in America

I must be living in some kind of cloud-cuckoo-land. I have this ridiculous expectation that after the November election cycle, the GOP would wake up enough to notice they are not exactly in lock step with the rest of the nation. In fact, their statements on women, immigrants, civil rights, and science would’ve provided enough of a clue to a corpse. But noooooo. They have continued down this path of we-hate-everything-we’re-against-everything-and-we’re-gonna-take-this-country-down-just-to-prove-it and expect us not to notice this isn’t about that nation, it’s about THEM. I keep waiting for someone, anyone, from either side of the aisle to stand up and say, “Okay, we all get you’re unhappy; now let’s all get over ourselves and get to work.”And I must confess, this is all getting to me. Big time.

Then, just as I was considering throwing in the political towel in favor of writing widow blogs, or grandpuppy blogs, or gardening blogs, something happened in this strange State of Minnesnowta, L'Étoile du Nord, that made me pause. Two guys stood up and said, basically, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Minnesota State Senators Roger Reinert, DFL-Duluth, and Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, made the strangest announcement at the capital: they have formed a Purple Caucus. According to the announcement, anyone can join; they just have to put their “status as a Minnesotan above their individual party label.”

What a concept! Who knows if it’s gonna work…but it’s something. Anything. An attempt to put the good of the state above the sticky label. Kudos to these two for standing up and saying something. I hope to hell they get lots of members who finally have figured out we need a lege that works together. We can no longer to afford to have every single bill die in committee. Seriously and literally.

And when Messrs Reinert and Miller prove this can work…let’s send ‘em both to Washington. Lord knows the bozos on that bus need help.

The Wifely Person's Tip O'the Week

I never saw  purple caucus

I  hope real soon to see one

‘cause I can tell you without a  doubt

We really , really need one.

With apologies to Gelett Burgess