Flaylo
Handsome Devil
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-hickey/american-majority-rejects_b_859740.html
Do Repugs respect the needs and views of the American majority? You be the judges.
Out in the America, unemployment is back up to 9 percent, but inside the Washington beltway bubble the consensus, driven by conservatives seems to be for austerity. An unholy alliance of pundits, politicians and even reporters -- who differ only in degree -- is insisting on the need to slash Federal spending over the next few months. As we approach the deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, not a hour goes by in the 24 hour cycle without the media interviewing some expert who declares that the deficit is the most important threat facing the country, that tax increases are off the table, and that a severe crisis awaits if the Congress doesn't cut and radically restructure Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
But one voice is missing from this discussion: that of the American Majority.
Occasionally some talking head on TV will acknowledge the almost daily public opinion polling showing conclusively that strong majorities of Americans:
- oppose cutting benefits for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid recipients;
- reject the idea of raising the age of eligibility for these popular programs;
- hate the proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher or privatize Social Security;
- support taxing the rich and corporations to close the deficit and fund needed investment;
- favor cutting military spending for both obsolete weapons systems and current wars;
- and, while acknowledging the need to reduce deficits, place a higher priority on creating jobs and getting the sputtering economy growing.
Rarely in the public discussion are the views of the American majority presented in such a comprehensive way. Instead, some budget expert from Brookings or an honest reporter will nervously interject that "recent polls show Americans may resist taking the medicine," and then the discussion moves on to why austerity is absolutely necessary. Rarely on talk shows or even in serious print news article does anyone challenge the predictable Republican mantra that "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem." And, given the consensus that we face a "debt and deficit crisis" that could soon hurt the economy, rarely is anyone allowed to warn that a strong dose of spending cuts might hurt the America's faltering recovery.
Do Repugs respect the needs and views of the American majority? You be the judges.