Via Think Progress.
Yesterday on Fox News Sunday, John Boehner showed his contempt for the American electorate by suggesting that they are not ready for solutions to the large issues affecting this country. Host Chris Wallace asked him directly why there are no references at all to solving the big issues of entitlements in the USA which account for upwards of 40% of our budget.
Boehner said Americans aren’t ready for that “adult conversation”.
Chris, it’s time for us as Americans to have an adult conversation with each other about the serious challenges our country faces. And we can’t have that serious conversation until we lay out the size of the problem. Once Americans understand how big the problem is, then we can begin to talk about potential solutions.
WALLACE: Congressman Boehner, as Willie Sutton said about banks, entitlements are where the money is. More than 40% of the budget. Yet, I’ve looked through this pledge and there is not one single proposal to cut social security, medicare, medicaid.BOEHNER: Chris, we make it clear in there that we’re going to lay out a plan to work toward a balanced budget and deal with the entitlement crisis. Chris, it’s time for us as Americans to have an adult conversation with each other about the serious challenges our country faces. And we can’t have that serious conversation until we lay out the size of the problem. Once Americans understand how big the problem is, then we can begin to talk about potential solutions.[…]
WALLACE: Forgive me, sir, isn’t the right time to have the adult conversation now before the election when you have this document? Why not make a single proposal to cut social security, medicare and medicaid?
BOEHNER: Chris, this is what happens here in Washington. When you start down that path, you just invite all kind of problems. I know. I’ve been there. I think we need to do this in a more systemic way and have this conversation first. Let’s not get to the potential solutions. Let’s make sure Americans understand how big the problem is. Then we can talk about possible solutions and then work ourselves into those solutions that are doable.
Let me just put this entire response into a simple, easy to understand sentence:
BOEHNER: Chris, we Republicans don’t have anything new, any plan, so we’re waving around a book full of absolute fluff and pabulum while saying we do instead.
This is your Republican Tea Party in America today. Boehner claims that Americans aren’t ready for that “adult conversation” yet because they don’t fully understand the size of the problem. This is a complete and utter lie. They know damn well Americans understand the size of the problem. The problem for Republicans, however, is that they do not have any answers. They have no plan and they have nothing new to offer to the conversation that hasn’t already been tried and proven to be ineffective at best and harmful at worst.
Americans in general and Republicans in particular should be insulted beyond words at this man’s supposition that they aren’t adult enough (yet) to talk about these things. He knows damn well that the only reason that they haven’t come forward with a plan is that any plan they come up with will have things in it that are hard. They will cause pain in one or more areas either through tax increases or serious cuts in services provided by the Federal government. They do not want to go on record now, right before an election, with putting these painful measures forward.
If there were actually any adults in Congress, honest adults with leadership capabilities, they’d be telling America that hard things need to be done, that people will need to pull together, bite the bullet, tighten their belts, [insert another euphemism for dealing with hard things here], and incur the sacrifices necessary to get through it. Sadly, precious few will do this.
Meanwhile, in the background (and even, sometimes, right in broad daylight), Republicans scheme to make sure any hardships and sacrifice are not borne by the wealthy and the political elite. They arrange things so that time and time again, nearly the entire burden is carried by the middle class and those with the least amount of political voice or power. That’s how Republicans roll.
This isn’t surprising, of course. Republicans do not have anything new under the sun to address our national debt or the crises we face as a nation. They haven’t in the past, they don’t now and they certainly won’t after the election.
But to have the leader of the Republican Party come right out and baldly tell Americans they aren’t grown up enough to even discuss it?
That right there, my friends, is an unmitigated insult.
I’m just sayin’…
