Yes, Fareed Zakaria, yes.
The U.S. Congress is a national embarrasment, except that no one is embarrassed. There are a few men of conscience left, like John McCain, but McCain's pleas against pork seem to have absolutely no effect. They are beginning to have the feel of a quaint hobby, like collecting exotic stamps.
Today's Republicans believe in pork, but they don't believe in government. So we have the largest government in history but one that is weak and dysfunctional. Public spending is a cynical game of buying votes or campaign contributions, an utterly corrupt process run by lobbyists and special interests with no concern for the national interest. So we shovel out billions on "Homeland Security" to stave off nonexistent threats to Wisconsin, Wyoming and Montana while New York and Los Angeles remain unprotected. We mismanage crises with a crazy-quilt patchwork of federal, local and state authorities--and sing paeans to federalism to explain our incompetence. We denounce sensible leadership and pragmatism because they mean compromise and loss of ideological purity. Better to be right than to get Iraq right.
Leaders Who Won't Choose - Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com
As Barack Obama said yesterday, "we need some adult supervision on the budget." The Republicans are out of control. They're selling us all out, and our children, and our children's children. As long as the administration and its friends stay rich and happy.
Congress refuses to not make permanent even one of their tax cuts. Dropping the repeal of the estate tax would alone nearly pay for the Katrina reconstruction. But no, not an option.
So-called conservatives who support these policies had better come up with another name for themselves. You're not a conservative if you support this administration. Not even close.
Anyone have some suggestions for the renaming of conservatives? "Hypocritical Assheads" springs to mind, but that applies to too many other people too. Something more elegant...
