American Political Irony

Wouldn’t it be something if the actions of the republicans, which are so vigorously opposed by Mr. Obama and his party, turn out to be the very cause and catalyst of Mr. Obama’s political survival? How’s that for political irony?

Well, it is not as farfetched as it may seem and TheFundamentals doubts that this very possibility; this very scenario, is being missed by the strategists for Mr. Obama and his party. They can actually oppose the cut backs and the frugality efforts and the opposition to tax increases in any form; oppose them vigorously, in order to appear intellectually and ideologically connected to the many special interest and protected groups that make up their voting base while knowing that it is these very republican positions that offer the best likelihood of an end to the current American economic malaise and the too high unemployment numbers and the wallowing real estate market.

It is apparent to a majority of Americans that postponed corrections are just more painful than facing corrections as they occur. Avoided corrections are a double whammy on the economic scene. If you try to fight a corrective process you extend it and if you fight it with debt producing activities such as those America has followed now for many years, you end up burdening the revival with the interest and repayment obligations of the debt. All of these consequences were diligently addressed on these pages in years past. We apologize for and abhor our lack of influence in these matters but we will always persist because try as hard as the politicians and the special interest and the protected groups do; the fundamentals, in the end, prevail.

So, Obama fights cutbacks but knows he needs them. He fights tax increases but knows he does not wish to be burdened with the tax increase label in November 2012. He actually wants cut backs and does not want tax increases. But he has to posture. He must appear to be on the side of his special interest groups; his protected classes; his community organizers; and all those who fight the greed of big business and Wall Street and the well to do and those other citizens who, occasionally, create jobs.

This, folks, is a game. It is a charade. You can take it to the bank. Obama will settle the debt; the deficit; the tax issues – he will settle them all. He has no choice. They are the key to his success. The last thing the foolish Obama/Reid/Pelosi/Bernanke/Geithner team wants is an extension of their failed policies. How’s that for change and honesty?

The real question is how far and how deep and how successful will the republicans be in extracting their goals. But even that question is not worth a lot of analysis and study to determine the answer. Why? Because the battle is being won in state after state and every time one of those states shuts down or diminishes a union bargaining issue or increases the contribution to or eliminates an excessive pension program; every time the republicans in Ohio or Florida or Wisconsin or New Jersey or Minnesota accomplish a correction; move their state toward fiscal responsibility; stand up to Mr. Obama’s special interest groups and his protected classes; every time this happens, Mr. Obama wins. He and his gang are trying to time it as well as they can so that the economy picks up; employment rises; unemployment falls and tax revenues start to rise coincident with the elections of 2012. Will they succeed? Will it matter? Who knows? It’s not that far away so don’t waste too much time on those questions either. Right now, most thinking Americans see through their deceptions. And redemption does require a bit of self awareness.

Now, if we could only get Gwendolyn Ifill and her gang of Obama sycophants at PBS and the entire NBC news crew to grasp this situation we could look forward to a big political upheaval in late 2012. Don’t count on it. That gang is still reveling in the 2008 election results. In the meantime, please remember that politics not only makes strange bedfellows, it ain’t always what it seems to be.