Sitting On The Sidelines

Our history class will resume tomorrow. If you were playing hookie, go to my home page and catch up - it's a series. We have a different ballgame to go to today so grab your cleats and lets go.

What we are observing in politics these days is a game - plain and simple. It's a game played by third stringers pretending to be first stringers. They all want to be the star and receive the cheer of the crowd, that would be us - the public - for being a hero and winning the game. It would be a complete marketing flop if they ever tried to make a video game out of that nonsense. I majored in marketing, and I'd laugh them out of the room. But I'm not laughing much as I watch the Foggy Bottom Circus go through their budget routine. Now every one on the team wants to point fingers at each other trying to deflect the blame for their failure to do the duties that are outlined for them in the play book. Play book you ask? Yes, The United States Constitution. Maybe they should try looking at the play book and memorizing the plays.

Then we have Smirksalot (picture above) sitting on the bench again and wondering what to do. He seems to always want to enter the game at the last minute and make grave and grand pronouncements to the fans about how we deserve better than what we are seeing. He's also trying the tactic of using scare tactics, as are Pelosi and Reid, to try to get their way. What's that all about?. His signature piece of legislation, Obamacare, is a prime example. While the country was going through an economic meltdown, Team Obama spent 18 months practicing for a health care game. Albeit he claimed in his State of the Union address that "jobs" were going to be the focus. At the last minute, when things weren't going as planned, Smirky jumped off the bench and jumping up and down screeched, "Let me in coach, let me in." He entered the fray at the last minute. That's his form of leadership style as I see it.

The game this time is The Battle Of The Budget. Same routine, same play book and same wanting to suddenly be the star of the show. Because we, the American people, deserve better than we are getting. He's right, so lets remember that this time in 2012 as "we" prepare to write a totally different play book. In just about any crisis situation I have noticed Obama sitting on the sidelines - hesitant and at times probably biting his fingernails. Some people do that when they don't know what else to do.

This is Friday, the 8th of April, and he knew all along that this date would arrive. He is supposed to be the leader of his team of Democrats, essentially the coach himself. He'd last about 5 minutes in a Pop Warner football league before the fans were calling for his job. He sold us some snake oil promising strong, decisive leadership and what we ended up with is a piece of milk toast. If you haven't ever noticed it just sits there. The first two years he abrogated his position of coach to the likes of political sages like Reid, Schumer and Pelosi. The reason he immediately did that was because he didn't have any idea how to lead the team from the get go.

So here we sit in the stands on this appointed day dumbfounded at what we are seeing. Up in the press box, the Lame Stream Media, is cheering their chosen one on trying to once again make him look like a hero rather than the donkey that he really is. That is his party's symbol you know. What I see up there right now grandstanding, mugging at the cameras and pointing fingers at each other is a bunch of jackasses, not donkeys. Trying to place blame on the other political party sure isn't getting the job of making any, and all, necessary cuts in spending to reduce the federal deficit that the fans in the stands are now demanding. The amazing part is they're dealing in peanuts compared to the overall amount in question. The peanut vendors are having a fit down in the concession area. You been down there lately? They are frantic and in an absolute panic that the idiots might steal their business.

Here's who lost the game for us this go round - Team Obama. It was a lack of courage, and the continued lack thereof on the political gridiron, that caused this entire mess we sitting in the stands watching and wondering, some times in befuddlement and sometimes in anger, as they work out of their political play book instead of the reality play book. What reality? We're at the edge of our fiscal cliff and it won't take but a nudge or two more to push us over. Grab your parachute and stand in the door.

Let me preface this with the following before I lay it out for you since the Lame Stream Media is napping up in the press box. I am not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican. I have better things to do with my time. I am a registered Independent. You know one of those swing voters they like to play to ever couple of years? I will remain there until the day I go to the big stadium in the sky, I don't need a political party to do my thinking for me. I'm perfectly capable of doing that for myself thank you very much.

What isn't being said, or talked about much, by our Lame Stream Media, is as follows:

1) The Democratic party, and the Anointed One who leads them, had both houses of Congress and the Oval Office under their pretty much total control for two years prior to this new Congress convening. They just coincidentally didn't have time to pass a budget before the mid-term elections. It appears, and sometimes appearances are everything, that they knew better than to try to pass what they had on the table because the American public would have had their butts on a platter. As it turned out, we threw more than a few of them out of office anyway. They lacked the political courage to do the right thing. It is their constitutional duty to do so and once again they shirked their responsibility to the American people.

Charlie Rangel told O'Reilly last night that they "just didn't find the time" to pass a budget before the mid-terms and acted like that was normal behavior.

2) The House of Representatives reconvened and immediately passed a budget and sent it to the Senate. The Senate, under the leadership of Harry Reid, has failed to act. To listen to the leadership (I am using that word loosely) in the Senate talk, you'd think everything was coming up fiscal daisies in our nation and that we just need to keep on throwing good money after bad. It'll all get better, just you wait and see. The time to wait is over. Doing nothing yields nothing.

3) When you have the ball and you punt on 1st down, you forfeit the right to point fingers and try to place blame. You had the whole field to yourselves essentially, Democrats, for 2 straight years and time after time you have punted the ball. Some call it continuing to kick the can down the street. Bush league plays were what you showed the American public and we're sick and tired of it.

FOOTNOTE: Added after publication FYI. It seems that Obama, through his Secretary of Defense, has proposed that the ladies and gentlemen in harms way serving the armed forces be classified as "non-essential." That essentially means they won't get paid. Talk about taking someone hostage. Good grief Charlie Brown!

I've said my peace, now you say yours this time.