A recent opinion piece in The Miami Student, "The arrogance of the far right has left undoubtable harsh scars on democracy" blames the Tea Party for all the dysfunction in our government. I'd like to set the record straight.
The United States Congress is comprised of 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators. Members of Congress who affiliate with the Tea Party total 47 members, roughly 9 percent of all votes. To claim that 9 percent of Congress is responsible for a government shutdown is absurd.
While the author of the opinion is calling for negotiation and compromise to solve our nation's problems, the lack of negotiation and compromise on the part of Democrats is why we're at this impasse. The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was passed without a single Republican vote from the House or the Senate.
To this moment, Democrats refuse to consider any plan that Republicans put forth, not even to delay the individual mandate for one year. As I write this, Americans are still struggling just to get on the Obamacare site. We face the real possibility that Americans will be penalized for failing to sign up for a mandatory product from a website that doesn't work. Where's the fairness in that?
The right is serious about tackling our country's financial crises. Yet, they are being made villains for speaking out about our unsustainable spending and increasing debt.
Moreover, the Senate, controlled by the Democrats, has not passed a budget since April 2009. We're going on five years of fiscal irresponsibility, but now the left is concerned with making sure we pay our bills? Give me a break.
To be sure, Republicans, moderate and conservative, want to reform health care and to reduce the deficit. No member of Congress would agree that someone should be denied affordable healthcare because of a pre-existing condition. Likewise, astronomical debt is a threat to our national security; it's not an issue we take lightly.
The only person who doesn't appear to be taking the national debt seriously is President Obama, whose campaign promises to reduce the debt by 50 percent have failed miserably. With our national debt a staggering $17 trillion, we're on a fast track to double the $10.6 trillion debt when Obama took office.
Indeed, the president's approval ratings are at an all-time low. Congress' are weaker yet.
However, it's not solely poor leadership that is to blame for their dismal approval ratings. The rhetoric coming from the left is inexcusable, and the country knows it.
Representatives on the right have been branded as "terrorists," "racists," and "economic hijackers" for disagreeing with their colleagues on the left. Not only is this rhetoric violent and hateful, it is, as Iraussi says, "arrogant and ignorant."
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Making villains of Republicans won't cure our nation's ills. Neither will crying "Arrogance! Ignorance!"
Tea Party types, like Senator Ted Cruz, refused their salary during the shutdown. They held themselves accountable. It's time to see the same kind of accountability on the other side of the aisle.
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