Obama, Prisoner of the Populists: Here's Proof
During last November’s elections, when tea party weirdos made their booming entrance into the U.S. Congress, everyone asked: What effects will this populist burst have on U.S. life? How will the traditional political class react? What are the chances of reaching agreements to ward off, in spite of everything, the serious threats hanging over the country?
The response has just hit. The tragicomedy that has surrounded the U.S. budget impasse indicates that they are the ones who are now running the show. They imposed the terms of debate, chose the exit route, decided on the speed and frightened the occupants near the edges. They exhausted the most courageous of participants.
By turning the question of raising the debt ceiling into blackmail, the proponents of the tea party have dictated a new way of governing. The president of the United States backed down. He ceded on most of the important points and only defended the indispensable (raising taxes on the most wealthy). Then he backed down again. For him and his supporters, this episode is a final defeat.
Of course, it could have been worse. The White House holds (very narrow) room to maneuver for the upcoming period: The $2.5 trillion in government spending cuts will be spread over 10 years, leaving hope for the current poor economic situation to fade even before these reductions further aggravate it by reducing employment and investment.
The prospect of higher taxes for the most wealthy is still possible and would reduce some of the most glaring inequities in the country. But it will depend on the will of a handful of elected officials, a "Super Committee," that must succeed where everyone else has failed.
The American political system showing every sign of being helpless against these new kinds of attacks is not reassuring. President Obama himself has described the entire process of these last weeks as "messy" ("muddled,” “disorganized"). It is not over. The same word also applies to the results achieved and their foreseeable developments.
The response has just hit. The tragicomedy that has surrounded the U.S. budget impasse indicates that they are the ones who are now running the show. They imposed the terms of debate, chose the exit route, decided on the speed and frightened the occupants near the edges. They exhausted the most courageous of participants.
By turning the question of raising the debt ceiling into blackmail, the proponents of the tea party have dictated a new way of governing. The president of the United States backed down. He ceded on most of the important points and only defended the indispensable (raising taxes on the most wealthy). Then he backed down again. For him and his supporters, this episode is a final defeat.
Of course, it could have been worse. The White House holds (very narrow) room to maneuver for the upcoming period: The $2.5 trillion in government spending cuts will be spread over 10 years, leaving hope for the current poor economic situation to fade even before these reductions further aggravate it by reducing employment and investment.
The prospect of higher taxes for the most wealthy is still possible and would reduce some of the most glaring inequities in the country. But it will depend on the will of a handful of elected officials, a "Super Committee," that must succeed where everyone else has failed.
The American political system showing every sign of being helpless against these new kinds of attacks is not reassuring. President Obama himself has described the entire process of these last weeks as "messy" ("muddled,” “disorganized"). It is not over. The same word also applies to the results achieved and their foreseeable developments.