The Republicans Will Lose
Published in die Tageszeitung
(Germany) on 15 July 2011
by Ulrike Herrmann (link to original)
(Germany) on 15 July 2011
by Ulrike Herrmann (link to original)
Translated from
by Ron Argentati.
Edited by Gillian Palmee.
Is America going broke? Of course not. The sound-effects thunder in Washington is loud, to be sure, but it’s already certain that Republicans and Democrats will compromise on further borrowing. Neither party can risk bankruptcy for the United States because it would be Americans who suffer. By far, the largest portion of America’s debt lies not in China, but in domestic pension funds and insurance companies.
The losers in this political showdown have also been decided already: Republicans who had assumed they could fall back on a strategy of permanent boycott because of their House of Representatives majority. This intransigence assured them only tactical problems. First, President Obama has already made huge concessions to the opposition and comes off looking like a reasonable statesman. Second, the business community and investors have begun having doubts about the Republican strategy and are turning to the Democrats. Third, moderate Republicans recognize these dangers, but the radical tea partiers do not.
The “Grand Old Party” is now so terribly divided that it is unrecognizable even to voters who want to defeat Obama in the next election. Conservative media outlets like the Wall Street Journal are expressing outrage at how stupidly Republicans are acting.
But the Republicans have not only lost tactically. The demands they’ve made in negotiating future budgets may also result in an election disaster for them. They insist on making reductions in Medicare. Many Americans don’t appreciate that idea in the least, as evidenced by the recent congressional election in New York. The Republicans suffered a surprise defeat there principally because their candidate also supported cutting Medicare.
That pattern may well repeat itself.
The losers in this political showdown have also been decided already: Republicans who had assumed they could fall back on a strategy of permanent boycott because of their House of Representatives majority. This intransigence assured them only tactical problems. First, President Obama has already made huge concessions to the opposition and comes off looking like a reasonable statesman. Second, the business community and investors have begun having doubts about the Republican strategy and are turning to the Democrats. Third, moderate Republicans recognize these dangers, but the radical tea partiers do not.
The “Grand Old Party” is now so terribly divided that it is unrecognizable even to voters who want to defeat Obama in the next election. Conservative media outlets like the Wall Street Journal are expressing outrage at how stupidly Republicans are acting.
But the Republicans have not only lost tactically. The demands they’ve made in negotiating future budgets may also result in an election disaster for them. They insist on making reductions in Medicare. Many Americans don’t appreciate that idea in the least, as evidenced by the recent congressional election in New York. The Republicans suffered a surprise defeat there principally because their candidate also supported cutting Medicare.
That pattern may well repeat itself.