Drama in Washington

A dialogue between Republicans and Democrats where no one listens is bringing the United States close to insolvency.

Barack Obama has alerted his fellow countrymen to the possibility that the United States will go into bankruptcy on Aug. 2. The president hopes that massive citizen involvement — in the form of contacting representatives, both Democrats and Republicans alike — will convince lawmakers of the absolute need to reach an agreement before the deadline, after which the government will no longer be able to pay its bills. After exhausting and fruitless negotiations, the Senate, with a Democratic majority, and the House of Representatives, with a Republican majority, will put to a vote this week rival plans to reduce the huge U.S. debt and raise the debt ceiling.

Raising the debt ceiling is vital to servicing the debt and to maintaining the operations of the federal government. A suspension of payments would weaken the superpower’s ailing economy and would create a political and logistical nightmare. It would also send — as shown yesterday by the message from the head of the IMF — a grave signal to a global financial system already burdened by the European debt crisis.

Going beyond its serious repercussions, the unsuccessful dialogue between Republicans and Democrats on this important issue is a disturbing symptom of how politics is changing in the United States and how an inability to compromise on both sides of the aisle is beginning to make the system dysfunctional. Citizens watched perplexed as an impasse was reached after a tug-of-war of partisan stubbornness — stubbornness that, according to polls, is higher among Republicans.

Both sides admit that the U.S. cannot default on its financial obligations, and high-ranking members of each party say that they will stop their posturing when the moment of truth arrives. But their continued reliance on doctrines and their distrust of the other side make a retreat without losing face difficult to achieve. For the Republicans, who have the initiative, the tax hikes that the Democrats want are anathema. For the Democrats, any eventual agreement cannot rely solely on reduced spending, which is sacrosanct for Republicans. Obama’s tendency to compromise won’t come into play here.

The decisive element in this new and belligerent political climate is the emergence of the tea party. Its growing presence and expectations are pushing the political landscape toward fundamentalism, which, as is often the case, walks away from reasonable agreements. Its representatives are moved more by a sniper-like devotion to their cause than by any loyalties to the tea party’s Republican alma mater. Alarmingly, for the most obstinate among them, Aug. 2 is basically nothing more than an intimidating maneuver, a myth without consequences.