The Satan Sandwich

“Satan sandwich with some Satan fries on the side*,” is how Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, describes the debt deal closed by the two parties on Monday. Since Friday, the vice president Joe Biden was crossing the congressional corridors arm in arm with one of his fellow Democrats trying to talk him into accepting the compromise deal with the Republicans.

Most bystanders have already figured out that the tea party radical right legislators were the only political fraction that could possibly gain some benefits from the artificially created debt ceiling crisis. However, even the tea party is not happy with the outcome, though the process of achieving that outcome proved them capable of holding the government of the oldest functioning democracy in the world hostage. Some of the tea party members had hoped for a much larger victory and chose to vote against the compromise. That’s what Michele Bachmann – the new saint of the ultraconservatives – did.

Eventually, the Republicans who have common sense prevailed. They did so mainly because the voters know or will learn before the elections next year that by raising the debt ceiling the U.S. will meet obligations already assumed by the government that can not be reversed by a legislative effort. In spite of everything, to pay your bills is a main principle of capitalist ethics unless you are a big bank or automobile construction giant.

The lack of trust between the two parties after the compromise remains the same. The right wing worries that a tax increase for the wealthiest may follow the elections of 2012, which is their darkest nightmare. The left branch is outraged by Obama’s compromise. The president is often called “a traitor” in leftist blog postings. The centrists, and everyone who has common sense, are deeply troubled by the effectiveness of the terrorist management methods applied by the tea party legislators. “To Escape Chaos, a Terrible Deal” – states the says-it-all title of The New York Times editorial article dedicated to the bleak event.

On top of everything, according to the Keynesian economists (among whom is the Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman), hope for economic recovery is buried since the government refuses to spend money and that means it will not create new jobs. According to the Libertarians (those who believe that money governs the world and it is better not to mess with the process), the situation is not bright because the state still spends too much and business’ growth is hindered by high taxes.

I never listen to an economist, a politician or a priest, I would rather not pay much attention to the negative noise. However, I’m getting much less optimistic myself mainly due to the fact that the American political system bumps into glitches way more often than it did before.

The compromise situation was dramatic enough even without the Hollywood style appearance of Gabby Giffords who was shot in January this year by a crazy man in Tuscon, Arizona. She walked onto the House floor for the first time after the fatal incident to vote for the debt ceiling deal. Congressmen from both parties welcomed her with applause, journalists were wiping their tears. Although her courage deserves deep respect, after all we’ve seen recently in American politics, it is impossible not to suspect hidden motives even behind that thrilling act. Instead of being cheered up by her courage, I caught myself involuntarily trying to recognize the style of political strategists working behind the scene.

Perhaps the only thing included in the deal that I really like is cutting the defense budget for the next 10 years with $350 billion. A curious coincidence was the Monday publication of a report casting light on the deeds of a Pentagon contractor who has been charging the Pentagon an outrageous amount of money for inexpensive items, including a charge of $900 for a $7 control switch. Even if we discard the subject of overspending and waste that defines the gargantuan defense budget of the U.S., the question that I always fail to answer is: What does the U.S. buy with it? What are the benefits they reap out of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq which cost them trillions of dollars? Prestige? That’s not even funny. Security? Come on!

In regards to Joe Biden, he had to pay the price too. This Monday, the conservative Washington Times revealed that the Secret Service pay rent to the vice president for occupying a cottage, a property of Biden, adjacent to his Washington D.C. mansion. The agents residing there are meant to safeguard the vice president. After all that, is it possible not to be a cynic?

*Editor’s note: A comment from Nancy Pelosi in an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer.