The Daddy Party Is Beating The Wife And Children

The two parties have often been described as the mommy and daddy parties. The Democrats were the mommy  party, desiring the nurture the country and the economy and give people things such as affordable health care coverage. The Republicans were considered the daddy party, more concerned with enforcing order. Josh Barro had a great line regarding this today:

“If Republicans were once the daddy party, now they’re the abusive ex-husband with a substance abuse problem party.”

He went on to write:

Instead of telling hard truths, Republicans are wildly misleading voters, both about policy (“America is going to be destroyed by Obamacare”) and political reality (“Democrats are feeling the heat” because Republicans shut down the government).

Instead of warning about resource limitations, Republicans are manufacturing them. President Obama’s deficit spending did not result in the debt crisis that conservatives warned it would, so Republicans have been actively trying to create one by making dangerous threats over the debt ceiling.

Republicans have abandoned the pretense of trying to run the government like an efficient business. What kind of business periodically tells its workers they won’t get paid but they should keep working, and clients that it’s going to shut down operations for a while with no clarity on when they will resume?

With Republicans having gone completely off the rails, Democrats have been left trying to play the role of mommy and daddy at the same time.

It’s Democrats who are mindful of the financial markets and striving to avoid roiling them with the prospect of payment default. It’s Democrats who are finding ways to control health care costs. It’s President Obama who is trying to get Republicans to cut a deal to slow the growth of old-age entitlement spending.

Quote of the Day: David Letterman on the Shutdown

“It’s day nine of the government shutdown. Are you like me? Are you beginning to miss the days when we were ruled by a mad English king?” –David Letterman