Shut. It. Down?

"Starting Sunday, the government will shut down. Granny will be thrown off a cliff, babies will starve, and vets and seniors will not get their checks. Or - nothing will happen, expect tens of thousands of government workers will need to stay home. Will we survive as a nation? Sure will. We always do. And the beat goes on."     

Woe is me. WOE IS ME! The government is headed headlong into a partial shutdown. And what will happen? The sun will disappear from the sky. Cats will mate with dogs. There will be a wailing and gnashing of teeth which will be heard worldwide. Or --- nothing. That is right - I, like the rest of us, have seen this movie before. It is called "What if they shut down the government and nobody noticed?"

Is this any way to run a railroad (or a government)? Of course not. I just wish there was some kind of recipe we could follow to keep this from happening. There is? Where? Article One of the Constitution? Glory be! Then why don't we follow it? Because we have gotten lazy and inept. We would rather "kick the can down the street" using the continuing resolution (CR) method. That would be the method which is NOT in the Constitution.

These twelve appropriation bills are supposed to be funded BY CONGRESS, no later than October 1st. If not, the government shuts down (partially). Then why is this so hard, that year after year, this stork dance continues. Simple - some in Congress want to only spend what we have. And those dollars need to be enshrined in appropriation funding. BUT (and this is a big BUT) - many on the left want the numbers bumped. Using a CR will bump them automatically.

The Freedom Caucus amongst others, seems to have an overabundance of "extreme MAGA Republicans" on board. That is what President Biden calls them. Others on my side of the street, call them Constitutionalists. They want to pass the budget using the Constitution as a guide. For that, they are being excoriated by the media as well as the left. What does Biden want? Just pass a CR and shut up! 

Will the Republicans get blamed if the government shuts down? Absolutely! Why, if the Republicans follow the Constitution? Because (and I hate to say this), many people in this country are intellectually lazy. They believe all the hyperbole coming out of the lap dog media. With a normal population, the Constitution following Republicans would be cheered. In our current society however, they are jeered.

Starting Sunday, the government will shut down. Granny will be thrown off a cliff, babies will starve, and vets and seniors will not get their checks. Or - nothing will happen, expect tens of thousands of government workers will need to stay home. Will we survive as a nation? Sure will. We always do. And the beat goes on.