9.22.13: "Losing My Democracy"

Are we in the midst of a democracy lost?  It would certainly seem that way and one can not dismiss Tavis Smiley's statement that if this country doesn't  undertake a course correction soon, we're in jeopardy of losing our democracy.  Maybe it's not as dire as that sounds, but one can not help to think given what was said on today's "Meet The Press" that the United States is headed that way.

Take exhibit one, the interview with NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre in the wake of another mass shooting, this one in the nation's capital.  Mr. LaPierre focused on the lack of security at the base and that in a post-9/11 world should have had more layers of security and more people armed on the base.  His other focus was on the 'complete breakdown,' he called it, of the mental health system.

He explained that if someone is exhibiting dangerous behavior, with or without a gun, should be committed and 'entered into the system.' Mr. LaPierre railed against the release of criminals in California, despite deplorable conditions caused by extreme overcrowding.   He concluded that American society should not allow these people to have guns and for ordinary citizens to arm themselves to ensure safety.

However, it's a false sense of safety.  One could interpret his statements to conclude that the only way forward is more incarceration, more confinement, and more registering of individuals, except for when they buy guns.  Mr. LaPierre's unfortunate view doesn't play to an essential American characteristic, an optimistic view of the future.  Instead, he takes the easy path, that makes one uneasy, and plays on fear.

Sandy Phillips, mother of Aurora, CO shooting victim Jessica Ghaw, said that background checks, something favored by an overwhelmingly majority of Americans should not be a hard fix, but let's face it.  It's not because public outrage doesn't write a big check.

The conditions that create the violence and mental instability are never mentioned, which brings us to the debate over the U.S. economy and the looming government shutdown, which none of the guests on the program seemed to think would happen.  Mr. Gregory asked 4 members of Congress and all of them registered a 'no' - Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

But a shutdown is staring us in the face because Republicans insist on defunding the Affordable Care Act, and will not fund any part of the government unless this is done, Additionally, they are threatening to default on the country's debts by not raising the debt ceiling also because of the Affordable Care Act.  Essentially nullifying the democratic process, they're willing to tank the world's economy because they, as the minority, refuse to enforce a law that was passed by the majority of Congress and signed by the President.  Not only that, but Republican have refused to pass any appropriation bills unless the ACA is defunded.

Congresswoman Blackburn said that 7 million people are being cut from employer-based health insurance because of Obamacare and that premium costs are going up.  Mr. Gregory correctly leveled that playing field by noting that in the states that embraced the exchanges, costs have decreased while costs have increased in states that have not enacted the exchanges. [Interestingly, more Republican families have kept their children on parental health plans than Democratic families have - a major tenant of the ACA.]  However, Ms. Blackburn should celebrate this statistic because the ACA is an opportunity for the corporations to cut insurance and reap more profits - taking away people's insurance while not increasing their pay so that they can still afford it through an independent system. Senator Lee said the majority problem with the ACA is the enormous amount of uncertainty, which is another form of playing to people's fears.

The fact is that you could twist and pull the argument any way you want but like it or not, the law was passed then upheld by the Supreme Court so it's the obligation of Congress to make it work.  And if Republicans refuse to do this, it will be the last time the United States jeopardizes the world economy on such a scale because other countries (the world community) will shift from the dollar as the standard currency of exchange to something else.

On top of this, Republican have refused to pass any appropriation bill unless the ACA is defunded, an prime example being the Farm Bill because in that bill is contained funding for food stamps.  They did come about passing a bill in the House that cut another $20 billion in food stamps, something that will never make its way through the Senate.

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty says in part 'give us your tired, your poor...'  In America today, the government seems to be saying, 'to hell with those people,' and that statue was given to the us by the French anyway.


Guests: Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Round Table: Editor of the Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol; Wall Street Journal Columnist Kim Strassel; former White House Press Secretary, now MSNBC political contributor Robert Gibbs; and PBS’s Tavis Smiley.