Today's "Meet The Press" didn't really tell you anything you already didn't know if you've been paying attention. That's not to say it was bad per se, on the contrary as it served as a sufficient 'status update' on where we are on this road of political fiscal foolishness we're driving down.
We know that the economy will take a hit and when Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and CNBC’s
Maria Bartiromo agree (two individuals with distinctly different
philosophies on the economy) that the fiscal uncertainty created by
Washington is causing corporations to continue to sit on cash and not hire, you need little more evidence.
We also know that the Republican party took a huge hit as well in its approval ratings for the shutdown because in the end their run-for-the-exits strategy didn't save any face, as it were. Divided they fell. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) didn't mince words when he explained that Republicans didn't do anything but make a big mess, and then pointed the finger of blame at outside interest groups [read: Heritage Action] and individuals who took advantage of it as well [read: Ted Cruz].
Though this column finds some of Mr. Coburn's positions too far to the right, if the Republican party had more people that stuck to their conservative principles but constantly looked for common ground, don't you think Americans would have higher esteem for government as a whole. But Tea Party Republicans have little interest for common ground. Because of the shutdown, Republicans are in the midst of an internal fight for the future of their party - all on open display.
Everyone at the roundtable had the same hope that this government shutdown would result in an reemergence of moderate Republicans and bipartisan solutions. They all agreed that this episode has been a reckoning not only for Republicans, but the Tea Party in particular. So much so, that Washington Post Columnist E.J. Dionne seems to think that the Tea Party movement was effectively over. That is just being unrealistic. As long as Ted Cruz and the rest can fund raise off of false hope, the Tea Party will have a presence.
And as for the moderate Republicans stepping up, we have to first see them walk the walk. Until a majority of Republicans in Congress can show that they can work in a bi-partisan manner on a regular basis, then license will continue to be given to Democrats to lump all Republicans in with the Tea Party types. Now, it's all about their actions going forward.
Speaking of hard right conservatives and action, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has it correct in what he said today about Iran. There shouldn't be easing of sanctions until the Iranians walk the walk and take genuine action in dismantling their nuclear weapons program, there shouldn't be easing of the sanctions. We disagree with Mr. Netanyahu and his view that military action is necessary, and his general Cheney-like hawkishness toward the rest of the region. However, on this point, he is correct. The appropriate reciprocity for doing nothing is giving nothing in return. At the very least, the moderates in Iran are beginning to speak up.
The obvious point here is that taking the extreme position gets you nowhere in the end, which isn't something you didn't already know.
NY Times Columnist David Brooks; Washington Post Columnist E.J. Dionne;
host of CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Maria Bartiromo; and NBC News Chief
Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell.
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