When the government shutdown might have happened, a hotel in my neighborhood - downtown Philadelphia - lost $86,000 in business.
An annual event to recall a historic pre-Revolutionary War battle in Concord, Mass., was canceled; Washingtonians were force-fed an abortion ban by Congress; and New York City members of Congress fretted as to how federal budget plans will ravage the Big Apple.
That makes it official. Of 305 million or so Americans, 60 million of our fellow citizens are running this country. Mostly because the Speaker of the House of Representatives believes party unity trumps public duty.
The most ultra-conservative Republicans in the House dictated the agenda which ended with a pact to slash $38.5 billion from the 2011 budget on April 8, no matter how the remainder of Republicans regarded this action.
That is primarily because Speaker John A. Boehner and other Republican leaders wants the GOP to stick together.
Members of Congress are elected to represent the will of their constituents, yet almost since our nation was established they must frequently choose between loyalty to their party, and responsibility to their constituents and the good of their country.
The political party system is a necessary evil. Few candidates can get elected to office without a strong organization behind them, certainly in presidential contests and large-state elections (in terms of population) for the Senate and governor.
There is no question that the president and Congress should make their best efforts to reduce the debt. They should always be careful when spending our money. However, Republicans exploited the budget mess while a Democrat occupies the White House. They never advocated fiscal restraint when a Republican president bulldozed his way into two tangled wars and tax cuts for the wealthy.
How can we take Boehner and his gang seriously?
There is a point when responsible political figures will know when to hold off on political advantages and simply do what is best for their country.
Boehner probably could have formed a coalition of Democrats and Republicans at any point before the agreement was reached, but he had to attain approval from House members aligned with the tea party.
If not, Republican House members could be challenged by hard-right candidates in the primaries. Or, one day the party can just fracture and split apart.
It is doubtful that the majority of Americans support most Tea Party positions, nor do they support all Democratic endeavors. Most people want sensible policies that will end the economic chaos and provide stability.
There are people out there who share the rigid attitudes of Paul Ryan and Michelle Bachman, both Republican House members, but I have always estimated their support to be 20 percent. Consider that many prevail in Republican primaries because the moderate Republicans have either become independents or registered as Democrats. This leaves the Republican Party with voters who are far more conservative than their senators and representatives.
There are other factors that feed into this mess. President Obama made some ill-advised moves that upset enough voters to elect more Republicans to Congress. Plus, Obama tempers his policies to attract independent votes in swing states for his re-election bid next year, and Democrats generally are trying to protect other Democratic members of Congress who appear to be vulnerable.
Damage was done when Boehner simply threatened a shutdown to begin on April 9. An unidentified hotel in center city Philadelphia was denied $86,000 in business because a government conference planned then was canceled by organizers the week before, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Ed Grose, director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, told the Inquirer that three hotels reported cancellations.
A confused Joanne Rogers said her family flew from Australia in hopes of visiting Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon. “We thought it was quite strange that something like this could happen,” she said while visiting Philadelphia.
Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Mass., was to be the site on April 9 of the annual commemoration of the battle between the Brits and the colonials at Meriam’s Corner that helped ignite the Revolutionary War, but that was canceled because of fear of the threatened government shutdown, according to The Boston Globe.
“It’s really a shame that so many visitors won’t be able to experience this,” said Nancy Nelson, superintendent of the park. “It’s disappointing and a great loss for the visitors around the country and the globe who come here to get a full understanding of the events that set our nation’s struggle for liberty in motion.”
Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray was among 41 people arrested at a rally on Capitol Hill on Monday, April 11, 2011, to protest pending congressional action that would impose new rules on the city. Republicans took advantage of a constitutional provision which gives Congress “exclusive legislative authority” over Washington. The budget deal revives a ban against the city spending its own money on abortions for low-income women and mandates a program to provide school vouchers.
According to The Washington Post, Gray said, “I’m tired of being a pawn in a political game. D.C. deserves to be free. All we want is to be able to spend our own money.”
Protesters were especially incensed by a Post report that Obama told Boehner, “John, I will give you D.C. abortion.” The president made this offer partly as a trade to drop a demand to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
DC Vote head Ilir Zherka asked the demonstrators, “Is D.C. the president’s to give?” The crowd shouted “No!”
Members of New York City’s congressional delegation decried both the pending 2011 budget and the subsequent 2012 budget for their disproportionate effects on their constituents.
“Many of the things hurt like mass transit and public housing funds are particularly New York oriented,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler of Manhattan told The New York Daily News.
Rep. Anthony Weiner of Queens projected that the proposed 2012 budget would eliminate $94 billion from the city over 10 years. “Republicans want to permanently extend tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires without paying for it,” he said.
Before Congress held any votes on the budget pact, four of America’s most prominent cities were shafted just by the threat of a government shutdown.
John Boehner could have prevented this turmoil.
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