A side benefit of this post is that it will refresh your memories on exactly what constitutes an "entitlement," in both its dictionary sense and as a facet of various mental disorders. Who knew that all those Social Security defenders and recipients had a mental disorder?
On the AL, none of the combatents show any signs of mental illness- aside from choosing politics as gainful employment. Obama has the usual Liberal problem of being constantly reluctant to take his own side on an issue. Schumer and Reid exhibit the only slightly neurotic Liberal habit of giving away the farm before the other side even gets the chance to refuse to go along with such an "outrageous" (a politician's all-purpose, go-to word) proposal.
The personalities in the NR corner are far more interesting to me. Eric "Mr Walk Away" Cantor, in particular, strikes me as a very spoiled child in a kindergarten (Congress) chock full of such brats. He is important due to his pivotal position of power (his first real one) in the current debate. Power - any kind - tends to bring out the absolute worst in us. A few of us go plumb loco when handed the magic wand. Rep. Cantor exhibits classic signs of loco terriblis. This does not bode well for any of us.
It turns out that Mr. Cantor's gallop out of the talks was prompted by a suggestion by the AL team that the ratio of cuts vs. new taxes be adjusted from a tentatively agreed-upon 85% v 15%, respectively, to a (outrageous) mix of 83% v 17%. That;s all it took for "the kid" to take his bat and ball and go home. Terms describing such behaviour as "unreasonable", "hot-headed" (ibid, John McCain) or "childish" are non-elucidatory and unhelpful in placing such acts in proper perspective.
To say that Cantor's action was manipulatory implies that it was voluntary on his part. But, was it cynical calculation, or was it something beyond his control? Psychological analysis allows us to measure somewhat the degree to which Cantor can be "reasoned with." I'm not sanguine on that score.
Read this and see what you think (you should easily recognize Intermittent Enforcement):
Histrionic Personality let's hope it's this and not this
As for Cantor's compatriots: McConnel's just another, dreary run-of-the-mill ideologue - a Jesse "Senator NO!"redux, while Boehner's heart just doen't seem to be in some of the mean-spirited things he comes out with. He may even have a regret from time to time. While that just may be Progressive fantasy on my part, I do believe that he is probably one of the few who might be able to reason with a clearly addlepated Eric Cantor.
And here' a perceptive piece on this very subject:
Even from his lofty perch, David Books has cottened on to the grift:
There, now you can go and get a good night's rest knowing the nation is in good hands.
Nigel Watson freethinker 727.493.1990 skype orbizen2
Blog: ORBizen Memo http://orbizenmemo.blogspot.com/
Blog: ORBizen Memo http://orbizenmemo.blogspot.com/
"There is no greater disaster than greed." – Lao-tzu
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Krishnamurti
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