Cliff Diving

But this is not Acapulco.

And this is certainly not John Boehner

No, we're talkin' about the fiscal "cliff".  Very soon, the dangerously schizophrenic GOP will likely take us over the edge, all because some Republicans stubbornly, idiotically refuse to vote for any sort of tax increase, even for the very wealthiest among us.  They'd rather risk another recession and add to the hardship at lower income levels than ask the David Kochs and Sheldon Adelsons of this world to pay another penny in income tax.

We saw the same sort of Republican hostage-taking brinkmanship in the summer of 2011, as we neared the debt ceiling/default deadline.  Democrats were willing to compromise, Republicans were not.  There was a last-minute short-term deal, but America's credit rating was damaged in the process.

That last-minute deal is the fiscal cliff we now face -- mandatory budget cuts combined with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts.  These things were supposed to be so scary that we'd never go there, but here we are again.

The cliff may or may not be as bad as advertised, but we shouldn't be in the position to find out.  Responsible grown-ups ought to have been able to avoid it, but Boehner can't herd his cats and the Tea-Bag assholes try to hijack everything. 

We ought to be righteously pissed off that the GOP has allowed this to happen again.

Writing for the NY Times in July 2011 about the stalled debt ceiling talks and possible government default, conservative columnist David Brooks had this to say:

"[The American people] will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused the default, and they will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern.  And they will be right."

Nothing has changed.