OPINION:
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
As thoroughly uninspiring as this endless Republican primary has been for conservatives in America, they can take some bit of solace in knowing one thing. At the very least, there is Paul Ryan.
OK, the Wisconsin Republican and House Budget Committee chairman can be about as exciting as gelatin and fails to whip up a soaring oratory that might spur people to storm the barricades for him. But he is a very serious man who has offered a very serious proposal, at enormous risk to himself, to fix the dire financial armageddon that will engulf our children and grandchildren for many decades.
Not only is Mr. Ryan a very serious man, but he is just about the only serious man in a position of power — albeit severely limited power — who is desperately trying to address this situation.
What is most shocking about Mr. Ryan’s solitary cry for fiscal responsibility in the 2013 budget he proposed this week is what a stark contrast it is to the cowards and thieves in this town who are in positions of real power and responsibility yet refuse to lift a finger to avert the economic catastrophe.
President Obama could single-handedly lead his party to negotiate with Mr. Ryan and strike a deal that would save the country and place him in history as one of the great presidents. Just the sort of big, “post-partisan” presidency he promised.
Instead, Mr. Obama has fled the field, piling a staggering $3.5 trillion in new debt over the next decade and hastening the demise of the entitlement programs. His only strategy is for the country to go fully broke like Greece and then confiscate any private wealth that might remain.
His only attempt at tackling the problem was empaneling the bipartisan debt commission, which he then promptly ignored because it required — shocker! — spending cuts.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have behaved equally awfully.
Congressional Democrats have been so resolutely irresponsible that they have not even produced a budget in three years. Even when Democrats had 59 seats in the Senate, firmly controlled the House and occupied the White House, they could not produce a simple budget.
Truly, they are a party of Neros fiddling away over silly issues like free contraception while America burns to ashes. They are a disgrace and should be barred from any discussion whatsoever regarding the federal budget or the economy.
The Democrats should be allowed only to talk about contraception, since they’re just a bunch of pills that prevent anything from happening.
• Charles Hurt can be reached at charleshurt@live.com.
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