Mad Dog had to admit--none of it touched him personally. Mad Dog tried to say he was outraged about the government sort of shutting down, as a matter of principle.
But the interviewer kept pressing--how does it affect you personally?
Like so many TV reporters, he was looking for the answers he wanted to hear, not the answers Mad Dog wanted to give.
The fact is, President Obama and the Democrats have a big problem here: By trying to protect vital government functions, by being responsible leaders, they insulate the American public from having to face the question: What if there were no functioning federal government?
By protecting the public from the more dire consequences, by keeping "essential" government employees at work, the Democrats are helping the Tea Party make its wacko point: We don't need no friggin guv'ment.
Mad Dog would like to see President Obama send home the FAA tower controllers: Ground the entire US air fleet, all 3000 flights a day. That'll get the attention of an indifferent public.
Mad Dog invites his vast legions of readers to append their own suggestions for government functions which would, if stopped tomorrow, grab the attention of the narcotized American public.
Mad Dog,
ReplyDeleteThe FDA has already suspended much of it's food inspections-including those on imports like seafood and produce. The USDA, however, is continuing their inspections of meat and poultry. But what if they weren't. What if their inspectors were furloughed and the public was on it's own to decide the relative safety of the whole food supply. Yup-just eye your steak and decide if it's safe to eat-like Russian Roulette at the dinner table..Yum.
Maud
Maud,
ReplyDeleteProblem is, most of the New Hampshire folks I meet seem to think if the federal government disappeared tomorrow, their lives would be unaffected--in fact maybe better because they wouldn't have to pay income tax.
Oscar Wilde said the cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. That would be NH.
Mad Dog