Quote:Democracy depends on compromise and the American government depends on all branches working together. The Tea Party movement shuns both, preferring instead to drive the state into bankruptcy. On principle.

America's Founding Fathers thought of everything. They wanted to establish several centers of power in Washington rather than just one. They wanted the occupant of the White House to be strong, but Congress was to have the power to check that strength. The friction between Capitol Hill and the White House -- a product of this system of checks and balances -- was to make the decisions of America's leaders cleverer, wiser and better.

But the system only works when all branches of government play the role designed for them. For almost 235 years, the system worked reasonably well. But, about a year ago, things started to go wrong in the US capital; the system began to melt down. The friction is no longer propelling the country to greatness, rather it is hastening its decline. Members of the right-wing conservative Tea Party movement, which is well represented in Congress since the last elections, want friction. But at the expense of results.
These lawmakers no longer view themselves as part of the political system. Instead, they identify themselves as its enemy. They see themselves as outsiders, even as they sit in Congress and enjoy the kinds of job benefits they would like to strip from their fellow Americans.

Quote:O’REILLY: The only thing that can save Barack Obama at this point is craziness on the right…It’s not only going to hurt the Republican party, which has already been hurt, but it’s going to save President Obama who they hate…The irony is, the people who dislike President Obama the most…are helping him the most. You’ve got to stop this hateful rhetoric. Some of the rhetoric is so hateful…it’d spin your head around. You have to say, listen, we’re at a point in the history when we have to save the country…But I just hope they’ll all just say let’s do what’s good for the country.