These colors don't run

Today in the House of Representatives a truly remarkable thing happened. The speaker John Boehnner brought a debt deal bill to the floor to be voted on, or at least that was what he planned to do. The bill called for a tax increase on income over a million dollars, and steep cuts to food stamps, meals on wheels, and other social spending. These types of spending cuts are what Republicans salivate over, but because of the tax increase, an increase on a tiny part of the population, Republicans in the house said they would not vote for it. So Boehnner took his bill and literally went home. There are some Washington insiders who are saying that House Republicans were going to vote against the bill because it would never pass the Senate. I don't buy this for an instant, House Republicans have voted on a number of bills that were similarly "symbolic." They have voted over 20 times to defund planned parenthood, and almost as many times to overturn the Affordable Care Act, so the idea that House Republicans are somehow wary of symbolic votes is not borne out by evidence. 
What it comes down to is this, Republicans don't want to see a single dime in new tax revenue until all social programs are severely cut. They want this so bad that even making a tiny concession is seen as un-patriotic and weak. 
This brings me to the title of my post. As I watched this fiasco unfold today, I was reminded of a scene in one of my favorite movies. In Talladega Nights  Will Ferrel's character Ricky Bobby has a confrontation with a new driver. The new driver has Ricky pinned down and threatens to break his arm if he will not say that he loves crepes. Ricky it should be noted does in fact love crepes, but refuses on principle to say so. Even after the new driver tells Ricky that he can say "I love really thin pancakes", and after his friend Cal tells him that concession is a good deal, Ricky refuses and his arm is broken. 
That is where the Republicans stand right now, even after getting a good compromise, they refuse to do anything, stubbornly standing on a principle that in light of what will happen if no deal is reached, is no principle at all.

Debt ceiling press conference.

While John Boehnner and Barack Obama spoke to the nation about the unprecedented debt ceiling fight, I was celebrating the pioneers entrance into Utah.

The Mormon pioneers had been blamed for causing problems in every state they lived in, so they wanted to be free. In much the same way, the poor in this country are being blamed for causing problems in regard to the debt. The vast majority of us just want to be allowed to live in peace. It seems that no matter what we give, it is not enough. The Mormons attempted to make peace by agreeing to certain rules established for them. In the end it was not enough, and they were driven out of Ohio, and later Illinois. In 1996 congress set up rules for the poor in an attempt to make peace with Republicans. Since then we have lived under these rules, rules written by Republicans. Now, as happened with the Mormons, we are being asked for more. We are being asked to give up our homes so that other people can have them. Any debt deal that takes away from those who can least afford it, and asks for no revenue, is asking for an entire class of people to give up on ever rising above poverty. This is too high a price, the common sense solution is simple, we need both revenue and some intelligent spending cuts. No job was ever created by taking food and shelter away from needy families.

I have said this before, but it bears repeating. At the time that our social safety nets were established, we had more revenue. Since then, the need for these programs has not decreased, but the tax rates have plummeted. If you stop bringing in money it is impossible to sustain any program. As Obama said, we need a balanced approach.