Misplaced Outrage

The past couple of weeks have been filled with bad news and it seems President Obama just can't get a break on anything. Everything is his fault. That's been a chant of some for a long time but now it seems to be taking hold. It's that old principal of "if you say something often enough, over and over, eventually it will be proven correct". In addition, Obama, his family, his administration and supporters are tired. He can't get anything done. He and Congress are on two different wave lengths and it doesn't look like that will change any time soon. It's easy to point fingers but as is often the case, both sides share the blame.

As I look at all of the major issues that are out there I have to wonder how much of this is a reckoning  of sorts, chickens coming home to roost as it were? How much of everything that we're seeing is truly the result of a dysfunctional Congress, an ineffective President and an apathetic public? In the end, will these issues have enough of an impact to wake everyone up? How much of what we're seeing is driven by the inability of the President and Congress to come together on a budget? Do they realize it?

Misplaced outrage is what we see everyday. Congress can rant and rave about Syria and ISIS but where are they in terms of financing the military and the war some of them are frothing for? Where are they in terms of even voting on military interventions?

Then there's Ebola. We seem to be pretty close to a panic response with coordination and communication being pretty poor. Turns out the President has nominated a candidate for the open Surgeon General's position but Congress refuses to confirm the nominee along with many other appointments. "We'll show him. We won't approve appointments." A competent Surgeon General by the way could provide some leadership and a calming and educational voice during a potential health crisis as opposed to a seemingly confused group of people at a podium in Dallas.

Next we have what seems to be a crises at the Secret Service. As you dig into the issues there you find that sequestration has had an impact on the hiring and recruitment of agents. The list goes on and on. Problems related to inaction on a budget, continued threats of a government shutdown and people wagging fingers at each other. Immigration has become not only a political football but an opportunity for some to spew hatred for particular groups of people.

Well we're learning that actions (in this case inactions) have consequences. It's clear that a majority of people in charge in Washington don't care much about the Food Stamps that have disappeared or the supports and services for vulnerable people with disabilities that have gone by the wayside, or the single mothers trying to survive on minimum wage, or the homeless who still struggle in our communities. Those issues aren't close enough to them. Maybe, just maybe, these other issues will make a few of these folks see how badly they are screwing up governing and how their lives as well as others are being impacted.

But first of course we have to get through an election. That's why they're all on recess after all, to get out there and talk about what a great job they're not able to do because of the other person, party or that President. I just hope they and the voters begin to connect the dots and realize that actions and yes, inactions have consequences.