The Super Committee's Super Failure Was Super Predictable

I told you so. When the president put forth conditions on a bipartisan committee made up of an equal number of both Democrats and Republicans to work out a solution to our debt problem; perhaps it's the pessimist in me, but I knew it would fail.

Or, perhaps the realist?

Now I know Democrats have their own political agenda, I'm a Democrat. But, the Democrats have been willing all along to work with the Republicans and that is not the case with the GOP. Now more than ever, the GOP has shown its  allegiance to a man they made a promise to and a dying political movement. I am speaking of Grover Norquist and the Tea Party. And I'm not surprised, but it's political suicide for the Republicans.

[Read Robert Schlesinger: No, Both Sides Aren't to Blame for Super Committee Failure.]

Since March of this year, polls show there is waning support for the Tea Party; and month after month more of that support falls off. Much more attention has been given to those 99 percent-ers protesting throughout the country as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

And polls show that a larger percentage of Americans blame the Republicans for this "super committee" failure than they do the Democrats.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the deficit super committee.]

Perhaps it's because the American voter is more educated, more aware. Perhaps it's because they're tired of being treated as if they were stupid or mindless by politicians.

The bottom line is that the Republicans care more about their pledge not to raise taxes and care more about Grover Norquist than they do the people that elected them to the positions they hold.

[Debate Club: Is a flat tax a good idea?]

Although I commend the president for thinking the best of this group; the failure of this committee was predictable and history proves it. When the Republicans say they want to drastically cut spending and the deficit, and the president offered over 4 trillion (with a "t" folks) in cuts, they walked away and settled for nearly half.

And what of their promise? With the non-extension of the Bush tax credits and the estate tax credits, their rich buddies are getting that tax increase the Republicans feared so. 

So, they didn't let Norquist down. They didn't let the Tea Party down. But in the end, they let their rich, corporate Wall Street base down, and they also let the fastest growing segment of our population down: their parents and their grandparents, our seniors.

When former Gov. Sarah Palin said there would be death panels, who knew she would've been right all along? Not because of the president's legislation to reform health care, but because of the inability of a party to put politics aside in the best interest of the American people and our economy.

[See a collection of political cartoons on Sarah Palin.]

With the upcoming Medicare cuts, hospitals and doctor's offices will have to close. And with 10,000 people a day since January of 2011 entering their golden years, a rate that will last nearly the next two decades, who will provide care for them?

My husband is an orthopedic surgeon. He gets paid $18.37 to see a Medicare patient after their first visit. What will they cut that down to, pray tell? With that low amount, he and other doctors will not be able to provide quality care, even if they want to; heck, with that amount of money, how do you pay the staff, their insurance, keep the phones and the lights on, not to mention the malpractice insurance?!

So America, thank the Republicans. In 10 years when we don't have enough money to properly fund the military, and going forward when being a senior who is sick will surely be a death sentence because there just will not be enough medical personnel or facilities to accommodate the growing number of seniors.

I have an idea—why don't we send the bill to Grover Norquist? Since he is the Republican's messiah, he should be the one doing the saving….but I wouldn't hold your breath.

• See a collection of political cartoons on the Tea Party.
• Read 10 things you didn't know about the Bush tax cuts.
• Read about 7 groups with reason to protest.

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