Feet of clay on Capitol Hill

"He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career."

                                                                                                                          George Bernard Shaw

AUBURN, Maine — If you couldn't come up with a definitive answer to Congress's buffoonery this past week, request a brain scan from your family physician to explain why you are oblivious to a shutdown that is paralyzing a nation still suffering from a wobbling economy.

For those of you who live under a rock or are inebriates shaking off a yearlong hangover, thousands of federal employees are not getting paid and have swelled the ranks of the unemployed.

According to NBC.com, the feds are losing $12 million an hour. That adds up to $300 million a day or $1.6 billion a week.

A conservative friend of mine just snickers at the entire debacle and believes the shutdown will lower the deficit. It won't take you long to figure which corner he is in when it comes to politics. It was a smart-ass remark — especially when people are unemployed. The deficit will continue to grow because Congress, for some absurd reason, is still collecting a check.

The answer is clear. The 535 guys and gals who work for you on Capitol Hill have taken a long nap as America slides in into a sea of despair and disrepair.

This Congress is like the whining kid who walks off with his football because he is frustrated with the outcome of a game.

The Tea Party has sabotaged its own party and Boehner is left holding the bag as panicking moderates can't get it together to put an end to a stalemate that should have never occurred.

There are numerous issues that need to be addressed in this nation, but throwing a money wrench into the federal budget is not sound decision making.

I also believe the Obama administration has done a poor job explaining the new health care plan, but that doesn't excuse Congress's efforts to undermine it.

I will make it clear again — it is the law. How hard is that for the GOP to figure that out.

The U.S. government should not be used a ransom note because a group of Republicans are simply unhappy. You have to wonder how many lobbyists are lining members of Congress's pockets with silver and gold in effort to shelve the president's policy.

The Tea Party should go back to drinking coffee. These guys are only good for a good laugh.

What I find outrageous, and I am surprised a majority of our citizens haven't felt the same, is these inept leaders are members of of this government, and they have no problem condemning it as evil and immoral. These so-called leaders have made a career out of finger-pointing and creating fear and animosity, which I think has weakened our nation and has become fodder for late-night comedians who are delivering punch lines at the expense of this nation's leaders.

I know there is a painful price to pay in politics when any leader takes a stand. But if a politician doesn't take stand at some point, then he is just another leader who just goes with the flow, and we seem to be electing a lot this sort lately. 

Americans continue to scrape the bottom of the barrow when they vote, and this is what you get on the floor of Congress.

We should all be appalled and ashamed our leaders. I know I am. Remember this pathetic episode in American politics when you vote!

Shut it down, Mr. President

"Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself."

                                                                                                                                 Mark Twain

AUBURN, Maine — For those of you who are laughing or sobbing uncontrollably at a Congress that doesn't work and play well with others, enjoy the show that never ends in American politics.

This cinematic production has all the melodrama of a film noir movie that has been playing at theaters ever since President Obama was elected. Congress has put on a quite spectacle that is probably equally amusing to the rest of the world, too. 

Sure, Congress's stupidity is certainly entertaining, but their inability to do something, anything, constructive has left us all out in the cold and wondering why this governing body is still collecting a check.

How can America can be taken seriously when our nation's leaders act like a bunch of toddlers in a sandbox?

I campaigned for the president and I am probably the GOP's worst nightmare — a displaced Massachusetts Democrat who lives in the Pine Tree State.

Believe it or not, I still believe in the value of political parties with different ideologies. Whether you are a Republican, Democrat or an independent, your voice is heard at polls. But when our leaders can't find common ground, compromise, and make appropriate decisions for the greater good, you have to ask yourself what the hell are they doing there on Hill.

Right now, the Republicans appear delusional. They are now holding our government hostage because they don't like Obamacare or the president. And the GOP is allowing the Tea Party (but what is really in the tea) to incite such insanity.

Fine! There is no love lost between the president or the GOP, but that doesn't mean unhappy Republicans are entitled to use the U.S. government as ransom to achieve their political agenda.

Mr. President, shut it down now! 

If the Republicans can't understand that their foolishness will trigger a serious round of unemployment and possibly a worldwide economic meltdown, then let the GOP live with their blunders.

It will cost them at the polls.

Sir, these guys  don't realize Obamacare is the law and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

If Republicans are frightened by the president's healthcare plan, then run for office and try to repeal the law.

Good luck, though!

If the government does indeed close its doors thanks to John Boehner and his group of misguided chowder heads, Obamacare will begin on Oct. 1 anyway — because it is the law.

How can these guys call themselves lawmakers when they don't understand the law?

I think our national leaders have become great entertainers, but when the U.S. government closes up shop and Social Security checks aren't mailed, constituents won't find this sideshow amusing anymore.

Enough with this nonsense from political leaders who lack the common sense to know what it right!

Mr. President, just close it down!