Tea party doesn’t work well with others

For months, Fox News, Michele Bachmann and the Republican tea party continued their assault on plans to raise the debt ceiling ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline, claiming the negative economic consequences of failing to raise the ceiling is “pure fiction” and that Democrats’ warnings were “doomsday rhetoric.”

The Standard & Poor’s report mentioned three times that our “unwillingness to raise revenues was going to make it impossible for us to regain our credit rating.” That’s a pretty clear signal. Make no mistake, the tea party’s complete unwillingness to compromise and their divisive, obstructionist and toxic attitude in Washington caused the S&P downgrade.

Following the debt ceiling increase, Boehner said they got 98 percent of what they wanted. Is the Republican party now willing to take 98 percent of the responsibility for the new recession? Congressman Randy Hultgren voted against raising the debt ceiling. Overall, stocks have fallen 15 percent during the past two weeks. Are you going to hold Rep. Hultgren accountable for the loss of your retirement savings, 401(k) and loss of confidence at home and abroad? Republicans chose to protect millionaires and big oil, taking the economy hostage and bringing it to the brink of catastrophe during the debt ceiling debate.

Compromise is one of the fundamental principles of politics in a democratic system. The American people want a government that works together. The Democrats were willing to meet the Republicans more than halfway, but the Republicans are terrified of this unreasonable tea party group. This group is not founded in reality and they continually show they have a stranglehold on the Republicans, thus stopping seemingly reasonable Republicans from voting for a deal that would have prevented a downgrade much sooner than the final hour fiasco.

Chrisi Vineyard

President, Kendall County Democratic Women

Oswego