The Road Ahead

House Minority Leader John Boehner, in response to President Obama's proposed budget, said, "I think we just have to admit we're broke," and lamented the return of "big government," ignoring the fact that small government led to much of our current predicament. Tell me, John, should we shrink government further, continue to provide tax breaks to the wealthy, and simply abandon the middle and lower classes to economic oblivion? Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, in his response to Mr. Obama's speech to Congress, spoke out against government spending of taxpayer dollars to alleviate the economic crisis, seemingly ignorant of the fact that his state has received $130 billion in taxpayer money to help rebuild after hurricane Katrina. Bobby, did you forget that Karl Rove is gone now, and we have returned to the reality-based world?

It is not the United States that is bankrupt. We have ample assets, in the form of our citizens, their determination, and sound government leadership, to invest in righting the economy and advancing a new progressive agenda.

It is the republican ideology, defined by its hypocrisy, that is bankrupt. Where is the moral obligation to help our fellow citizens in a time of need? Wake up, John and Bobby. These people, some of whom are your own constituents, don't have any bootstraps to pull themselves up by. And help is not going to come miraculously from faith-based institutions either. The only faith-based initiatives going on right now consist of millions of Americans praying that they will make their next mortgage payment and not lose their home, not get sick (because they have no health insurance), and be able to give their children a decent meal.

Our President has set forth a clear vision of the road ahead. Nancy Pelosi described it eloquently: "At long last, a budget that is a statement of our national values." The wheels are turning, and Republicans such as Boehner and Jindal are roadkill on the way to progress.