Responsibility

Glad to see that just about everyone felt the way I did about Jindal's response. As for his rejection of government intervention, I don't think it carries much water with anyone anymore. As Roger Simon says, it's pretty clear that the government has been complicit in these crises from the very beginning. There is a line to be drawn between letting the markets be free and letting them run wild; there is a line to be drawn between standing by our values abroad and cramming them down the throats of others. There are tough decisions that need to be made, every day, on health care and energy, education and taxes, and many other issues. Those decisions have been put off, brushed aside, and this is where we are now. President Obama spent the evening talking about fixing those problems. The sputter of a Republican response, though it claimed to center on the idea that "Americans can do anything," seemed to be: "Don't look at us. We place our trust in you."

This is classic buck-passing, and subtly, but supremely, disingenuous. It sounds great to say "we'll spend less of your money and get out of your way," but that doesn't get near the truth. The truth is, the "American people" at large do not possess the tools to get credit flowing again, or to reform health care, or to force investment in green energy. That is why we elect people to represent us. If the Republicans don't want to be trusted with our problems, they should not be running for office. If they find it irresponsible to try to find solutions, they have no business at the table. They want us to think they are reaching out a hand when in fact they are stiff-arming progress.

There is another fundamental problem with their response. At its heart lies the standard conservative "answer" to the economy: "we must be fiscally responsible. Smaller government. Less spending." Now, I'm all for fiscal responsibility, but I do not think it can exist in a vacuum. What I would hope for is that all aspects of our government's actions be governed by responsibility. Now, when I was growing up, I was taught that an indispensable part of being responsible was the willingness to take responsibility. And that is what we are asking for now. Congress can not turn its back on the mess it has helped to create; instead, it must recognize the simple precept we all learn in kindergarten: when you make a mess, you clean it up. You do not stand around claiming that cleaning it up would be irresponsible.