Beyond Quick Healing
2013-10-01 - by
The politicians, when you get down to the short rows, are the varmints who decided to hang a ‘Not Open for Business’ sign on the federal government – but, in an odd way, it wasn’t the politicians who were pouring gas on the fire.
In the age of the twenty-four hour news cycle and roaring commentators from dawn to dusk the government shutdown turned out to be the perfect news story. The blondes on Fox News were having the time of their lives.
Last night was like watching the cable news version of the countdown to Armageddon with anchormen roaring the end of the world was coming in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 hour, and tersely reporting each new hope, explaining breathlessly, The House just met, the House just passed a bill, the Senate killed the bill, Obama said, Boehner said, Harry Reid said….on and on it went until midnight when Armageddon happened and I went to bed.
I woke this morning expecting to turn on the TV and hear: Horrible carnage. Aftermath of the end of the world.
Of course, none of the news channel pyrotechnics absolves the politicians; whether you believe the shutdown’s justified or pure folly, it’s proof our politics is broken beyond any hope of quick healing. But the twenty-four hour cable news cycle may not be the best thing that ever happened either.
Beyond Quick Healing
2013-10-01/
The politicians, when you get down to the short rows, are the varmints who decided to hang a ‘Not Open for Business’ sign on the federal government – but, in an odd way, it wasn’t the politicians who were pouring gas on the fire.
In the age of the twenty-four hour news cycle and roaring commentators from dawn to dusk the government shutdown turned out to be the perfect news story. The blondes on Fox News were having the time of their lives.
Last night was like watching the cable news version of the countdown to Armageddon with anchormen roaring the end of the world was coming in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 hour, and tersely reporting each new hope, explaining breathlessly, The House just met, the House just passed a bill, the Senate killed the bill, Obama said, Boehner said, Harry Reid said….on and on it went until midnight when Armageddon happened and I went to bed.
I woke this morning expecting to turn on the TV and hear: Horrible carnage. Aftermath of the end of the world.
Of course, none of the news channel pyrotechnics absolves the politicians; whether you believe the shutdown’s justified or pure folly, it’s proof our politics is broken beyond any hope of quick healing. But the twenty-four hour cable news cycle may not be the best thing that ever happened either.