Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Why the Right-Wing Bullies Will Hold The Nation Hostage Again and Again

Robert Reich discovered long ago a truism that President Obama needs to figure out right quick. If he's capable of it.

When I was a small boy I was bullied more than most, mainly because I was a foot shorter than than everyone else. They demanded the cupcake my mother had packed in my lunchbox, or, they said, they’d beat me up. After a close call in the boy’s room, I paid up. Weeks later, they demanded half my sandwich as well. I gave in to that one, too. But I could see what was coming next. They’d demand everything else. Somewhere along the line I decided I’d have a take a stand. The fight wasn’t pleasant. But the bullies stopped their bullying.

I hope the President decides he has to take a stand, and the sooner the better. Last December he caved in to Republican demands that the Bush tax cut be extended to wealthier Americans for two more years, at a cost of more than $60 billion. That was only the beginning — the equivalent of my cupcake.

It is impossible to fight bullies merely by saying they’re going too far.

You have to turn them black and blue and red and make them afraid to fuck with you. Simple. If you don't, the bullying will never stop.

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