Tag Archives: Government shutdown

A GOP Version of Chekhov’s Gun

By Robin Bates | Published: September 21, 2023

A pundit invokes Chekhov’s gun in covering the GOP impasse that may shut down the government.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments closed

Whitman Would Embrace Trump’s Victims

By Robin Bates | Published: January 10, 2019

Thursday I wrote yesterday’s Walt Whitman post before hearing Donald Trump’s Oval Office address, which is why I find myself returning to the poet again so soon. Like the Statue of Liberty mentioned by Sen. Chuck Schumer in his response to Trump, Whitman’s Song of Myself serves as an antidote to the president’s racism and xenophobia. Trump, as […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

A Plague on BOTH Houses? No, Only One

By Robin Bates | Published: October 10, 2013

“A plague on both your houses” doesn’t work for Mercutio or for citizens today.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Government Shutdown? Call in the Bard

By Robin Bates | Published: October 9, 2013

Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” offers a wish fulfillment that we can apply to the government shutdown.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Needed in Congress: A Deus Ex Machina

By Robin Bates | Published: October 2, 2013

If Boehner channeled the spirit of Athena in “The Odyssey,” he could reopen the government tomorrow.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Tea Party Plays Chicken with America

By Robin Bates | Published: April 8, 2011

Are there other way in which Rebel without a Cause applies to the budget battle? Maybe Jim Boehner is the weak father, unable to stand up to his Tea Party fantatics and failing to teach them that governing requires compromise. Maybe President Obama is the man in the apron, failing to robustly address a future deficit that will be unsustainable, thereby letting radicals step into the vacuum.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed