Schieffer: No way to run a superpower

(CBS News) Last week I heard the Senate Chaplin pray for help to "save us from ourselves." I would guess a lot of Americans are praying to save us from THEM -- "them" being official Washington.

What we saw last week was the complete breakdown of the American political system, and a government --an administration, a Senate and a House -- that has lost the political will and, yes, the political competence to fix it.

The so-called sequestration was designed to inflict such horrible cuts in federal spending that no one with half a brain would allow them to happen. This, the theory went, would leave Congress and the White House no alternative but to find sensible ways to put the country's finances in order.

Ben Stein: Our government has gone off the rails
Complete CBSNews.com coverage: The Sequester

I would never say the majority of people in Washington have less than half a brain, but the fact is, sequestration DID happen.

It is as if Washington has separated itself from the rest of America in order to spend its time on things of concern only here -- score settling, fundraising, blame-gaming -- while leaving the rest of the country to fend for itself.

I don't know where this goes, but I do know it is not how America became a superpower -- and if history is a guide, certainly no way to remain one.

[RE_Mant]

The US became a superpower by printing fiat money and building a huge military with it, which both force and entice ppl in other places to invest and come here, the same way NY became far too big for its britches.

[Socialistnation]

We cut 2% in the growth of spending, not actual current spending but the growth and all hell breaks loose.

If we can't deal with cutting future growth in spending, we are screwed and will never get our fiscal house in order..... Never.

[peter_out]

President Obama should immediately direct John Kerry to contact Egypt and inform them that the $250 Million Kerry had "authorized" yesterday to be given to Egypt is hereby deferred.

When the U.S. Budget is balanced, and when 50,000,000 Americans are no longer on Food Stamps, when the unemployment rate is restored to 5% or lower, Congress then will consider sending the first penny in foreign aid to Egypt and others.

Surely Egypt, and the rest, friends of America, will understand.

[TxBobbyA]

Who knows what it will take - - - Each of us has to do what he feels he can - - - A couple months ago I contacted every (I mean every) Senate and House member with the following - - - "To do" list for House members - - -

Walk away from all " fiscal cliff " negotiations - - - Before Christmas (and continue immediately after the break), design and pass SEPARATE legislation that - - -

1. Minimizes the budget cuts for defense - - - Also, "plant the seed" for a complete and honest self audit of the entire Defense Department (this action is totally necessary, and it would be a self serving task for the DOD - - - There are many in the DOD that need to "get off their ass" anyway (quoting Speaker Boehner) - - -

2. Closes tax loopholes that U.S. citizens misuse (that was before the "rich tax" was imposed - - - closing loopholes now, would be an unfair "double whammy" on the rich - - -

3. Cuts the "fat" from ALL government departments and agencies (make each department and agency compete for efficiency in their effectiveness on this task) - - -

4. Imposes "accountability" for ALL heads of government that screw up - - -

5. Design and pass SEPARATE legislation that "does" everything possible to fix our nation's messed up way of doing things - - - Simply stated DO YOUR JOB !!!!!

My action "did" two things - - - Made me feel good (like I had accomplished a "common sense thing"), and maybe (who knows) one or two of the hundreds of congress people read my message, and thereby (maybe) a seed got planted.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Republicans conspired and vowed to make Barack Obama a one term president. They followed up that vow with unyielding, unrelenting, sabotaging obstruction to stop every proposal President Obama and Democrats put forth to help ordinary Americans and revive the economy. They use HOSTAGE POLITICS with manufactured crisis after crisis to extract political ransom from President Obama and Democrats. Republicans have shown time after time they don't give a damn about country, constitution or Americans.

Demented teabaggers are more than happy to destroy America carrying the water for their fellow bedsheet and pillow case wearing republicans.

[Socialistnation]

Sequester was your heroes Obama idea... Deal with it you got it.

[peter_out]

The sequester law of August 2011 now downgraded to $85 Billion for 10 months for 2013, will decrease borrowing in 2013 by slightly less than 14%. We'll still be borrowing 86+% of what we would have been borrowing from China and others.

It's no fix but does reduce the pace that borrowing and debt is growing.

All Americans share in the borrowing from China under Obama in order to avoid higher taxes. With higher taxes we could say that we are paying our own way. We cannot say that, but at least with this sequester we borrow less from China than we would have. We borrow to support our wars. We borrow to feed our millions of needy school children their school lunches. We borrow to give handouts in foreign aid.

[FP1970]

If only those mean tea party people would agree to pay more taxes to support those nice tequila party people that sneak in from Mexico and then demand benefits.

[will-cope]

I truly think that each of use should hold our elected officials to blame for the sequestration happening. I also believe that it is the career politician that has destroyed Washington. It has fallen in disgrace. I think like I hope other American voters do, come next election we are going to be looking for replacements. We need to get current players that are not doing their job out of office, If each of us would research our candidates or representatives and make sure they do what we want done or think like we would want them to think before voting them in office.

[stevehamilton858]

I agree. The election process is how the Constitution provides a way for Americans to change who is in power in Washington, and therefore change who is running the country. Here is my view of how the country got into the dysfunctional mess it's in: four years ago, the GOP, through Mitch McConnell's infamous "my number one priority" speech, declared war on the then sitting president.

Today, the president is doing what any good military commander does - he is using intelligent confrontation against those who declared war on him. If you have studied any military history at all, you know that is how wars get won. If you doubt me, look at what John Pershing did in WW1: the English and French were hiding in trenches, completely on the defensive. Pershing got them to abandon this strategy and go on the offensive against the Kaiser's troops, and he turned the tide and America and her allies won the war. Similarly, the president is going to win the war that the GOP started 4 years ago, assisted by the continuing gaffes of the Republican Party. If they don't elect a real leader and change their objectives to something that ordinary Americans can agree with, they will be a "Rump Party" by 2014.

[Moatfrog]

The question remains what do we, the people, do to get OUR government back to serving US and not themselves? We continue to see the same sorry faces in Congress year after year. 260 "work" days a year makes Jack a dull boy. People today are either apathetic or feel powerless or both. Perhaps it will eventually become a smashed train rather than just derailed. It will take millions of us who represent what is left of the dwindling middle-class workers. It begins with a massive march on OUR capital. If that goes without change things will get nasty enough beyond belief. It happened once and it may happen again. Tyranny is two words today -- big money. It's the prevailing evil of the land that was once free.

[stevehamilton858]

Just what do you think a massive march would accomplish, besides headlines? And if it would accomplish something worthwhile, how and why would this happen? The problems that the country faces today are nowhere near as severe as those that led to the Civil War 152 years ago.What is going to happen this time is that the Republican Party is going to continue its self immolation policies and we will end up with the Democrats in power longer that which FDR and Harry Truman were able to do, following Hoover's massive failure as a president in dealing with the recession.

[BuckeyeChuck]

The only way out of this is to elect a democratic majority in both the house and senate, 60 in the senate.

A note about taxes, in government class I was taught that taxes are the way to reinvest in your country. For the last thirty plus years the republicans have been cutting back on investing in their country so they can shift their wealth out of the country, all this while wearing their lapel pin and waving the flag.

[brsinai]

Your attitude towards a democrat majority is the very reason why we're in this mess. You think this is a football game where the winners rule everything. That is not the case. The majority still must listen to the minority constituency and legislate not for the "red states or blue states, but for the United States." Remember that line? Once BHO and the democrats finally start to give respect to republicans and the conservative constituency, things will finally get back to normal.

[doerndiego]

It does seem that the combination of unlimited corporate campaign money and its marketing of an ideology that corporations and money ought to run the country has succeeded in its goal to paralyze government.

[stevehamilton858]

To brsinai: Here is what I learned serving my country for 11 years in the US Navy: RESPECT IS EARNED. Right now the Republican Party is destroying itself, ably assisted by the Tea Party and a lack of leadership by the RNC. Why should anyone respect this bunch of dopes, who last year, for instance, were pushing Donald Trump as a viable candidate for president. How stupid is that???