To tell you how little confidence anybody in America has about anything about government these days, the failure of the Congressional supercommittee to come up with $1.2 trillion to reduce the deficit is shocking absolutely nobody.
Somewhat predictably, Republicans are blaming Democrats (first and foremost, President Obama of course), while Democrats are blaming the Tea Party, Grover Norquist and general GOP intransigence on their refusal to back any type of tax, or er, revenue increases, for the latest failure.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, a Republican, tweeted on Monday that, "The Debt Commission can't succeed because both sides are angling for partisan political gains at the expense of each other & America."
We note his stance, because the commissioner is the odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination for Congress in District 11 next year, and take on Kathy Castor in her heavily Democratic backed district.
Castor told CL that she blames the lack of a deal squarely on the shoulders of Republicans – nuance be damned.
This article appears in Nov 24-30, 2011.