Reid’s charge, Boehner’s abdication: Obama should call the House back into session

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made an extraordinary statement this morning correctly taking House Republicans and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to task for what is one of the great abdications of responsibility in modern government. Reid is right, but these charges and counter-charges are wearing thin, and it is time for President Obama to exercise his authority to call the House of Representatives back to do what they are paid by taxpayers to do: govern.

{mosads}Please do not tell anyone in Washington, we can keep this a secret between us, but they all look ridiculous to the American people, and it is time for this farce to end.

It is unconscionable that jobless workers spent Christmas Eve afraid that their benefits could be cut off. It is inexcusable that hard-hit middle-income taxpayers spent their Christmas Eve wondering whether they would face extreme tax increases in a tough economy. It is shameful that poor Americans spent their Christmas Eve wondering whether they will go even more hungry if help for them is cut because Washington could not agree. It is outrageous that American troops risking their lives in combat today spent their Christmas wondering whether the budgets for their bullets and body armor would be cut while they face enemy fire.

Everyone in this town now looks ridiculous to serious people throughout the nation and around the world. While House Republicans look the most ridiculous, there are no winners in this fiasco.

I give Reid credit for bringing the Senate into session.

The president has the authority to bring the Congress back, and since the Senate is already back, he should use this authority to call the House of Representatives back into session starting immediately and lasting until a final agreement is reached.