Even with the highly-politicized government “shutdown” from what is basically the usual game of finger pointing by both Democrats and Republicans, Floyd had a busy weekend that was centered around the annual Arts and Crafts fair at the high school.
The county rescue squad fed large crowds at its breakfast buffet fundraiser at station number one on U.S. 221 north of town. Businesses and restaurants in town reported good business on Saturday and Sunday.
Up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, however, the mood was not as festive. Mabry Mill Restaurant sat empty, close under orders from the National Park Service. Even though the restaurant is operated by a private vendor, ,the Park Service would not allow the facility to open. Same for Peaks of Otter lodge and Restaurant north of Roanoke.
Businesses in Meadows of Dan and other communities along the Parkway faced loss of business from less traffic on the Parkway.
Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith, who voted in lockstep with his GOP colleagues to attach non-germane amendments to a budget “continuing resolution” and force the shutdown, tried some of his usual grandstanding by taking the floor of the House and talking about what the shutdown was doing to area businesses.
Griffith, of course, avoided talking about his own complicity in the whole mess, something he does often. While he grandstanding and pretended to be a “friend” of those who face problems from the shutdown, he continued to work behind the scenes with other Republicans to keep the government shut down.
When Griffith’s party took control of Congress in 1994, one of the key factors in that victory was the so-called “Contract With America,” a list of things the Republicans said they would do once in charge.
Among other things, the Republicans promised to end legislative stalemates caused when one party or the other tried to bog down bills with “non-germane” amendments. The party of the elephant quickly forgot that promise once it seized control of Congress. It also conveniently forgot a promise to bring term limits to service on Capitol Hill.
While both parties share a lot of the blame for the stalemate that brought the “shutdown” and will threaten the nation’s economy with possible default by the government on its debts next week, the Republicans, if they had a conscience, should feel guilt for its insistence of attaching things that have nothing to do with the budget to attempts to fund the government.
Griffith’s grandstanding attempts can’t hide the fact that he, like so many of his so-called colleagues in Congress, lies for a living.
3 thoughts on “Morgan Griffith: Just another Congressional con artist”
It’s called doublespeak. I think the whole reason for the shut down is the Republican’s insistence on attaching things that have nothing to do with the budget. The only way you can blame the Democrats is because they won’t cave to those tactics. The Affordable Care act that the Republicans want to kill has already passed. They lost that one, and like Jon Stewart has said, “When the Giants lost, they didn’t shut down the NFL.”
Both parties have a long history of attaching unrelated amendments to bills – it’s just the way our system of government works. Politics is the art of compromise, where two opposing parties of representatives get together and negotiate to a mutually acceptable middle ground. It’s not always pretty, but is much better than a dictatorship. How tough the negotiation gets depends on who has the greater power.
In this case, the Republicans control the House of Representatives and have funding power, while the Democrats control the Senate and can block legislation from the House. Both have dug in their heels over Obamacare and are playing hard ball at our expense. It’s a stupid game of chicken and the blame can be placed on both sides. We all think we have simple solutions, but politics is a complex game of power and money that resists anything simple.
While our system of government sometimes puts on these frustrating displays of stubbornness, let’s not forget we still have the best system in the world! We just have to put up with these circus acts from time to time, and express our frustration at the polls.
as a former restaurant owner I really feel for Mabry Mill and Peaks of Otter…that’s money they can never get back and every day lost is an inch closer to getting out all together. And the Peaks of Otter people just got on board to try and make a go of it. As far as M. Griffith goes, what can you expect from a man who gets married in a graveyard?
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