By Jim Hoover

OK, we probably won’t default. Is it time for rejoicing?

Not so much.

We supposedly are close to a debt ceiling/budget-cut agreement. Republicans cocked the default gun and held it to Obama’s head. He blinked… again. Don’t worry. The agreement assures that he will blink again….and again.

Why? Because no one thought to take away their guns. The gun-thing first happened last year when the Republicans used them before Christmas. Republicans were not even a majority then, but they had gold behind them. They hushed taxes-for-the-rich talk by just waving pistols. More pistol-whipping and brinkmanship came in April with the prospect for government shutdown.

Now many might say that it isn’t fair to blame Obama and the Democrats. I say it is entirely fair.

You know the story. Bush, then Obama, spurred a protest atmosphere as the government bailed out Wall Street with billions of taxpayer dollars and did next to nothing for the people.

A few disgruntleds got an idea. They read a book about the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773. The book had pictures of protesters in quaint garb. The disgruntleds wore this same garb and threw teabags on the White House lawn. The public shared in this exercise in frustration, and it somewhat relieved the anger and disgust of the bank bailout.

But citizens got hotter and hotter while the new Obama administration allowed Wall Street to flip off the people. Then plutocrats like the Koch brothers absorbed what became known as the “Tea Party” movement with patriotic-sounding organizations: Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Works. Like puppets, Republicans also joined and funded: Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots and Tea Party Express.

After plutocrats pointed at the Democrat wearing a red coat that day in the Washington DC park, all Democrats were the targets. Plutocrats spread the word that Democrats wanted to give red coats to others who didn’t earn them, so the whole party became enemies.

Tea Party-ers made a lot of noise and scattered the Democratic majority, but even as a majority they were too scared to fight. So instead of real health care reform, we got the old Republican health-care plan that helped some poor people by paying the health care industry about twice as much as we should have and killed public options.

In 2010, angry voters rejected Democrats and turned loose Republicans, like ruffians in the local park. In this case the park is Washington DC. They were purchased and brought there by plutocrats.

But by now, we can see that the latest batch of ruffians that plutocrats bought votes for are crazier than the last batch.

Can anybody doubt that Obama and the Democrats will figuratively give away America’s valuable jewels again? We have trillions in cuts over the next ten years, assuring more unemployment when there’s already over 9% unemployed, and millions are wondering where the next meal is coming from.

We can talk about cutting benefits for the poor and the vulnerable, but we won’t talk about making the rich pay more, in fact we will continue corporate welfare.

It is established. All Republicans have to do is point the guns at us again.

You know, the guns that Democrats let them keep, like spoiled kids.