"IN THE NAME OF GOD, GO."

I have always been attracted to the quote, "Depart I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go." This was supposedly first said by Oliver Cromwell in his fight with the British Parliament during the short period of the Commonwealth in the mid-17th century. The quote was trotted out again in May l940 in another speech in the British Parliament demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who had been appeasing Hitler in his territorial demands in Europe and was also too weak a leader to head the war effort which was to come to full fury just a few days later when Hitler launched his attack on France, Britain and everything in between.

It's time again to raise the "go" sentiment, this time aimed at the GOP so-called leadership in the House, specifically Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Both have and continue to compete over which of them can most appease the tea party (TP) and its supporters who seem determined to push the country into financial default on August 2, when we hit the debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion. And after the mental implant about the August 2 deadline, the administration now seems to be hinting there could be some short wiggle room. But Boehner seems to be the biggest villain on the stage, or at least that's the script he has been handed by the TP.

Just when the public is led to think that he and President Obama have agreed to a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default, Boehner walks away from the talks parroting the GOP and TP mantra of no new revenues which they interpret as raising taxes regardless of the specific origin and form of the revenues to be increased. Boehner, the current lead spear carrier of the House GOP/TP, is actually following the similar antics of Cantor who several weeks ago walked out of bipartisan talks led by Vice President Biden for the same reason -- opposition to any new revenues.

The GOP intransigence on increasing revenues, primarily from the wealthy and large corporations, comes despite the Democratic willingness to give up trillions of dollars in spending over the next decade, including cuts in Democratic-favored programs such as medicare, medicaid, and social security. It must be added, however, that there is some liberal Democratic resistance to cuts in the entitlements. In addition to the basic problem of a clash of partisan ideologies, there is also the less visible problem of competition for the Speaker's job with Cantor having that lean and hungry look of Cassius while waiting for Boehner to make a deal with Obama that will cost him, Boehner, his job.

While August 2 is the much trumpeted deadline set for default to be triggered, perhaps the biggest incentive for cutting some kind of deal between Congress and the White House is the scheduled beginning of a month long vacation for Congress which is to begin less than a week later. But right now it looks like another round of kick the can down the road with some kind of deal that will allow the underworked lawmakers to go on the vacations they don't deserve, followed later with the certitude of having to go through all of this again.

As may seem apparent, this posting flows from considerable frustration with Washington and the political posturing, frustration primarily based on the "no compromise", "to the barricades," position of the GOP which has cowered before the irresponsible demands of the TP and its extreme right wing followers. So thank you Oliver Cromwell for finding the right words and sentiment many Americans share about Washington politics and politicians whose primary focus is the 2012 elections and their re-election, with the added GOP objective of taking over the White House and making Obama a one-term President. Unfortunately, a simple "In the name of God, go" won't work. We are stuck with the mess, the mess makers, and the frustrations that flow from them.