The cost of ego: Elected federal officials put on a tawdry show, and we pay for it

Troops deployed overseas won't be able to watch today's Jags-Patriots or Eagles-Vikings NFL conference championship games.

The Armed Forces Network, AFN, is -- naturally -- a government funded outlet, and so it has been forced to shut down like so many others because of, well, the shutdown.

Meanwhile, millions of workers could face furloughs and will miss paychecks and access to benefits for the duration of the latest inculcation of what amounts to a Congressional temper tantrum.

So, what is the real impetus this time that has the knickers of our so-called distinguished elected officials from their respective states at odds with each other and the White House?

The wall? The Dreamers? Chip? Taxes? Health care? Twitter? The "s"-word?

No, no wait, the other "s"-word. Not -hole, but -house.

Give us a break.

This is little more than grandstanding on both sides of the aisle heading into what appears will be a tense mid-term election cycle, and all at the expense of the people who sent them there.

The simplest, most fundamental thing the House and Senate and the president -- any president -- ought to be able to agree on is keeping the machine running.

Yet time and time again, one administration after another, the threat of shutdowns and actual shutdowns hinder the process of  either side getting anything done.

And it shouldn't matter which party you affiliate yourself with. When it gets to the point that the people we've elected to Washington to represent us demonstrate that they can't do so, we voters better start taking notes and eyeing our upcoming ballots pretty closely.

Because none of this is about red or blue, it's about green -- ours, the taxpayers' -- being wasted due to ego.

Enjoy the games, everybody. If you can see 'em.

Published in Editorials on January 20, 2018 8:28 PM