Letter to our local editor

Letter to the Editor: Who's at fault?. Sonia Sniderman, Tulsa. Our Republican congressmen are predictably blaming the White House for the Standard and Poor's rating downgrade ("Coburn says downgrade probably 'overdue,'" Aug. 9). Rep. John Sullivan put it most churlishly: "It's a clear signal that President Barack Obama and his economic team are in way over their heads when it comes to managing our economy. The S&P credit rating statement, however, explicitly condemned obstinate Republicans, not Obama, for failure to consider increasing taxes or allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire. S&P downgraded the credit rating because of Republicans' cavalier willingness to provoke a default and their inflexible refusal to allow even modest revenue increases. Anyone paying attention to the pathetic debt negotiation debacle could see that the Democrats offered several plans that combined cuts along with closing tax loopholes on luxury items for savings of up to $4 trillion. The tea party-run GOP refused to consider any revenue options, even such boondoggles as the elimination of tax breaks for corporate jet owners. They wanted radical cuts on programs for the poor and middle class while protecting the entitlements of the rich. They were quite ready to crash the economy if they didn't get their way. So who is irresponsible and over their heads here? Is it President Obama who repeatedly offered painful cuts in programs Democrats value, or tea party activists who were quite willing to destroy the full faith and credit of the U.S. for the sake of partisan politics? Letters to the editor are encouraged.