海角大神

As a child I was bullied by bigger boys who threatened to beat me up if I didn鈥檛 give them what they wanted. But every time I gave in to their demands their subsequent demands grew larger. First they wanted the change in my pocket. Next it was the dessert in my lunchbox. Then my new Davy Crockett cap. Then the softball and bat I got for my birthday.

Finally I stopped giving in. When the bullies began roughing me up on the playground some older boys came to my rescue and threatened my tormenters with black eyes if they ever touched me again. That ended their extortion racket.聽

What鈥檚 happening in Washington these days may seem far removed from my boyhood memories, but Washington is really just another childhood playground. Its current bullies are rightwing Republicans, now threatening that if they don鈥檛 get their way they鈥檒l close down the government and cause the nation to default on its debts.

鈥淭he American people don鈥檛 want a government shutdown, and they don鈥檛 want Obamacare,鈥� House Republican leaders said聽in a聽statement聽over the weekend. 鈥淲e will do our job and send this bill over, and then it鈥檚 up to the Senate to pass it and stop a government showdown.鈥�

Really? The American people don鈥檛 want Obamacare as much as I didn鈥檛 want my softball and bat.聽

Okay, maybe not quite as much. But the only settled way we know what the American people want is through the democratic process. And the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)聽is聽the law of the land. A majority of the House and Senate voted for it, the President signed it into law, its constitutionality has been upheld by the Supreme Court, and a majority聽 of Americans reelected the President after an election battle in which the Affordable Care Act was a central issue.

Moreover, we don鈥檛 repeal laws in this country by holding hostage the entire government of the United States.

The bullies are a faction inside the Republican Party 鈥� extremists who are threatening more reasonable Republicans with primary challenges if they don鈥檛 go along.

And where are the Tea Party extremists getting their dough? From even bigger bullies 鈥� a handful of hugely wealthy Americans who are sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into this extortion racket.

They include David and Charles Koch (and their front group, 鈥淎mericans for Prosperity鈥�);聽 Peter Thiel, leverage-buyout specialist John Childs, investor Howie Rich, Stephen Jackson of the Stevens Group, and executives of聽JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, (all behind the 鈥淐lub for Growth鈥�);聽and Crow Holdings鈥� Harlan Crow, shipping magnate Richard Uihlein, and investment banker Foster Friess; executives of聽MetLife and Philip Morris, and foundations controlled by the Scaife family (all bankrolling 鈥淔reedomWorks.鈥�)

Their game plan is to not just to take over the Republican Party. It鈥檚 to take over America. The showdown over the budget and the debt ceiling is a prelude to 2016, when they plan to run Texas Senator Ted Cruz for President. (Cruz, if you haven鈥檛 noticed, is busily establishing his creds as the biggest flamer in Washington 鈥� orchestrating not only the current extortion but also the purge of reasonable Republicans from the GOP.)聽

Obama and the Democrats must not give in. They shouldn鈥檛 even negotiate with extortionists. As I learned the hard way, giving in to bullies just encourages them to escalate their demands.

The President gave in at the end of 2011 when Republican bullies threatened to go over the fiscal cliff and take the rest of the nation with them. At that time聽 they demanded spending cuts. Now they want to repeal a law they detest. If we give in again, what鈥檚 next? A coup d鈥檈tat?