The rummy stumbled out of the cafe, no one cared enough to call him a
cab. Left at the table was an oddball pair, looking at the havoc their
dinner party had wrecked before them. It had been quite a party, but
now the waiter was coming with the bill, and there was awkward silence.
Decadence and disregard for the price of the meals and drinks and
debauchery had been immense, and the check had quite a few zeros on it.
Long gone were the guests who ran up this outrageous total, leaving the
last two to settle and square away the bill at Democracy's Cafe.
So it is true in reality, as it is in the cafe. A new Democratic
Congress and a lame duck President share this table long sat at by
corporate fat cats, lobbyists, corrupt congressmen, their hangers-on,
entourages and various other party goers who had partied like rock
stars in the early 2000s. Now the check is due.
Sadly, the last sweet kiss good-bye to the Republicans is that the bill
did not come due during their watch, which is why they are taking being
expelled from the restaurant with little to no fanfare. They knew this
was coming, and like a dinner guest with no change left in their
pocket, they went to the bathroom and never came back. They didn't even
leave a 20 spot to even pretend like they wanted to settle accounts,
because they knew they did not need too.
So, the lame duck and sacrificial lambs, who were happy just to get to
the table even if the party was obviously winding down, now face a tab
of outrageous proportions. The housing market has cooled, the trade
debt is outlandish, and somehow some of the party goers had gotten a
second tab open, a second duel deficit, that too was suddenly these to
poor soul's responsibility. And not even figured into the total is the
price to cover the fight that broke out early on, and all that was
broken during its fray.
And while they sit there, just now fully understanding their miserable
fate while the hooligans of the Gatsby party variety have gone home to
sleep it off and wait for these two to take the fall. Because they know
the responsibility and debacle of the check will be pinned on those
left at the table, freeing them up to return in 2008 to go hog wild
again, hands washed and cleaned of their previous indiscretions.
So be wary if you find yourself at the table when the check comes at
Democracy's Cafe. Those who ran up the tab are long gone, but owners of
the restaurant, the American people, will not remember that because
they do not remember what happened last week. And in 2007, when the
economy shitbags because the checks are due, it is not the Republican
decadence the people will remember, it will be the Democrats shaking
them down to pay for the bill that they will.
And the President will just sit there, wondering exactly how much he can sneak away in a doggy bag.