Is there an adult in Washington D.C.? Or are they all just self-important, entitled, spoiled petulant children?

While government employees work without a paycheck, and furloughed government employees stand in line at the food banks, President Trump held a Halloween party with a Great Gatsby theme. The Great Gatsby as you probably remember from your high school reading assignments is a story of the hedonistic jazz age of the 20’s. As SNAP benefits were being held back from one out of eight Americans, Trump and his wealthy buddies at Mar-A-Largo danced the night away under the concept that “A little party never hurt nobody.”

How tone deaf can one administration be? While the Congressmen and Senators continue to get paid for doing nothing, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, military employees, Social Security and Medicaid administrators plus countless other agencies work without getting their paycheck on time. I can only imagine how low the morale must be in government offices.

But the morale is high in the White House as the President shows off his newly remodeled bathroom with the marble floors, and brags about the ballroom that you and I will never set foot in.

A recent ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll shows that I am not alone when it comes to thinking that this country is seriously messed up right now.

According to this poll, 75% of Americans are very or somewhat concerned with the government shutdown. Only 9% are not concerned at all. Maybe those were the people at the Gatsby party.

That same poll showed that 67% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track.

And while all this is going on the Republican and Democrat politicians get in front of the cameras and blame each other. A plurality of Americans, however, blame the Republicans for the shutdown. That same ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that 45% of Americans blame Trump and the Republicans, one third blamed Democrats, and 22% were unsure. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part Trump and the Republicans don’t seem to care. They are all little Marie Antoinettes telling the little people to just eat their cake.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley does seem somewhat concerned. He sponsored a bill that would protect the SNAP benefits for those who need them. 14 other Republican Senators signed onto the bill. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts did not.

Dear Senators Fischer and Ricketts, in case you don’t know, people buy food with their EBT cards. You know who benefits when people buy food? Farmers and by extension the entire

state of Nebraska. You are supposed to represent the people of Nebraska not the people of Mar-A-Largo.

If President Trump and his sycophants in the Oval Office were acting like adults, they would force John Thune, Chuck Schumer, Mike Johnson, and Hakeem Jeffries to go into a room and not let them come out until they came up with an agreement. You know like your parents used to do with you and your siblings when you had a disagreement.

President Trump wants the Senate to do away with the filibuster. That is an awful idea and thankfully, as of now, he doesn’t have the votes in the Senate to make it happen. They don’t need to get rid of the filibuster, they need to reinstate it to votes like Supreme Court judges. The filibuster when used properly forces both parties to work together to solve a problem. When used improperly we get what we have now.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past where Senators and Congressmen would address their political adversaries in Congress by introducing them as, “My good friend” or, “My esteemed colleague from the great state of (fill in the blank).” Now all you get is finger pointing.

Speaking of finger pointing I’m not pointing the finger at any one political party. True, the Republicans are the ones in power so they should be the ones taking charge to resolve this, but it takes two to tango. The Democrats are not without some blame as well.

While both sides continue their pissing match it’s the American people who are getting wet.

Maybe they’d get something done if we started a new MAMA movement and wear red hats that say Make All politicians Mature Again.

Yes, as hard as it may be to believe, there was a time in the not-too-distant past when our elected employees actually acted like responsible adults. I miss those days.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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