2011 Budget Cut Thread ptII - Debt Ceiling Armageddon

[VinVega]

Previous thread (Part 1): HERE

Hide the women and children, and yes I'm talking about our elected representatives.

[wmansir]

D'oh. I had a longer post, but when I went to submit I lost it because the thread was closed.

Basic point was I don't get the McConnell plan. It's basically giving up and letting Obama "take the blame" for raising the limit. It's spineless and blatantly political, so blatant that McConnell is publicly trying to sell it to conservatives solely as an opportunity to pick up a cheap campaign talking point. I guess he failed to notice that Obama is perfectly willing, eager even, to take the credit for raising the limit without a deficit reduction deal in place.

Obama says he is going to require that any deal push the next limit raise to 2013. Obviously this is to put the issue on the back burner for the election and give Dems an opportunity to pick up more seats for the next go around. Republicans should not let the issue go so easily. If a deal doesn't get done this week the House should pass a $1T increase and let the WH and Senate Dems take it or leave it.

[VinVega]

I still feel like something is going to get done, but this political brinksmanship is really getting tiresome.

[JasonF]

Boehner began a conference meeting Friday morning by deadpanning that Republicans, the White House and Democrats had reached a deal, according to a lawmaker in the room. The response from his conference was nervous silence before Boehner eased the tension by letting them know he was only joking.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...ying-array.php

More and more, I'm convinced there is nobody in the Republican caucus in Congress who is not 100% asshole.

[classicman2]

Current political score: Obama 1 - House Repubs 0.

A major political victory for the president - may be only temporary.

It's obvious that the Speaker was more interested in retaining his speakership than he was in getting a deal done.

[classicman2]

Originally Posted by JasonF

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...ying-array.php

More and more, I'm convinced there is nobody in the Republican caucus in Congress who is not 100% asshole.

I'm convinced that both sides are playing politics - despite what the president has said - willing to upset some of his base and some Democrats in the Congres.

[Red Dog]

Originally Posted by JasonF

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...ying-array.php

More and more, I'm convinced there is nobody in the Republican caucus in Congress who is not 100% asshole.

Well you're half-way home. I suspect you've always been there.

[Thor Simpson]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Aaaaaaaaa!

And...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[JasonF]

Originally Posted by classicman2

I'm convinced that both sides are playing politics - despite what the president has said - willing to upset some of his base and some Democrats in the Congres.

Both sides do it! Democrats want to keep the economy from crashing via a mix of tax increases and spending cuts, while Republicans get mad when their leader says he might have made a deal to save the economy. It's exactly the same!

[Thor Simpson]

Originally Posted by JasonF

Both sides do it! Democrats want to keep the economy from crashing via a mix of tax increases and spending cuts, while Republicans get mad when their leader says he might have made a deal to save the economy. It's exactly the same!

You're just bitter because The Obama had seemingly brokered a deal to punish both rich people and old people at the same time and had it taken away from him.

[kvrdave]

Originally Posted by JasonF

I disagree with the idea that GOP votes against raising the debt ceiling won't matter. That's an abdication of responsibility by the majority.

Some would call it a precursor of appearing presidential.

[Red Dog]

Originally Posted by kvrdave

Some would call it a precursor of appearing presidential.

[Nesbit]

Originally Posted by classicman2

I'm convinced that both sides are playing politics

Have to agree with JasonF. The democrats are playing politics, the tea party is playing crazy. They're playing with fire and trying to ruin the government. That's what people voted them in to do.

[classicman2]

The president is meeting today with Pelosi, Reid, McConnell, and Boehner.

I understand it will be a tag team, winner take all match.

[Dr Mabuse]

Originally Posted by Red Dog

Well you're half-way home. I suspect you've always been there.

[BKenn01]

Originally Posted by JasonF

Both sides do it! Democrats want to keep the economy from crashing via a mix of tax increases and spending cuts, while Republicans get mad when their leader says he might have made a deal to save the economy. It's exactly the same!

Yes we know those Democrats are going to work hard to balance the budget if only they didn't have the pressure of this debt ceiling thing.

[Sean O'Hara]

Obama has said his lawyers aren't convinced the Constitutional Option (i.e., the idea that the 14th Amendment trumps the Debt Ceiling) is a viable argument, but I think if push comes to shove he'll go that route, especially since it's not clear anyone would have standing to challenge him in court. If that happens, the Republicans not only come off as losers politically, but they'll have expanded executive power to an even more absurd extent than it's at now.

Fucking Republicans. Can we get a decent opposition party in this country? Like the Whigs.

[classicman2]

Both parties have been guilty of expanding executive powers for decades & decades - shortly after the ink on The Constitution dried.

[Superboy]

Originally Posted by classicman2

Both parties have been guilty of expanding executive powers for decades & decades - shortly after the ink on The Constitution dried.

We can also thank both parties for the mountain of debt the country is buried under as well.

[BKenn01]

Originally Posted by Superboy

We can also thank both parties for the mountain of debt the country is buried under as well.

Yep!

[Dr Mabuse]

S&P says merely upping the debt ceiling will not stop them from downgrading the US at this point. The article I read made it seem as if some bullshit 'we're cutting spending' bill like Obama/Boehner seems to favor wouldn't stop a downgrade either.

[Nesbit]

WTH is a Super Congress? I don't gain any confidence by cutting the number of idiots and weasels in charge.

I'll give Bush some credit for once. If he were in this position he would have raised the debt ceiling on his own weeks ago and it would have saved us a lot of bullshit. This is one instance where I don't particularly mind expanding executive powers.

The talks over the last month should be happening anyway just not at the expense of our credit rating. I say Obama extends it on the 2nd.

[classicman2]

And the Congress will challenge his authority to do so in the federal courts on the 3rd.

[Nesbit]

And ruin the President's birthday bash?

[kvrdave]

Originally Posted by Dr Mabuse

S&P says merely upping the debt ceiling will not stop them from downgrading the US at this point. The article I read made it seem as if some bullshit 'we're cutting spending' bill like Obama/Boehner seems to favor wouldn't stop a downgrade either.

Nor should it. We have been incredibly lucky that the S&P has a bit of a US bias and an anti-euro bias of we would have been treated like the S&P has treated many of their countries for several years. The advantage of being the dominate world leader is that you get slack in things like this. The downside is that when you lose confidence it is much harder to ever get it back.