GOP playing Patti-Cake when we need to play ball

[HoverBoarder]

Instead of working on serious plans to deal with our deficit and the debt hike, the GOP is playing games.

Raising the debt limit has often been a political tug of war, but rational cooler heads have always prevailed. The wild card now is the Tea Party, where "rational" and "cooler heads" goes against everything they have ever stood for.

Will we actually be able to get a deal in place in time?

'Balanced budget' act a wolf in sheep's clothing

(CNN) --The Cut, Cap and Balance Act that the House Republicans passed is just that -- an "act" at a time when legislators need to stop acting and start helping this country get back on track.

The act cannot pass the Senate, which is a good thing. As I will explain, it is a threatening piece of legislation to both our economy and our society.

...

Legislators must legislate. They cannot mandate away demographic realities. They must find ways either to pay for the retirement security to which seniors believe they are entitled or explain to them why those expectations are wrong.

Neither can they ignore the fragile economy, either in the short run with aggressive spending cuts that start right away, or in the longer run through disinvestment in education, innovation and infrastructure.

If they do not believe the guaranteed security of Medicare is affordable in the future, they must say so. And they must recognize that shifting costs is not saving costs.

Gang of six to the rescue?

 

[Drysdale]

Has Obama or the dems made any concrete proposals?

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Has Obama or the dems made any concrete proposals?

Yes. Obama first offered a generic plan to allow for $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue increases, and then offered a 6:1 ratio. He also endorsed the Simpson Bowles recommendation, and I think he'd sign the Gang of 6's plan.

The problem is none of these will pass (or even get serious consideration) because enough members of the GOP are going to block ANY compromise that results in increasing revenues.

And some will even vote against any deal that increases the debt ceiling.

 

[Drysdale]

Yes. Obama first offered a generic plan to allow for $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue increases, and then offered a 6:1 ratio. He also endorsed the Simpson Bowles recommendation, and I think he'd sign the Gang of 6's plan.

The problem is none of these will pass (or even get serious consideration) because enough members of the GOP are going to block ANY compromise that results in increasing revenues.

And some will even vote against any deal that increases the debt ceiling.

Again, what I'm asking is.
Has he or the Dem leadership made a solid offer?

Not a would you be interested in....kinda deal.

A hard proposal.

 

[HoverBoarder]

Again, what I'm asking is.
Has he or the Dem leadership made a solid offer?

Not a would you be interested in....kinda deal.

A hard proposal.

Of course they have. There is a valid deal that the GOP is playing childish games on.

I can't believe Boehner is being such a dick!!

 

[steve s]

I can't believe Boehner is being such a dick!!

He just gave a press conference and said that dealing with the White House is like trying to nail jello to the wall. Then the next thing he said was "I'm not going to engage in partisan sniping."

Steve S

 

[Drysdale]

Of course they have. There is a valid deal that the GOP is playing childish games on.

I can't believe Boehner is being such a dick!!

Where?

 

[Frank Newgent]

The question might be: will the Republicans go the impeachment route if/when Obama unilaterally raises the debt ceiling/invokes the 14th Amendment?

 

[tyr_13]

Again, what I'm asking is.
Has he or the Dem leadership made a solid offer?

Not a would you be interested in....kinda deal.

A hard proposal.

Define 'hard proposal'. The only thing that hasn't been put forth is an actual bill. However, it does appear that drafts of bills have been floated.

 

[HoverBoarder]

Where?

Gang of Six.

There is a realistic plan to fix the debt limit issue. The GOP are just being completely childish and unrealistic, AGAIN.

 

[AlBell]

Someone needs to explain to Obamao that his Elections Have Consequences canard has more recent data from 2010.

 

[Upchurch]

Someone needs to explain to Obamao that his Elections Have Consequences canard has more recent data from 2010.

And even more recent data from 2011.

 

[Kestrel]

The question might be: will the Republicans go the impeachment route if/when Obama unilaterally raises the debt ceiling/invokes the 14th Amendment?

Judging from the recent actions of the GOP dominated House, they may decide to impeach Obama if he unilaterally raises the debt limit. It only takes a simple majority to pass an impeachment resolution. With a Democratic majority in the Senate, there is no chance that Obama would be found guilty and removed from office.

 

[AlBell]

And even more recent data from 2011.

Yeah, I know you and yours think one or two outway the many when you agree with the one or two.

We'll both find out the answer in 2012.

 

[Drysdale]

Gang of Six.

There is a realistic plan to fix the debt limit issue. The GOP are just being completely childish and unrealistic, AGAIN.

The gang of six? That's not Obama nor just democrats.

I'd really like to see some parameters of exactly what Obama wants.

 

[applecorped]

The gang of six? That's not Obama nor just democrats.

I'd really like to see some parameters of exactly what Obama wants.

To be re-elected.

 

[Bikewer]

I just sent my 2-bits worth to my sundry representatives. I observed that Republicans have tended to view the last election as a vindication of their ideology. That the voters were saying "you guys are right, the Democrats are wrong, charge ahead."

However, many pundits (and I agree) see the election as saying "get off your respective ideological high-horses and work together to fix the country's problems!"

Indeed, all the polling being currently conducted indicates that the voters favor a balanced approach to the problem, with both spending cuts and tax strategies employed.
(if not "raising taxes" at least letting the Bush cuts expire and closing loopholes and such)

Yet many Republicans have signed Grover Norquist's "pledge" to not raise taxes in any way, ever. (Even Norquist backed away from this stance briefly when he allowed that letting the Bush cuts expire wouldn't be a "raise".....He then backed away from THAT statement...)
It appears we have folks coming from a standpoint of ideologically-driven immovability instead of engaging in the politics of compromise and cooperation.

BTW.... I consider Norquist to be a radical Libertarian dressed up as a tax reformer. I've listened to him on NPR on several occasions, and everything out of his mouth is Libertarian utopia nonsense.

 

[Allen773]

To be re-elected.

So he's fairly normal for a politician? What a shocker!!

 

[Toontown]

Ticky-tock goes the clock, and still the politikers are digging in their stubborn feet. The debt ceiling must be raised, and the deficit must be cut to avoid a disastrous credit downgrade and the accompanying fatal increase in interest rates. These are not options, creative accounting notwithstanding.

At what point does the military decide that the willful destruction of the country by politikers essentially amounts to a de facto attack on the constitution?

Perhaps the foot-draggers may still be amenable to reason, if the reason is backed by a credible amount of implied force.

 

[Upchurch]

Yeah, I know you and yours think one or two outway the many when you agree with the one or two.

We'll both find out the answer in 2012.

I think you are forgetting 2008. How'd that election go?

Cherry-picking is easy. Don't put much stock in it.