Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d7ee8919d5414412e68a1b029802e61c
political polls latest political polls games politic politic political poll
Monday, August 1, 2011
From Spending to Cuts, While the Economy Stalls
The debt deal would complete an about-face in the government?s role from postrecession spending to outsize cuts in the future.
Defenses Are Thickened at Afghan Border to Choke Off Militants? Routes
American and allied forces in Afghanistan are strengthening a layered defense along the border with Pakistan to seize Haqqani network militants.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7948dd6105b57ff260e3d9635bbe2ebd
california political news political polls nigerian political news politics in the news
Deadlock in the Senate Continues: Reid & McConnell Argue It Out on The Senate Floor
Fireworks lit up the Senate floor again today between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY.
Source: http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=beda0df60e06a907f8a664aae60d1a66
politic processor crack major political parties recent political polls political memorabilia
Troubling thoughts about the 'Super�Congress'
- I don't think there's anything that's yet been outlined about this committee that's unconstitutional on its face. There are plenty of joint committees in Congress, and this one would be little different in its proposed composition: 12 members in total, six from each chamber, evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats. Their work product, if any, would be fast-tracked on the floors, likely protected from amendment (unusual) and with debate time-limited (like budget resolutions and reconciliation bills).
- Should this committee fail to reach a conclusion regarding recommended cuts by late November, automatic, across-the-board spending cuts would be imposed instead, with possible exclusions for Social Security and Medicaid, and any cuts to Medicare supposedly to come from payments to providers rather than cuts in benefits. It's also been reported that Democrats are hoping to protect programs for the poor from drastic reductions. But what's not being discussed is what constitutes a failure of the committee. I don't see how anyone who's been observing this Congress could fail to consider the most likely outcome of a committee that's split 6-6: deadlock. And since deadlock also means across-the-board cuts, the committee is really stacked at least 7-6 in favor of indiscriminate cuts. And there's nothing "evenly divided" about that.
- The committee task?to take on the "tough choices" and force them through, aided by expedited floor procedures?is pretty much a rewrite of the already existing reconciliation process (which itself has rules protecting Social Security from cuts). Haven't we all already seen the movie where Republicans agree to such "sensible" rules, and then turn around and abuse them wildly (e.g., using what was supposed to be an extraordinary deficit reduction tool to instead pass enormous tax cuts and balloon the debt beyond recovery), and yet demonize the process when Democrats use it (e.g., pretending it's the "nuclear option" during the health insurance reform debate)?
- The House, with its use of special rules to govern the consideration of individual bills, and its ability to adopt those rules by a simple majority vote, can already do most of what this special committee can do. That is, they can already time limit debate on its report, and easily protect it from amendments. Where this kind of protection is a problem is in the Senate. And what's particularly troubling about that for Democrats is, the Senate is the house Democrats still control.
- Budget resolutions and reconciliation bills, as I mentioned, are already protected by law from filibusters (but not from amendments). And it's unlikely that this new special committee will be tasked with detailing cuts down to the programmatic level. That'll probably still be left to the very powerful appropriations committees. Instead, member of this special committee will likely be recommending far more generalized cuts in spending under the various "budget functions", leaving decisions about exactly which programs will absorb how much of those generalized cuts to the appropriations subcommittees that dole out the dollars they're given to work with. And if that's the case, you're really talking about this special committee being a kind of supplemental, cuts-only, adjunct budget committee. But since we already have one budget committee in each house, and each party controls one of them, why not just agree to let them do the work, and protect their conference agreement from amendment?
- In a similar vein, if the experts don't agree (or won't acknowledge) that a committee split 6-6 between Democrats and Republicans is almost guaranteed to simply come out deadlocked, let's take the last thought about the budget committees into consideration and ask whether Paul Ryan would mind very much if we required that the House Budget Committee be evenly split between the parties. I'm betting he wouldn't think that was such a great idea.
Lastly, a thought that's still a little too inchoate to warrant its own bullet point, I'll note that when Members of Congress (and particularly Senators) try to design a procedure for themselves that they hope (perhaps beyond all reason) will actually work, they design one without a filibuster. Last year, when reformers proposed that the rules of the Senate be revised in order to avoid potential catastrophes like this (and yes, we had the debt ceiling in mind, among other things), it was just too kooky to contemplate! What a bunch of idiots those Cheeto munchers are!
(By the way, for a let's-all-look-back-and-share-a-laugh moment, check out the Howard Fineman article I referenced in the above-linked post, wherein it is posited that the decision not to raise the debt ceiling with Democratic majorities in both houses last year was really a very, super-clever and sneaky way of "sticking it" to the incoming Republicans. Medals of Freedom all around, boys!)
Today, of course, the Very Serious People of Washington propose as their Very Serious Solution ... changing the procedural rules of the Senate to get this done, but in a sneaky, end-around way that somehow won't require a 2/3 vote (which we were once told was itself an inviolable rule of the Senate) to get it done.
Surprise!
political sign center for responsive politics download data politic political issues
The Plum Line: Newsflash -- Recalls are legitimate in Wisconsin
Ezra Klein, on last night's events in Wisconsin: It seems to me that the system worked. Democrats were able to slow the process down and convince both voters in Wisconsin and the national media that there was something beyond business as usual happening in Madison. National and state polls sh...
msnbc politics political parties news economic news political events
Debt ceiling follies: how we got here
This guy says he's willing to bring down whole U.S. economy if he doesn't get his way. (Larry Downing/Reuters)
So why are we talking about "catastrophe" all of a sudden? Because they want to talk about it, and because they have found in the debt ceiling a fine hostage that the crazier among them aren't afraid to shoot.
- We're at this point because of the Bush tax cuts. That's the one biggest contributor to the deficit, and it was the sole reason for the last of these hostage-taking sessions by Republicans. They demanded that we not let them expire. Didn't give a crap about the deficit then.
- We're at this point because Republicans insist that the rich pay not one penny more in taxes, despite enjoying the lowest effective tax rates in modern U.S. history. Instead, Republicans demand cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Straight-up class warfare, though they will send for the fainting couch if you point that out.
- We're at this point because no matter what proposal McConnell or another Republican comes forward with, within the same week they've walked away from the talks again, demanding still more, and insisting that their own proposal isn't enough.
- We're at this point tonight because McConnell is currently filibustering a bill that, in large part, is his own damn right-wing proposal (see above). But he's not done taking hostages yet.
- We're at this point because our own news media is too goddamn stupid to recognize when one side is doing something truly extremist in nature?never done before, and something both sides did without much bluster?and insists that no, both parties must somehow be at fault.
I would make a terrible president, because if I were president right now I would kick McConnell out on his smug little ass, let the government shut down, and tell him to f---ing get back to me when he felt like being a damn American again. No, I suppose, I'm sure the entire Village can tell us that what we need now is compromise with economic terrorism (and really, if you insist on collapsing the entire U.S. economy unless you get your way, and every shred of your way, "terrorist" seems an appropriate word) all because some small subset of especially pea-brained Americans wet their collective pants the moment a non-lily-white American assumed the office of the presidency. Not a one of those "tea partiers" knew what the damn "debt ceiling" was before Obama came to office, but suddenly now it's a goddamn apocalypse.
All we have to do is do the same thing we've done every other time: make a few blustering speeches and then pass the damn bill, just like always. Should we talk about cuts? Sure, what the hell. Knock yourself out with this "austerity" crap. But maybe we ought to be passing "austerity" crap one-by-one, each proposal on its own merits, rather than simply insisting on blowing up the entire American government and markets unless we cut this month's fantasy list of programs that the most extreme of conservative Republicans just don't like. During, you know, the worst freaking recession since the Great Depression. And don't give me any of that "recession is over" garbage. Oh, sure?for the wealthy, it's been over for some time. On the street, it's not over until the jobs come back, and the money comes back, and all the shuttered storefronts in town find new owners to take them on.
This has been the worst display of governmental incompetence for a very, very long time, and that is saying something. If ever we needed an example of partisanship clearly and unambiguously taking precedence over the economic needs of the country, this would be the textbook example. Let's hope we still even have textbooks a year from now, though, because the one thing have been Republicans are being most unyielding on is the demand that we do all of this all over again within six months or a year or so, in order to let them extract even deeper cuts and even more asinine demands.
Crooks, the lot of them.
Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/_m_ITTf6Mbs/-Debt-ceiling-follies:-how-we-got-here
michigan politics political events the daily politics independent politics
Eleven House Democrats vote against Reid's debt ceiling bill, including disgraced Rep. David Wu
Just as Speaker Boehner promised, the House voted down Harry Reid's bill to raise the debt ceiling. No surprise there. Not a single Republican voted for the bill. Again, no surprise there. Eleven Democrats helped Republicans sink the bill. Not really a surprise there.
Well, except for this one particular Democrat: a certain soon-to-be former member of Congress who likes dressing up in stuffed animal costumes.
Furry sex aficionado Rep. David Wu announced he will resign after the debt crisis negotiations are over (hahaha, so actually he means ?never?) because of this sexytime incident with the 18-year-old daughter of his high school classmate that we heard about only a few days ago.
About that "sexytime" incident, also known as sexual assault:
A distraught young woman called U.S. Rep. David Wu's Portland office this spring, accusing him of an unwanted sexual encounter, according to multiple sources.When confronted, the Oregon Democrat acknowledged a sexual encounter to his senior aides but insisted it was consensual, the sources said.
The woman is the daughter of a longtime friend and campaign donor. She apparently did not contact police at the time.
One person who heard the voice mail described the woman as upset, breathing heavily and "distraught."
In the voice mail, the young woman accused Wu of aggressive and unwanted sexual behavior, according to sources with direct knowledge of the message and its contents.
So, basically, Wu, who has already resigned in disgrace, decided to stick around Washington just long enough to give a final fuck you to Democrats. Thanks a lot, buddy. Feel free to let the door hit you on your fur-covered ass on the way out.
cq politics political donations latest politics news political consultants
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)