GOP stocking up on not-ready-for-primetime players
“Top Democrats are growing markedly more pessimistic about holding the House, privately conceding that the summertime economic and political recovery they were banking on will not likely materialize by Election Day.
In conversations with more than two dozen party insiders, most of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly about the state of play, Democrats in and out of Washington say they are increasingly alarmed about the economic and polling data they have seen in recent weeks….
A Democratic pollster working on several key races said, “The reality is that [the House majority] is probably gone.” His data show the Democrats’ problems are only getting worse. “It’s spreading,” the pollster said.
Not all Democrats — or Republicans, for that matter — share this pessimistic assessment 68 days before the election. Republicans need to pick up 39 seats, and polls show most voters still have a downbeat view of the GOP’s ability to govern any better than Democrats. Republicans have been out-raised and outspent at the national level and in many of the key races.
I agree: There’s a decent chance that the Dems could indeed lose the House. And I think the consequences of that would be dire both for the country and, perhaps surprisingly, for the Republican Party. Here’s why:
The results of the primary season have made it clear that the GOP base will reject any candidate who in any way suggests it is possible to compromise with or cooperate with Democrats. John McCain got that message early and survived. Lisa Murkowski, Bob Bennett, Bob Inglis and Charlie Crist did not, and were rejected by their fellow Republicans. The GOP resurgence is being driven not by program or policy but by a primal scream of “NO!”
Republicans both veteran and newcomer will go to Washington in January with that message tattooed onto their brains, and will act accordingly. No cooperation, no compromise, only all-out warfare. Their base has given them no room whatsoever in which to manuever, and they know it. Under such circumstances, reaching accommodation on issues such as the budget will be impossible. The situation will make the Gingrich-Clinton standoff seem calm placid by comparison.
And in that kind of environment, Barack Obama will thrive. He may not get much done, but he will come off looking reasonable and mainstream while the Republicans make themselves look petty and extreme, setting the stage for Democratic successes in 2012.
Time will tell, of course. But at the moment, the GOP is looking like a dog that’s about to catch the car, with no idea whatsoever about what it ought to do next.
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380 comments Add your comment
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:20 pm
AmVet, let me ask you a question…if Republicans are no different than Obama as you say (i.e. massive deficits, health care, foreign ploicy, bog-government) hen why do you hate Republicans and get a woody for Barack?
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:21 pm
My bad…insert “Doggone” for “AmVet”… (think they are one and the same anyway, much like Granny Godzilla nad CT)…
John
August 26th, 2010
2:22 pm
Quit crying, Bookman. The Dems have literally destroyed the country in just 4 years. Who in their right mind would keep those morons in power?
Doggone/GA
August 26th, 2010
2:22 pm
“(think they are one and the same anyway”
You’ll need to re”think” that one
Granny Godzilla
August 26th, 2010
2:23 pm
tee hee hee
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:23 pm
Oh come on Dogggone, are you really that befuddled? Why no response? You claim there’s no difference between Dems and Republicans, yet you have a pathological hatred for one and teenager-in-love hormones for the other? LOL…
RW-(the original)
August 26th, 2010
2:23 pm
Paul,
There could be something to being able to get that date and it happening to be a Saturday, but Beck has talked a good bit about the significance of the date so if was a coincidence he’s quite happy with it.
The people who dismiss him as a racist obviously haven’t been watching his TV show for the last couple of months.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:24 pm
Hey Cynthia, errr Granny I mean…how high did the water get this morning down at Bankhead Court?
@@
August 26th, 2010
2:25 pm
Paul:
I had heard – but have been unable to verify – that it wasn’t so much Beck picking a day as the National Park Service saying ‘you can have this day.”
I recall hearing the same thing. I was researching it when I dropped back in to find Bruno’s invitation. I never turn down an invitation to party.
Back to enter the webber.
Doggone/GA
August 26th, 2010
2:25 pm
“You claim there’s no difference between Dems and Republicans”
I’d like to see you quote me on that…especially since I’ve never said anything like that.
Granny Godzilla
August 26th, 2010
2:28 pm
Harry
It would have floated that one bullet right outa’ your pocket.
How’s Thelma Lou?
Scout
August 26th, 2010
2:29 pm
Normal and Scrappy:
Agree to strongly disagree on your points. Thanks for the exchange.
Matti
August 26th, 2010
2:30 pm
chuck,
But we’re buddies NOW, right? I mean, you forgave and LOVE and pray for me, right? I know you do! {hugs!}
Scout
August 26th, 2010
2:32 pm
Normal:
I believe Jesus focused on the “talking part”. He could have healed everyone, fed everyone, clothed everyone ………. but He didn’t. He did tell everyone He could about eternal life.
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone ……………. ”
Someone who feeds the poor, clothes them, houses them, etc., etc. but fails to tell them of Jesus and His gift of eternal life has missed the boat.
Why? Because eternity is much longer than this life.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:34 pm
Doggone…your 2:15 implies that Republicans now oppose things they previously supported. Calling them the “party of no” implies that they are now opposed to whatever Obama wants to do.
If they are opposed to what Obama wants, and they now oppose what they previously supported, it logically follows that Obama now wants what the Republicans supported in the past. But, according to you libbies, Republicans destroyed America, while Barack is our savior. And according to you it’s all the same policies. Do you read much?
1)
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:36 pm
Granny…the 60’s TV trivia blog is over in the Comics section, rigth above CT’s blog.
chuck
August 26th, 2010
2:36 pm
“But we’re buddies NOW, right? I mean, you forgave and LOVE and pray for me, right? I know you do! {hugs!}’
LOl you silly miscreant.
I'm Here From The Government And I'm Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
2:37 pm
Granny Godzilla aka ctucker
August 26th, 2010
2:23 pm
tee hee hee
Getting a quickie, then back to the beach!
Scout
August 26th, 2010
2:40 pm
Oxymorons I heard today:
Liberal patriot
Moderate Muslim
President Obama (think about it)
Granny Godzilla
August 26th, 2010
2:40 pm
Harry
I know that’s were I saw your photo.
Granny Godzilla
August 26th, 2010
2:41 pm
where….
Phibbs Jenkins
August 26th, 2010
2:42 pm
More embarrassement the Obama regime:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/25/obama-administration-indicts-america/
I'm Here From The Government And I'm Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
2:43 pm
Tells it like it is… Not for the faint of heart!
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/pat-condell-on-ground-zero-mosque-is-it-possible-to-be-astonished-but-not-surprised.html
Paul
August 26th, 2010
2:45 pm
RW-(the original) @@
Thanks. That the Park Service said ‘you want a Saturday in this month? You can have this Saturday, none other’ would not surprise me a bit.
Rather like the Ritz Carlton saying to the bride-to-be “We understand you want to get married on Saturday, June 14th. That day is not available. The first open Saturday is at the end of July. Would you like that day?”
But oh, how quick Ms Tucker and others were to take it as a direct slap in the face of a ‘hijacking our day.”
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:46 pm
Serious question for Granny Godzilla, AmVet, Doggone/GA, Kamchak, Bookman, or any of the other lefties here…
You mock conservatives and tea party supporters as dumb, stupid, etc, and yet…according to the CBS/NYTimes survey, tea party supporters are wealthier and more educated on average than the general public. And conservatives/tea party people want nothing from government, while you lefties want your healthcare, retirement, your job security, price controls, etc, etc….
So I guess my question is…what color is the sky in your world, where the wealthy, the educated, and the self-reliant among us are considered stupid, while the poor, the uneducated, and the government-dependent folks are supposedly the enlightened and intellectual? LMAO…
Doggone/GA
August 26th, 2010
2:46 pm
“But, according to you libbies, Republicans destroyed America, while Barack is our savior.”
The only people I’ve ever heard call Obama that are the conned. It’s not something I would ever say, or think. So are far as *I* am concerned, you got that one wrong.
And according to you it’s all the same policies.”
Nope, never said that. I said the R’s are only oppoosed to those things when THEY didn’t intiate them. Give them the power again, and they’ll be off and running with them…again.
And probably (just a guess) it’s the D’s who will suddenly “see the light” and be against them. Contrarianism is the name of the game these days.
@@
August 26th, 2010
2:46 pm
O.K., I’m done searching. The only thing I found was a statement by Beck, himself, and we know how well that’ll be received. Something a the original date being the 12th which fell on a Sunday. Anyhoo…
Bill Press: Glenn Beck’s 8/28 Rally ‘Like Granting Al Qaeda Permission To Hold 9/11 Rally at Ground Zero’
ran across ^^^ that and decided to hang it up.
HDB
August 26th, 2010
2:47 pm
John August 26th, 2010
2:22 pm
“Quit crying, Bookman. The Dems have literally destroyed the country in just 4 years. Who in their right mind would keep those morons in power?”
Au contraire, mon ami! Look at what the GOP did in their eight years..can you can’t pin all that’s happened on Obama. If you REALLY want to get specific about things: it took 43 white guys to screw up the country…and you expect one black man to fix this mess in less than 2 years!!??? In English class, that’s called the “theatre of the absurd”!!
Bruno August 26th, 2010
12:23 pm
“Hate, bigotry and fear… it’s what the “right” runs on to get out their “peeps” to the polls….”
“Saul–And the “left” is different how?? Open class warfare, dire predictions that civil rights will be taken away for minorities, and claims that Social Security will be taken away seem to be staples during election times for Democratic candidates.”
Bruno, if you look at the GOP platform…..what the Democrats rail against are exactly what the GOP advocates: privitization of Social Security (risk everything in the stock market); class warfare (tax breaks for the wealthy); non-regulation of markets (check the financial markets under the Bush Administration); elimination of rights (look at SB 1070….and the antithesis of black farmers under the Reagan Administration)…..
The question I ask many conservatives to see if they really KNOW the truth: Have you ever been black and unemployed in a Republican Administration??
I'm Here From The Government And I'm Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
2:49 pm
Phibbs Jenkins
August 26th, 2010
2:42 pm
More embarrassement the Obama regime:
Thanks for the info. Another nail in the impeachment column!
RW-(the original)
August 26th, 2010
2:50 pm
Paul,
I think you may have misread what I was saying. Beck has definitely embraced the date even it was just happenstance. I have a sister that was born on 8/28 a few years before the MLK speech. Where do I go to complain that he hijacked her special day?
chuck
August 26th, 2010
2:50 pm
In case you forgot, Matti, I did write a song in your honor, “Raising Hell in Jacksonville”. You didn’t like it much, but the boys from Shinedown did:
Leathered skin and shoeless feet
Crazy kids out on the street
Smokin’ dope and drinkin’ brew
Always searching for something new
.
Beach meets bum and waves meet sand
Yet one more Skynyrd cover band
Playing loud along the coast
Helps us see what matters most
.
Stealin’ cars and breakin’ hearts
You know we always did our part
To raise some hell, raise some hell
Raisin’ hell in Jacksonville
.
I
I'm Here From The Government And I'm Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
2:50 pm
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:46 pm
DITTO! Best Post of the Day!
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:50 pm
HDB…rather than point out the three dozen factual problems in your rant, let’s just start with one…
Who said privatization of social security means that the money has to go into the stock market? Stocks are only one of many, many tyes of private investment instruments. Are you aware that teacher’s unions and government employee unions have their pension funds invested in provate securities, often stocks? Thanks in advance.
Paul
August 26th, 2010
2:50 pm
@@
“The only thing I found was a statement by Beck, himself, and we know how well that’ll be received. ”
So if Beck had said “You’re darn right I picked that date!!!” they’d say ‘oh, Glennie, we don’t believe you. Someone picked it for you, didn’t they?”
Granny Godzilla
August 26th, 2010
2:51 pm
Harry you big silly, it’s blue! Seriously it is blue.
Kamchak
August 26th, 2010
2:52 pm
Serious question for Granny Godzilla, AmVet, Doggone/GA, Kamchak, Bookman, or any of the other lefties here…
You mock conservatives and tea party supporters as dumb, stupid, etc…
Serious question for you, sport—Can you show me where I have done exactly as you have claimed?
Doggone/GA
August 26th, 2010
2:53 pm
Isn’t there a disconnect here?
“Who said privatization of social security means that the money has to go into the stock market”
” have their pension funds invested in provate securities, often stocks? ”
How do you invest in “stocks” withOUT being “in” the stock market?
Doggone/GA
August 26th, 2010
2:54 pm
“Serious question for you, sport—Can you show me where I have done exactly as you have claimed?”
Or me?
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:54 pm
Kamchak..I’ll answer that when you answre the questions I ask you and you continually dodge…
1) Are you opposed to socialism?
2) Do you think the top tax rate should be higher or lower than 39.6%?
Thanks in advance.
Disgusted
August 26th, 2010
2:55 pm
What, exactly, will “conservatives” do when they take over?
I’m certainly no prophet, but anyone who follows the political news can predict what will happen next year, whether Republicans actually take control of one of the houses of Congress or merely gain enough seats to block any Democratic initiatives:
1. There will be no funding for the healthcare law. The law may stay on the books, but there will be no funds to implement it. If Boehner & Co. find it necessary to shut down the government to implement the blockage, they will do so. In any case, there won’t be sufficient votes in either the House or the Senate to pass a budget containing such funding.
2. Although Social Security is fully funded for many years and could be funded for many decades to come with some minor tweaks, the Republicans will go after the program with a vengeance. This is a stealth initiative. They will be assisted in their efforts by Alan Simpson and other SS-hating members of the presidential commission. Word has gone out from on high that candidates aren’t to mention privatization and other measures, so as to minimize the votes lost from seniors and those nearing retirement. That’s why even Angle and other members of the Orange Pekoe movement are now soft-pedaling the issue and even backtracking. But after the November elections, you will begin seeing a full frontal assault.
3. There will be an aggressive movement to extend the full program of the Bush tax cuts, including those for the most wealthy. Republicans will continue the faux argument that tax cuts have no impact on the deficit.
4. The emphasis of the increased Republican presence in Congress will be on cutting back “entitlement programs”—Medicaid and other programs to help lower-income people. This will include scaling back or eliminating the Advanced Income Credit. Even though such programs account for less than 10% of the budget deficit, the argument will be that “we gotta start somewhere.”
Those who think that a Republican-controlled Congress and a Democratic controlled White House will yield the best possible outcome need to put down the crack pipe. You haven’t seen gridlock until you witness the shenigans beginning in January 2011.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:56 pm
Doggone…again…read much? I’m asking HDB that, if the left views the stock market with such disdain, why do their biggest supporters (unions) embrace it?
HDB
August 26th, 2010
2:56 pm
Harry Callahan August 26th, 2010
2:46 pm
“You mock conservatives and tea party supporters as dumb, stupid, etc, and yet…according to the CBS/NYTimes survey, tea party supporters are wealthier and more educated on average than the general public. And conservatives/tea party people want nothing from government, while you lefties want your healthcare, retirement, your job security, price controls, etc, etc….
So I guess my question is…what color is the sky in your world, where the wealthy, the educated, and the self-reliant among us are considered stupid, while the poor, the uneducated, and the government-dependent folks are supposedly the enlightened and intellectual? LMAO…”
First, may I counter your argument. I am college educated, self reliant, and not dependent upon the government EXCEPT for my rights as an American citizen to be maintained and protected!! The problem is that many conservatives only see the “lighter” side of the scale to think that only one side is American…and other other side isn’t!!
Second: I have YET to meet someone that says that te safety net should NOT exist! As a progressive, I DO admit that there are abuses in the system that needs to be addressed…..but would you rather live in a draconian society…or one based on principles of caring for the least…..
Third: From the interfaces I’ve had with the Tea Party, they only see one color scheme — WHITE!! The nation is in transition…..and those who are of a darker shade are progressing into positions of power!!
Fourth: Whatever happened to the MODERATE Republicans from the Northeast and Midwest….like Weicker, Rockefeller…..?? The conservatives with their anti-minority paradigm (since 1964) have taken over!! Note where the strongest voting bloc is for the GOP? The “Confederate South”!!
As I’ve stated before…if the GOP would remember its HISTORY…in that minorities FOUNDED the party….care about the PEOPLE…rather than just those of wealth……then embrace the fiscal discipline that you CLAIM to have (not when you look at Reagan and the Bushes!)…..THEN maybe many more could embrace your policies! AS it now stands…..can’t do it!!
Keith
August 26th, 2010
2:57 pm
Jay, you don’t get it. A large segment of the population wants unpolished rough around the edges everyday passionate candidates. We’re tired of the professional sound-bite crowd
Paul
August 26th, 2010
2:57 pm
RW-(the original)
Thanks. Makes sense to me. Someone with a “what happened this day in history” calendar reads it and… viola! Nice tie-in.
Tell your sis to take it out on your mom. And if she was born before that date, tell your mom she should have known anyhow!
Oh, re: the Ms. Tucker comment: Pres Obama opined about freedom regarding the mosque, Ms Tucker headlines her thread ‘ Obama supports mosque near Ground Zero” then a day later the Pres said “I never said that.”
TaxPayer
August 26th, 2010
2:57 pm
I disagree wholeheartedly with your assertion, Jay, that the Republicans have to make themselves look petty and extreme. Au Contraire. It is as though they were born with the attributes. More like a birthmark or birthright or one of them things like cattle are marked with.
mm
August 26th, 2010
2:57 pm
“Polls are also taken during normal business hours. Who’s at home more the employed or unemployed?”
I doubt the unemployed can afford a phone. It’s the rich folks who don’t have to work. Or the old folks that have been scared into stupidity.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:58 pm
Disgusted…Social Security fully funded for years to come? Really? Who told you that, Michael Moore? Or was it Keith Olberman…
Doggone/GA
August 26th, 2010
2:59 pm
“why do their biggest supporters (unions) embrace it?”
That one’s easy: because they don’t have much choice. Insurance companies are not going, or least haven’t yet, embraced the idea of an insurance system like SS. Personally, I think they’ve missed a BIG trick on that one…but it’s their call, not mine.
HDB
August 26th, 2010
2:59 pm
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
2:56 pm
Doggone…again…read much? I’m asking HDB that, if the left views the stock market with such disdain, why do their biggest supporters (unions) embrace it?
Since pensions are no longer available, to plan for the aspects of retirement, many look to 401Ks…which are stock market-based!! But….look at what happened when the Bushes got in….note the massive losses in 401Ks when stocks went below 10000…….
Banks aren’t paying any interest on savings…..
What options are there??
Paul
August 26th, 2010
3:00 pm
Kamchak
“Serious question for you, sport—Can you show me where I have done exactly as you have claimed?”
And the answer to that is contained in one of our catch-all clips, the last words in the segment!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI
RW-(the original)
August 26th, 2010
3:00 pm
” then a day later the Pres said “I never said that.”
Paul,
Lot’s of leftists let their jerking knees get the best of them on that one. WSJ’s Best of the Web had a great deal of fun tracking the changes of at least one of them.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:02 pm
HDB…nice rant, but you didn”t answer my question. Nor did you acknowledge that, under the Bush proposal, privatization of Social Security ws to be VOLUNTARY, so if you didn’t want to invest in the stock market, or any other private instrument, you didn’t have to. As for the Tea Party being all white, that’s not true, but even if it was, participation is voluntary. If blacks want to spend another three generations supporting the party that denies them school choice, and dooms them to ghetto living and 3rd world schools, that’s a black problem, there’s really nothing I or the Tea Party or anyone else can address.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:03 pm
HDB…just FYI, 401(k) plans are not “stock market based.” You can have your 401(k) entirely in bonds, money market, whatever you wish. You are so completely over your head here, I really suggest you bow out. You’re making yourself look dumber and dumber.
popeye
August 26th, 2010
3:06 pm
Harry… “Disgusted…Social Security fully funded for years to come? Really? Who told you that, Michael Moore? Or was it Keith Olberman…
Really, Harry would you except the word of the trustees…who estimate until 2037?
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/12/news/economy/SocSec_Medicare_trustees_report/index.htm
Swede Atlanta
August 26th, 2010
3:07 pm
The only proposals I have heard from the GOP regarding the economy are to leave the Bush taxcuts remain (no need to have them paid for) and cut taxes even more.
Let’s see how that works out if they take the House. Given that the DoD, Social Security and Medicare constitute the bulk of the budget, where will they start making cuts. You cannot balance the budget if you don’t significantly reduce these three line items especially if you are going to maintain the current taxcuts and/or make even more taxcuts.
The conventional wisdom is the housing market is about to completely implode. I wonder what great ideas we will see out of the House then.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:09 pm
popeye…where is all thaat money sitting right now? Thanks in advance…
Hootinanny Yum Yum
August 26th, 2010
3:10 pm
From CT, “Beverly Hall Needs to Retire”
I agree with Cynthia. I was set to read her entire blog, but she lost me with her second sentance.
“For more than a decade, Beverly Hall, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, proved brilliant at protecting her reputation. When she arrived in July 1999, she set about cultivating a coterie of mostly white business executives to serve as advisers and stalwart defenders.”
Why and how is it possible for her to bring race into almost every topic? I’d have posted this on her blog, but it’s closed to comments.
Doggone/GA
August 26th, 2010
3:10 pm
Swede Atlanta – strictly speaking, SS is not part of the budget. It has it’s own funding stream and has been noted already, is funded well into the future. The only reason the budget impacts it at all is because the SS money has been borrowed to pay for unfunded, or insufficiently funded, budget items and covered with government IOUs (bonds, I think…but I’m not sure about that)
Dan J
August 26th, 2010
3:10 pm
Peadawg its only been 2 years not 4 so its clear you have no clue go back to bed
HDB
August 26th, 2010
3:11 pm
Harry Callahan August 26th, 2010
3:02 pm
The GOP PLATFORM in 2000, 2004…and 2008 stated that the party supported privitization!! If you’ve noted, the GOP had over 20 years to address the SS problems…and have YET to do so!!
” As for the Tea Party being all white, that’s not true, but even if it was, participation is voluntary.” I never said it was ALL white…but the PREPONDERANCE of the Tea Party is…..and they fail to acknowledge that there IS a racist element involved!! Note the level of vitriol did not exist as it does now when Bush was in charge….in fact, the Tea Party did NOT exist!!
“If blacks want to spend another three generations supporting the party that denies them school choice, and dooms them to ghetto living and 3rd world schools, that’s a black problem…”
There’s another focus on this also: if the government wishes to deny access to education and employment by not enforcing existing laws; if the government does not allocate resources to fund educaton and stymies the possibilities of mobility; if the government allows discriminatory practices to progress unchecked, as was done by the AgDept under Reagan and Bushes….it’s MORE than a black problem…..it’s a NATIONAL problem!!
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:11 pm
Kamchak…HELLO??? Need an answer to my two questions @ 2:54 please…
Scout
August 26th, 2010
3:11 pm
Phibbs Jenkins :
I read the article you posted. That’s treasonous if you ask me !
TaxPayer
August 26th, 2010
3:12 pm
I think the Republican “plan” is to leave the payroll tax in place and use it to make the Bush/Republican tax cuts permanent instead of using the money to pay social security benefits to those that have paid in their entire lives. Sounds like a plan to me.
Scout
August 26th, 2010
3:12 pm
Harry Callahan :
Hint. Kamchack doesn’t answer questions. Kamchack pontificates.
popeye
August 26th, 2010
3:14 pm
Harry, I beg to differ with you once again.
You say “HDB…just FYI, 401(k) plans are not “stock market based.” You can have your 401(k) entirely in bonds, money market, whatever you wish. You are so completely over your head here, I really suggest you bow out. You’re making yourself look dumber and dumber.
Not true…..It depends who your company offers! In my instance to receive equal matching funds in our 401 we had to either invest in our company (fortune 100) or a mutual fund controlled by our company … Which is the stock market.
Parlay it any way you want but some companies do not have CD’s, Bond’s etal……
reservoirDAWG
August 26th, 2010
3:14 pm
“not quite ready for primetime”, look who you idiots put in the White House.
HDB
August 26th, 2010
3:14 pm
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:03 pm
“HDB…just FYI, 401(k) plans are not “stock market based.” You can have your 401(k) entirely in bonds, money market, whatever you wish. You are so completely over your head here, I really suggest you bow out. You’re making yourself look dumber and dumber.”
Harry…certain money markets accounts are based in the stock market….401k’s also are…I have to check mine to see how the investments are……there are flexibilities…..but note what happened when the market tanked and the VALUE of 401Ks collapsed…….
Don’t fall for the okey-doke……
Hootinanny Yum Yum
August 26th, 2010
3:15 pm
The original Not Ready for Prime Time Players from “Saturday Night Live” were fairly successful…
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:16 pm
HDB…the Dems blocked Bush’s social security fix. Nor did they offer an alternative solution. They were just “the party of no.” Sound familiar?
Is the tea party predominantly white? Wow…blacks make up about 12% of the U.S. population…would be hard for the tea party to NOT be predominantly white, don’t you think?
Lastly, why don’t you tell us what CLinton or Obama has done for education that Bush(s) or Reagan didn’t do, and tell us how education has been better under Dem rule than under Republican. As always, thanks in advance.
Oh…and look up “No Child Left Behind” and learn about the deal that Bush 2 brokered with Ted Kennedy, and totally went with (and signed into law) the Kennedy Dem plan.
I'm Here From The Government And I'm Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
3:17 pm
It’s really simple folks.
Do you want a Government the supports job creators?
or
Do you want a Government that supports job takers?
popeye
August 26th, 2010
3:17 pm
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:09 pm
popeye… “where is all thaat money sitting right now? Thanks in advance…”
Why don’t you tell me ohhhhhhh wise one?
You’re the one who made the comment. I backed up my comment with facts!
SPC
August 26th, 2010
3:17 pm
It would be fine with me if they (Republicans and Democrats) got nothing done. They’ve done enough already.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:18 pm
popeye…all of the social security money is gone…spent by the federal government. The only money to pay current retirees comes from the current revenue paid in by current workers. We have already reached the point where revenue is less than payout each year. How do you figure that equals “fully funded through 2073″? Thanks in advance.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:19 pm
popeye…I’ll tell you where it’s sitting…it’s not sitting anywhere. It’s GONE. You’re welcome.
Disgusted
August 26th, 2010
3:19 pm
Harry: Disgusted…Social Security fully funded for years to come? Really? Who told you that, Michael Moore? Or was it Keith Olberman…
Here it is in black and white, Harry. Or are you one of those who, having spent trust funds on other things, now want to nullify the loan you made?
The ACA makes significant progress toward making Medicare financially viable. But while it is projected that the Medicare HI Trust Fund is adequately financed until 2029, and the Social Security OASI and DI Trust Funds are adequately financed until 2040 and 2018, respectively, the significant longer term financial imbalances of the programs still need to be addressed. Trustees Report, 2010.
RW-(the original)
August 26th, 2010
3:19 pm
A 3-1-2 double play. You don’t see that one every day
See y’all this evening
@@
August 26th, 2010
3:20 pm
Paul:
they’d say ‘oh, Glennie, we don’t believe you. Someone picked it for you, didn’t they?”
Nothing jay’s left-wingers say or do would surprise me anymore.
Would you be surprised to know that I really don’t really give a *#%@^&*???
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:21 pm
popeye @ 3:14…yes, employers can specify that matching funds be invested however they stipulate, but it is NOT lawful for them to tell you where to put YOUR contributions. And if you think 401(k) is a ripoff, you can go with IRA’s.
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:22 pm
Disgusted…there’s no money…they spent it years ago. All they have is an IOU, and on that basis, they claim it’s financially sound and solvent through whenever. Choosing to fall for that one, are you? LMAO.
@@
August 26th, 2010
3:23 pm
omit one “really”.
IHB
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
August 26th, 2010
3:23 pm
And to think, last year we didn’t have a big enough tent, just remeberin…
Voters now trust Republicans more than dummycrats on all 10 of the important issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports.
Enuff said…
Kyle
August 26th, 2010
3:23 pm
Enter your comments here
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:24 pm
Disgusted and Popeye, if I lend my life’s savings to my drunken brother-in-law, and he blows it all at a strip club and gives me an IOU, can I safely say my retirement is “fully funded”? LOL…
Kerry
August 26th, 2010
3:24 pm
DEM JOKES THAT PELOSI COULD DIE BEFORE NEXT YEAR
POLITICO: DEMS THINK HOUSE GONE…
BIDEN READY FOR MORE SPENDING: ‘This is a chance to do something big, man!’…
WIRE: It’s starting to feel like another recession…
One in 10 mortgage holders face foreclosure…
Obama Heads Out for Golf Round #48…
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:25 pm
Kamchak? HELLO??? Were those questions really all that tough?
popeye
August 26th, 2010
3:25 pm
Harry I understand that…I said matching funds. One puts in 100.00 the company puts in 100.00 (you do the math) or one can take their 100.00 and invest in in an IRA. What sounds more lucrative to you?
HDB
August 26th, 2010
3:26 pm
Harry Callahan August 26th, 2010
3:16 pm
“Why don’t you tell us what CLinton or Obama has done for education that Bush(s) or Reagan didn’t do, and tell us how education has been better under Dem rule than under Republican.”
OK…First thing Reagan did was CUT education spending…and changed the paradigm of educational funding (particularly higher education) from GRANTS to LOANS, thereby increasing the debt-to-income ratio. Clinton restored the funding…but maintained the paradigm! That’s why so many people are catching it with school loans and the default rate!! NCLB, although passed by Bush…is an UNFUNDED MANDATE!! Plus – changes to the GI Bill were enacted under Reagan to force veterans to both pay for their education with personal funds…and placed a time limit on usage…whereas prior to this…vets could access both education and health care easily!!
The earlier Republican SS fixes entailed cutting of benefits and raising the retirement age to 67….and we all know the SS Trust Fund was incorporated into the national budget to lessen the impact of the deficit!! Reagan was the first Administration to go this way!!
To give you this on a PERSONAL level: when I wanted to go back to school…couldn’t use my GI Bill…because the time limit ran out….couldn’t get funding under Bush….but was able to complete both Bachelors and Masters degrees under Clinton!! When I was looking for employment, I was told by employers that since Reagan was in the White House, they didn’t have to hire any minorities……(this was in Atlanta, also!) Longest periods of unemployment – Republican Administrations (2 YEARS)….Democrats (90 DAYS)! Vast difference, isn’t it???
Paul
August 26th, 2010
3:27 pm
Time for some happy news!
“One mile kill shot.”
3 with 1. Neat.
http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=219051&ESRC=airforce-a.nl
Chilean Miner
August 26th, 2010
3:27 pm
Como estas, Harry Callahan.
HDB
August 26th, 2010
3:30 pm
I’m Here From The Government And I’m Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
3:17 pm
It’s really simple folks.
Do you want a Government the supports job creators?
or
Do you want a Government that supports job takers?
We all want the government to support job creators, but when those creators TAKE JOBS OVERSEAS, then they need to be addressed. If taxes INCREASE on those companies who persist on taking jobs overseas….but taxes are reduced on those who invest in the US….then the creators would be more induced to erinvest in America. The problem is that under Republicans, the tax policy maximized profit at the EXPENSE of American workers!!
Harry Callahan
August 26th, 2010
3:36 pm
Kamchak…come on SPORT…two simple questions…should be a breeze for a bright guy like you.
Intown
August 26th, 2010
3:36 pm
” the GOP is looking like a dog that’s about to catch the car, with no idea whatsoever about what it ought to do next.”
I agree 100%. I also agreed with this sentiment when the Republicans took office at the State level in 2002. They still haven’t quite figured it out.
Abrazos
August 26th, 2010
3:36 pm
The “no” strategy seems to have had its intended effect and may work in the short-term. The Republican fired-up base of older white, rural/suburban, Southern Evangelicals may even put them back in this year. But as Karl Rove said, “there’s math and then there’s my math.”
So let’s do the math…you can’t win future elections when your base is already shrinking, yet they’ve done their best to permanently turn away or outright offend any demographic that they will need to help them win in the future (Hispanic voters,etc. The math is not in their favor past 2010 even if they pull this one out. And if they do pull it out, the voters have a rare opportunity to see almost all the same Republican leadership players in Congress reminding them (the voters) of why they kicked them out of majority status in 2006.
At best a Pyrrhic victory … a victory that is offset by staggering losses.
Disgusted
August 26th, 2010
3:36 pm
Disgusted…there’s no money…they spent it years ago. All they have is an IOU, and on that basis, they claim it’s financially sound and solvent through whenever. Choosing to fall for that one, are you? LMAO.
So because a craven, dissolute Congress borrows the money and blows it, Congress is justified in shafting SS participants as a way of addressing the problem?
@@
August 26th, 2010
3:37 pm
For those who may be interested, Kyle Wingfield will be moderating a face-to-face debate between Deal, Barnes, and Monds. He’s taking suggestions as they relate to questions at his site.
Kamchak
August 26th, 2010
3:37 pm
Hint. Kamchack doesn’t answer questions. Kamchack pontificates.
Hint: Kamchak went to the grocery store, and then a fresh produce market.
landry
August 26th, 2010
3:38 pm
Former Bush campaign director Ken Mehlman comes out as gay. How many more, GOP? If you can’t discriminate against yourself properly, you don’t belong in the GOP.
Paulo977
August 26th, 2010
3:39 pm
Keith@2:57pm “unpolished rough around the edges passionate candidates “!!!! Why did you omit “uneducated , and unlightened bigots”?????
I'm Here From The Government And I'm Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
3:39 pm
INTC Hit a New 52 Week Low at $18.
I'm Here From The Government And I'm Here To Help
August 26th, 2010
3:39 pm
CSCO Hit a New 52 Week Low at $20.80