Saxby Chambliss, a line-drawing junkyard dog
Based on what he told reporters in a conference call this morning, I guess Saxby Chambliss is taking talk of a primary challenge seriously:
“My message to you, Mister President, is you’d better strap on your chin strap very tight because this junkyard dog is going to address spending cuts and entitlement reform in the debt-ceiling debate, and that’s going to be a line in the sand for us Republicans and conservatives.”
Junkyard dogs wearing helmets and chin straps while drawing lines in the sand?
Look, I understand the political pressures that drive such statements. But I just don’t think that Chambliss and his Republican colleagues have thought this debt-ceiling strategy through very well. They’re picking bad ground on which to fight, and once it’s all over, they’re likely to end up even more embarrassed and politically vulnerable than they are today.
And I’m not alone in that thinking. As columnist Kimberley Strassel puts it in the Wall Street Journal:
“In the non-abstract, failure to raise government borrowing limits means U.S. default — and with it potential credit downgrades, market panic and resulting economic distress. Is the GOP willing to inflict that on the economy?”
The WSJ editorial board also seems quite skeptical of the strategy, advocating instead a much more measured, “small-ball” approach to the next two years:
“We’ll support efforts to cut spending and reform entitlements, but the political result will be far worse if Republicans start this fight only to cave in the end. You can’t take a hostage you aren’t prepared to shoot. Do the two GOP leaders have a better strategy today than they did in 2011, and do they have the backbench support to execute it?”
You can’t take a hostage that you aren’t prepared to shoot. Are you REALLY prepared to shoot, Sen. Chambliss? Are you really ready to do to the U.S. economy what William Tecumseh Sherman did to Atlanta? And if not, what happens when your bluff is called?
Maybe I’m wrong here, but when the WSJ editorial board is warning that maybe, just maybe, you’ve gotten a bit radical and need to dial it back, you might want to reconsider all this junk-yard dog stuff.
Even Newt Gingrich, a man not known for political caution, thinks this confrontational approach is doomed to major failure:
As Gingrich put it:
“They’ve got to find, in the House, a totally new strategy. Everybody’s now talking about, ‘Oh, here comes the debt ceiling.’ I think that’s, frankly, a dead loser. Because in the end, you know, it’s gonna happen. The whole national financial system is going to come in to Washington and on television and say: ‘Oh my God, this will be a gigantic heart attack, the entire economy of the world will collapse. You guys will be held responsible.’ And they’ll cave.”
Again, when some of your most dogmatic, aggressive supporters are already questioning the wisdom of your approach, with crunch time still a couple of months away, maybe just maybe you ought to reconsider.
Because once you shoot your hostage, you know what happens next?
– Jay Bookman
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519 comments Add your comment
Towncrier
January 4th, 2013
3:19 pm
“Technically he’s making an analogy, which should not be easily dismissed in ridicule as an attempt to make it seem as though said analogy is invalid. If you think the analogy of “suicide bomber” is not accurate, state your reasoning. Are they NOT threatening to blow up an economy upon which they and their constituents depend?”
It (like the other two I cited) is an emotionally laden analogy – something I see plenty of evidence liberals have no problem employing. And yet, people like you seem to sniff your nose at any questioning of such language, assured that its use is not only accurate but fully justified. I don’t know what to say to you in response, except that I can only assume YOU don’t mind being called a racist, nazi or terrorist when someone else feels you behavior warrants it. Otherwise, of course, you’d be holding to a double standard.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:20 pm
Towncrier: Why don’t you see what a “fiscal multiplier” is first before making such a comment:
Irrelevant, as no fiscal multiplier claim was made for this deal, and fiscal multipliers apply to specific policies, not ALL government spending.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
3:20 pm
oily is competing for the worst American award.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 4th, 2013
3:21 pm
Kam, its only a temporary setback. Help us stop this Kenyan. Send your contribution today! $1000 dollars can do sooooo much to help. Why it will get her a new car, a vacation and a house.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:22 pm
Towncrier
This is astounding: “Next year the number of federally mandated categories of illness and injury for which hospitals may claim reimbursement will rise from 18,000 to 140,000.”
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:23 pm
good grief
“There are nine codes relating to injuries caused by parrots, and three relating to burns from flaming water-skis.”
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:23 pm
Towncrier: It (like the other two I cited) is an emotionally laden analogy
Only if you CHOOSE to react emotionally to such an argument. Otherwise, how can you know for sure in text that the person was emotional? And does that invalidate the underlying point, or does it just mean you can focus on discussion that doesn’t involve the emotional stuff?
If I am race baiting, I’d expect to be called a racist. If I am threatening to blow up the entire economy to get my way, I’d expect to at least be called a hostage taker, as Jay himself did above. Terrorist is not that far off as an analogy to this type of behavior.
But, back to the real point, which you ignored:
Are they NOT threatening to blow up the economy upon which they and their constituents depend?
Brosephus™
January 4th, 2013
3:24 pm
Kamchak @ 3:18
Every time I see her name, it reads as Oily T*tz. I can’t remember who posted that one here, but I laugh whenever I see that name now.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
3:24 pm
Keep
I wonder if our good buddy David Farrar was there.
barking frog
January 4th, 2013
3:24 pm
Jm
This is astounding: “Next year the number of federally mandated categories of illness and injury for which hospitals may claim reimbursement will rise from 18,000 to 140,000.”
………………………………………………………………
single payer Jm, our president is a tricky man.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:24 pm
Jm: And the Democrats haven’t shown the slightest interest in getting rid of them.
Not Intended to Be a Factual Statement. And I have already presented some evidence indicating so.
Towncrier
January 4th, 2013
3:24 pm
“This is astounding: “Next year the number of federally mandated categories of illness and injury for which hospitals may claim reimbursement will rise from 18,000 to 140,000.”
I think that is part of the plan to reduce our tremendous deficit, Jm.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
January 4th, 2013
3:25 pm
Well, I think we should just do what Donald Trump does when he gets in over his head. Instead of raising the debt ceiling we ought to just declare bankruptcy. Oh, we might decide it’s OK to pay off the treasury bonds held by all the grannies and alot of the old White coots, but we ought to tell the Chinese to stuff it and if they don’t like not getting paid they can have a H-bomb sandwich.
This will give us a fresh start. And it will strike a blow against Communism too. We’ll just tell the Chinese Commies they were crazy for loaning us money they knew we can’t repay. Sort of like them two GA legislaters.
The two legislaters and The Donald done charted the course for us. If it’s good enough for them it ought to be plenty good enough for us.
Have a good weekend everybody.
JamVet
January 4th, 2013
3:25 pm
The equally buffoonish Donnie Trump needs to snatch that Oily Taint up before someone else lands that prize!
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:25 pm
not a surprise: “America’s share of initial public offerings fell from 67% in 2002 (when Sarbox passed) to 16% last year, despite some benign tweaks to the law. A study for the Small Business Administration, a government body, found that regulations in general add $10,585 in costs per employee. It’s a wonder the jobless rate isn’t even higher than it is.”
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
3:26 pm
SoCo/Bro
Posted a TBogg’s:
Who names their kid that?
“Orly Taitz” is within spitting (or swallowing, depending)distance of being a top tier porn name.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:27 pm
Jm: If you’re really going to argue that SOX is a bad thing I’m going to have to just say you’re wrong and you have no idea what you’re talking about until you, as I do, have to deal with the consequences in daily work life and have read up on the history and reasons for the act.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:27 pm
Towncrier – clearly increasing the categories by a factor of 8 will improve the deficit.
If it weren’t so depressing, it would be funny.
Frog – Obama is the nightmare America won’t recover from for a long time.
TaxPayer
January 4th, 2013
3:28 pm
I’ll huff and I’ll puff and… I’ll huff and I’ll puff and… I’ll climb in the tanning bed and I’ll huff and I’ll puff, exclaimed Sax.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:28 pm
Adam – I care not what you say, but please proceed speaking anyway
Erwin's cat
January 4th, 2013
3:29 pm
Now fire back with “But you said _______ which is not the same as ______” so that you can show that you know what I actually meant, but you’re just trying to argue semantics.
one of us is anyway
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:30 pm
“But it would mitigate a real danger: that regulation may crush the life out of America’s economy.”
Too late Mr. Economist. Too late….
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:30 pm
I want to know which radio host or Fox News personality was the first to perpetuate this false idea that if government spends at all, that Obama and Democrats think that means stimulus, etc etc, in the last 24 hours.
I mean, this HAS to be the reason this nonsense got started.
You people who thought Hillary was avoiding testifying for Benghazi by “faking” a blood clot, you know who I’m talking about!
barking frog
January 4th, 2013
3:30 pm
Jm
Frog – Obama is the nightmare America won’t recover from for a long time.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Jm-Bush is the nightmare America won’t recover from for a long time.
Truth is simpler.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
3:32 pm
The gop turned the debt limit into a giant regulation.
Get out of our economy gop.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 4th, 2013
3:32 pm
Kam, I suspect that they are seeking more ways to milk the conned. They just don’t do it as well as those like Beck and Huckabee but its all the same racket.
Erwin's cat
January 4th, 2013
3:33 pm
Adam – Are they NOT threatening to blow up the economy upon which they and their constituents depend?
Aren’t both sides doing that? I mean President Obama himself said that he will not negotiate the on the debt ceiling…How is that not “my way or we’ll blow it up”?
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:34 pm
Erwin: Thank you for conceding that I was correct, that it is the Democratic position that there should be reasonable regulation, and that the evidence was sufficient enough for you.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:34 pm
Frog
I’m not discussing Bush. I’m talking about our current president. But I agree, Bush was a disaster of his own sort.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:35 pm
Erwin: How is that not “my way or we’ll blow it up”?
How about because the President does not have the power to make laws? Or, if that’s not enough, how about because he is perfectly willing to raise the debt ceiling and it’s only the Republicans who are claiming that we shouldn’t?
DebbieDoRight - Conned And Confused
January 4th, 2013
3:35 pm
Frog: The Republicans who want to protect their grandchildren
plan to do it by reducing the benefits their grandchildren will receive.
Thanks Grandpa.
Oxymoron thy name is Republican.
stands: . I consider any cuts to SS (including how inflation is indexed) or Medicare benefits (including any chicken-manure means-testing) completely unacceptable.
Word – anything that I “pay into” is NOT an entitlement. I have funded other people’s retirement with my payroll deductions, and now they’re saying, “Tough Sh##t!”? Not acceptable to me. I should be able to enjoy the same benefits that my Grand had.
The only thing I don’t mind seeing cut is Medicare — and that’s ONLY because Obamacare will soon cut the need for that service. Other than that, since I’m paying into it, I would be hopping mad about Medicare cuts too.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:35 pm
“The gop turned the debt limit into a giant regulation.”
Debts are not a regulation. They are an obligation.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
3:36 pm
jm,
romney lost.
Big time.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
3:36 pm
I’m not discussing Bush.
There’s your sign.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:36 pm
I’m sure the Republicans are willing to raise the debt ceiling for the interest portion of future debt.
It’s the other 90% of the bill that gives them heartburn. And me too.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:36 pm
Erwin: And I can’t help but notice that you aren’t even trying to defend the actions of the Republicans, but instead went to “Demmy did it too!” which does nothing to persuade me that the GOP are not acting as analogous terrorists or hostage takers….
getalife
January 4th, 2013
3:37 pm
jm,
A default is the ultimate regulation and a threat to the global economy.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:37 pm
“romney lost.”
House is Republican. Big time.
Erwin's cat
January 4th, 2013
3:37 pm
Thank you for conceding that I was correct
only in your mind Adam
Thulsa Doom
January 4th, 2013
3:37 pm
Jm
January 4th, 2013
2:44 pm
“TBS doesn’t believe in the NY Times. Until they say something he supports.”
No suprise there.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 4th, 2013
3:38 pm
I mean President Obama himself said that he will not negotiate the on the debt ceiling…How is that not “my way or we’ll blow it up”?
Oh bullcrap. Obama is willing to negotiate and compromise on budget, spending, deficits and more. You don’t destroy the country to “negotiate”.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:39 pm
Erwin: only in your mind Adam
You have failed to point out how I am wrong, and I cited what you asked me to cite.
barking frog
January 4th, 2013
3:40 pm
Jm
The wars that began in the Bush term and continued in the
Obama term will be the cause of both disasters but I cannot
blame Obama for not cutting and running. We have little
dignity left now, but kids need to quit dying in futile wars.
Towncrier
January 4th, 2013
3:40 pm
“Clearly increasing the categories by a factor of 8 will improve the deficit.”
It’s the new, NEW math, Jm – you know, the one alluded to so frequently by Obama in the presidential debates.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
3:40 pm
“Broken government standing in the way of our economy” cnn.
julia
January 4th, 2013
3:42 pm
Because the President is thoughtful and measured in his responses he is an’arrogant SOB’? Perhaps to mouth breathing products of depleted gene pools that is how it would seem. However Dubya was such a prize. right Bubba?
Granny Godzilla
January 4th, 2013
3:42 pm
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:37 pm
“romney lost.”
House is Republican. Big time
.
.
.
.
Not as big as before
and it’s what? 1/2 republican and 1/2 teaparty???
Good luck with that.
Really.
Erwin's cat
January 4th, 2013
3:42 pm
Adam – Erwin: And I can’t help but notice that you aren’t even trying to defend the actions of the Republicans
not my job as I don’t represent them
but instead went to “Demmy did it too!”
I simply stated that both sides are threatening to blow up the economy
which does nothing to persuade me that the GOP are not acting as analogous terrorists or hostage takers….
so what?….what’s an analogous terrorist?..Someone who instills fear with analogies?
alex
January 4th, 2013
3:42 pm
Jay, here is a new year resolution for you, think of some new stuff for your syncophants instead of maintaining the same old exremist rants and preoccupation with the most right wing or left wing parts of the political process. THINK outside your box, Kam Jam, Deb and the granny are getting boring.. Use your pulpit to educate your biased followers, say discuss the history of the peloponnesian war and the concepts of strategy as discussed by Thucydides and how this relates to political strategy, too much?.. perhaps the Happy Valley lawsuit is more the STYLE of you and “Jamvet”….
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
3:43 pm
The new, NEW, NEW math — Cheney math in which Ohio goes to Romney.
Brosephus™
January 4th, 2013
3:43 pm
Kamchak
Joe Hussein Mama
January 4th, 2013
3:44 pm
alex — “Use your pulpit to educate your biased followers, say discuss the history of the peloponnesian war and the concepts of strategy as discussed by Thucydides and how this relates to political strategy, too much?”
Victor Davis Hanson, the Bard of Oxnard, is teh LAME.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 4th, 2013
3:44 pm
I simply stated that both sides are threatening to blow up the economy
Well you may have stated that but Obama is not threatening any such thing. So you seem to be suffering from confusion.
Granny Godzilla
January 4th, 2013
3:44 pm
alex
now that’s an insult
boring?
Mr. G and my darlings are you reading this? Boring?
snicker
Erwin's cat
January 4th, 2013
3:45 pm
Adam – You have failed to point out how I am wrong
you have failed to prove how you’re right….semantics i know
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
3:45 pm
Jay, here is a new year resolution for you, think of some new stuff…
Go to blogspot.com.
Create your own blog.
Choose the topics you wish to discuss.
A New Year’s resolution for you.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
3:45 pm
“House is Republican. Big time”.
You lost seats.
14 you will lose more.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:46 pm
Erwin: I simply stated that both sides are threatening to blow up the economy
Except only the Republicans are doing that. Obama wants to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans want to say he can’t have that unless he does what they want. It’s not the other way around.
so what?….what’s an analogous terrorist?..Someone who instills fear with analogies?
This is what I mean about semantics. I’m not playing that game. You’ve been reading my posts and you know what I meant.
Thulsa Doom
January 4th, 2013
3:46 pm
I see that sophistry Adam is hard at work today.
Jm
January 4th, 2013
3:47 pm
““Broken government standing in the way of our economy” cnn.”
pretty much true since the early 90’s
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:47 pm
Erwin: you have failed to prove how you’re right….semantics i know
Actually I did show myself to be correct in the very post in which I responded to you asking for citation. I gave you two citations. You have not argued on substance with them.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 4th, 2013
3:47 pm
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has privately told other Democrats, including President Obama, that if the administration used its constitutional and executive authority to continue paying its debts in the face of House Republican opposition, he would support the approach, according to a source familiar with Reid’s message to the president
Jefferson
January 4th, 2013
3:48 pm
Why does the house only work 3 days a week ?
The president don’t pay the bills, that’s congress’s job. To not blame congess would be wrong…. but
Reasonable people can come to reasonable conclusions under reasonable conditions, unless you are a republican. Learn it, live it, love it.
Thulsa Doom
January 4th, 2013
3:48 pm
Adam giving Joe Mama a run for the tap dance and semantics king title.
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 4th, 2013
3:48 pm
Jm
This is astounding: “Next year the number of federally mandated categories of illness and injury for which hospitals may claim reimbursement will rise from 18,000 to 140,000
———————————————–
If you are referring to ICD-10 codes
Work on ICD-10 began in 1983 and was completed in 1992 implementation in 2014.
over 20 years to work on it and it’s a NEW regulation.
BTW have you apologized for your John Lewis BS yesterday?
Towncrier
January 4th, 2013
3:49 pm
“Obama is willing to negotiate and compromise on budget, spending, deficits and more.”
So he says…and he says….and he says….and he says. Do you have anything in writing from him? Please…I’d like to see it. I mean, he seems to have no problem getting on television before the America public to talk about the Republicans or this thing or that thing. Why not, one of those times, coming out and saying here are the cuts I would be willing to sign off on and what other serious things he is willing to do to address our enormous deficit. Or, if not, just be honest and say “I don’t think the deficit is anything to be worried about at all”.
too little time
January 4th, 2013
3:49 pm
Jay, it was Obama who drew the first line in the sand (”I will not negotiate”).
Democrats think Obama has more clout than he does. Previously, he could say, “the Republicans are holding the debt ceiling hostage in order to protect those millionaires and billionaires”. But that no longer holds water, as he just got his tax hike. He lost the populist attack point by winning on the fiscal cliff. Now is the time for spending cuts. The American people will see that Republicans compromised on the fiscal cliff… now it is time for Democrats to make some sacrifices. No one will hold the Republicans responsible when… thus far… they are the ONLY party to have compromised.
“In the non-abstract, failure to raise government borrowing limits means U.S. default — and with it potential credit downgrades, market panic and resulting economic distress. Is the GOP willing to inflict that on the economy?”
This might be true… if the Republicans had not just compromised on the fiscal cliff. Now this argument has no meaning, and it will the the President “I will not negotiate” who will be viewed as delivering ultimatums.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:49 pm
Thulsa: I don’t suppose you have any substantive argument to make? Because if you’d rather focus on pithy remarks I’ll let you talk to that wall all day if you like.
DebbieDoRight - Conned And Confused
January 4th, 2013
3:50 pm
Oh boy I’ve been waiting for someone to post something like this for a while now!:
Want to know why companies are moving their R&D facilities overseas? Because the governments of India and China INVEST and underwrite R&D.
Want to know what will happen if they move the majority of their facilities overseas,(which would save the LOTS of money)?
Bolivia expropriates Spanish energy subsidiaries -
LA PAZ, Bolivia —
President Evo Morales nationalized the Bolivian electricity distribution subsidiaries of the Spanish energy company Iberdrola in a public ceremony Saturday.
Morales issued a decree allowing the takeover of shares in Empresa de Electricidad de La Paz (Electropaz) and Empresa de Luz y Fuerza de Oruro (Elfeo), which supply energy in this Andean nation.
Soldiers guarded the installations of the electricity distribution companies, marked with signs reading: “Nationalized.”
In the ceremony at Bolivia’s government palace, Morales also announced the expropriation of an investment management company and a service provider belonging to the Spanish energy giant.
Morales said he had “been forced to take this step” to ensure that electric service rates remain “equitable” in the regions of La Paz and Oruro.
Thanks for the opening!!
joe
January 4th, 2013
3:50 pm
Someone has gotta stand up to Barak spend it baby spend it Obozo…See that ahead? That’s not Greece, that is US.
JamVet
January 4th, 2013
3:50 pm
Whining alex can’t quit us. He’d like to, but he hasn’t the willpower.
These nuts would put George Walker Bush right back in the White House tomorrow, if they could.
And many Americans know it. Thus, the staggering lack of trust in the cons now.
I said that when the banksters committed their Crimes of the Century, it would take ten years for us to recover. I still stand by that prediction.
The ONLY tiny silver lining is that the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove/Rice toxicity will last even longer.
If the GOP recovers in ten years, I’ll be shocked…
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:50 pm
Towncrier: Do you have anything in writing from him? Please…I’d like to see it.
-First debt ceiling deal
-Fiscal cliff deal
need more?
That Black Guy
January 4th, 2013
3:52 pm
TC, do you like Scrabble?
Towncrier
January 4th, 2013
3:52 pm
Okay, guys…I’m out. Have fun. I’m going to find a deck chair on this liner.
getalife
January 4th, 2013
3:52 pm
” Is the GOP willing to inflict that on the economy?”
It is a good way to make enemies in the global economy.
barking frog
January 4th, 2013
3:54 pm
JamVet
If the GOP recovers in ten years, I’ll be shocked…
……………………….
or waterboarded or both….
Erwin's cat
January 4th, 2013
3:54 pm
This is what I mean about semantics. I’m not playing that game. You’ve been reading my posts and you know what I meant
I look for my clairvoyant hat next time
Actually I did show myself to be correct in the very post in which I responded to you asking for citation. I gave you two citations. You have not argued on substance with them.
Adam…your statement can not be quantified nor do your links help in definition…so it is impossible to argue your vague statement to any conclusion…I can’t find that dang hat
DannyX
January 4th, 2013
3:54 pm
Who do you think the public is going to blame if the government is shut down and our bills don’t get paid?
Better get unskewedpolls.com back in action so Republicans can feel good about their impending doom again. Get Dick Morris and Karl Rove back on Fox, quick. Get the Republican fantasy machine cranked up.
BENGHAZI!
DebbieDoRight - Conned And Confused
January 4th, 2013
3:55 pm
We have little
dignity left now, but kids need to quit dying in futile wars.
Amen.
Adam
January 4th, 2013
3:56 pm
Erwin: If you really are having trouble with the definition of something that I have stated, you could ASK me what I mean by ______. I can only guess at this point as to what you’re having trouble with. And if you ARE having trouble with it, it makes me wonder why you bothered to ask for citations.
too little time
January 4th, 2013
3:56 pm
Word – anything that I “pay into” is NOT an entitlement.
Wrong. Anything that you receive more than you pay into IS and entitlement. If you pay $10k and receive $100k in benefits… that is an entitlement. You didn’t earn that other $90k. For nearly ALL people, Medicare is an entitlement. For MOST people, SS is an entitlement.
JamVet
January 4th, 2013
3:56 pm
Clever, froggie. Enhanced interrogation it is, then!
FNM sheetz!
liberal hack
January 4th, 2013
3:56 pm
I know Jay monitors this so I hope he’s listening. First of all, Jamie Dupree, a fellow co-worker of his said recently if you cut every piece of discretionary spending and all you had left was SS and Medicare spending, what we take in 2012 will not cover those two entities. In saying that, WE have to raise the debt limit! And unfortunately, we have to raise some revenue too. But, we don’t have the revenue to maintain the level of spending we are doing today. I find it irresponsible to do so. And don’t give me this Dick Cheney crap about deficits don’t matter, he’s some crusty ole dude retired in Wyoming somewhere. Unless the American people are comfortable with the Federal gov’t taking in about 4 Trillion in tax revenue, we can’t sustain this! Within reason, the Federal gov’t shouldn’t spend anymore than what it takes in, I get emergencies, stuff happens unfortunately. We can’t go on like this. You can’t ask one segment of the tax base to pay for all of this stuff either! That is unfair and unresponsible! You can’t tell me those who make that much will not change their behavior. Last time I checked, they “the rich” are human too. I’m on the lowest tax bracket and I can tell you when gas is cheap, under $2.00 and groceries were cheap, I spent a lot more money, when those commodities rose in price, I adjusted my behavior and spending. And I’m telling you, at some point, those who some consider rich will change their behavior when they see less in their paycheck, wallet, bank accts, or whatever. When they do that en mass, those who earn less or provide services for those who are “rich,” we are going to feel it.
DannyX
January 4th, 2013
3:57 pm
“See that ahead? That’s not Greece, that is US.”
So we can expect a 33% increase in our stock markets this year like Greece experienced last year? What are you trying to tell us?
Common Sense isn't very Common
January 4th, 2013
3:58 pm
get
re the 2014 elections
I’m not sure that the Repubs will lose that many seats, the TeaParty on the other hand I think will be toast.
A more moderate congress is called for in these trying times IMO (both left and right)
DebbieDoRight - Conned And Confused
January 4th, 2013
4:00 pm
These nuts would put George Walker Bush right back in the White House tomorrow, if they could.
My GOD Jam, don’t ever do that again! You just scared the sheeets outta me!
Towncrier
January 4th, 2013
4:00 pm
Wait…page refreshed and I’ll say a few more things in going:
TBG:
“TC, do you like Scrabble?”
A curious question (is it honest?). I mean, why do you ask?
Adam:
“First debt ceiling deal, Fiscal cliff deal, need more?”
Respectively, not from you. You astound me sometimes. It appears that you imagine these two “deals” represent the sort of substantive cuts needed to at least not spend much more than we are taking in until we can (hopefully – there is NO guarantee) get our economy humming again and start paying off our debt. Thanks for the convo, however.
Thulsa Doom
January 4th, 2013
4:00 pm
Adam,
I’m just messin with you. Seriously though dude. You really should put down the koolaide for once in your life. You’re like a robot or a brainwashed cult member that thinks Obama and the Dems can do no wrong. The responsibility for getting things done is on both parties. Your sophistry argument that seems to indicate that Obama bears no responsibility for any impasse is beyond ludicrous.
HDB
January 4th, 2013
4:00 pm
DDR….there’s more to what Morales did in Bolivia,,,,,,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323635504578211503835638308.html
What if the same steps were done here…particularly with the BANKS??
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 4th, 2013
4:01 pm
FreedomWorks, the national conservative group that helped launch the tea party movement, sells itself as a genuine grassroots operation, and for years it has battled accusations of “astroturfing”—posing as a populist organization while doing the bidding of big-money donors. Yet internal documents obtained by Mother Jones show that FreedomWorks has indeed become dependent on wealthy individual donors to finance its growing operation….According to a 52-page report prepared by FreedomWorks’ top brass for a board of directors meeting held in mid-December at the Virginia office of Sands Capital Management, an investment firm run by FreedomWorks board member Frank Sands, the entire FreedomWorks organization—its 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) nonprofit arms and its super-PAC—raised nearly $41 million through mid-December. Of that total, $33 million—or 81 percent of its 2012 fundraising—came in the form of “major gifts,” the type of big donations coveted by nonprofits and super-PACs. (FreedomWorks’ nonprofit components do not have to disclose their funders.)
Well-heeled individual contributors ponied up $31 million—or 94 percent—of those major gifts, according to the FreedomWorks board book
The entire board book has been posted. So much for “grass roots” Tea Party. What will the conned do when they have evidence that they have been conned? My guess…”but..but…but… [diversion and head in the sand]”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/freedomworks-rich-donors-armey-kibbe-super-pac
getalife
January 4th, 2013
4:01 pm
joe,
The sky is not falling.
Ol' Timer
January 4th, 2013
4:01 pm
Damn I hate pandering. And double damn to panderers!
barking frog
January 4th, 2013
4:02 pm
Towncrier
A curious question (is it honest?). I mean, why do you ask?
………………………………………………………
paranoia will destroya
Adam
January 4th, 2013
4:03 pm
Towncrier: represent the sort of substantive cuts needed
No, what they represent is what you asked for, which was something in writing showing Obama is willing to compromise.
“Substantive” is something you can always argue, no matter what the ratio is to the thing you want most.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
January 4th, 2013
4:04 pm
And don’t give me this Dick Cheney crap about deficits don’t matter…
Head in the sand.
There’s your sign.
Welcome to the Occupation
January 4th, 2013
4:04 pm
Scumdog millionaire
DannyX
January 4th, 2013
4:05 pm
“So much for “grass roots” Tea Party.”
The Tea Party has been one of the biggest cons of the last 50 years, and of course it was the gullible Republicans that ate it up.
too little time
January 4th, 2013
4:06 pm
If the GOP recovers in ten years, I’ll be shocked…
Then you will be shocked. You really think that this is going to be one-party rule for 10 years? But, more importantly, if the GOP does NOT recover, the U.S. will have $30 Trillion in debt, and will be hamstrung by debt for the next 50 years. Medicare and SS will, necessarily, be cut. Food stamps will be cut. the EIC will be cut. Obama phones will be cut. Housing/Rent subsidies will be cut. Energy subsidies will be cut. If Democrats won’t get this fiscal house in order, the U.S. only has about 10 more years of world preeminence. Then we get tossed on the scrap heap of history… like the Roman empire, the Ottoman empire, and the British empire.
Why is it so difficult for Democrats to do simple math?
Thulsa Doom
January 4th, 2013
4:06 pm
Liberals agree. Deficits really don’t matter.
Right now, deficits don’t matter — a point borne out by all the evidence.- Paul Krugman
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/deficits-and-the-printing-press-somewhat-wonkish/
Williebkind
January 4th, 2013
4:07 pm
Well King Obama does not need Republican support so why give it to him. The King will simply make a law himself. The King has full support of the loyalists.