GOP worried about the fiscal cliff

[TomFitz]

This week we had more of the same from Congress. Symbolic votes in the Senate on tax cuts for everyone but the 1%, and symbolic votes in the House to continue the Bush tax cuts. And a nonsense bill to audit the Fed.

But GOP lawmakers are anxiously eyeing the next looming fiscal crisis.

It seems that the automatic sequester from last year's Super Committee deal are looming at the end of the year. So are the scheduled expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the temporary payroll tax cuts.

But what's worse, under the budget sequestration, the Federal government and its contractors have to give notice of impending layoffs 60 days before the deadline. Which means that thousands of poeple will be getting layoff notices days before the Presidential election.

For days now, the GOP has been spinning the looming crisis as if it were something the Democrats created, but not with much success.

The upcoming crisis is phase two of the tea bagger inspired crisis we suffered through last year when the GOP blocked the routine matter of raising the debt ceiling in order to try and blackmail the nation into adopting the tea party version of fiscal sanity.

The GOP couldnt' deliver the votes for the "grand bargain" that Boehner and Obama discussed, so the deal collapsed.

Instead, we got the lugubrious Super Committee and the poison pill that came with it if Congress didn't act.

The Super Committee was Mitch McConnell's idea.

And it was his party that walked away from their own deal and sunk the Super Committee.

Now the automatic budget sequestration looms, triggered by deals the GOP itself made and then broke.

So now, after months of running around saying that government spending doesn't create jobs, Romney spokesman have reversed their tune!

 

[GordonGecko]

I heard Mitch McConnell defend...Keynesian economics ....on SEAN HANNITY's radio show.

Basicallyl as you stated....Mitch said that there were 1000s of jobs in the defense industry that needed that Federal money. Lose the money, lose the jobs.

In other words...Government spending had created jobs!

 

[NightSwimmer]

The Congressional Democrats have the Republicans under their thumb on this issue. If they remain disciplined and refuse to compromise, then they can force the Tea Party caucus to swallow the bitter pill that they prescribed for themselves when they threw their little debt ceiling hissy fit last year.

Whatever damage is done by allowing the sequestration to occur can be easily remedied in the first session of Congress after the New Year. There is simply too much documentation of the skirmish leading up to sequestration for the GOP to convince anyone outside of their base that this situation is the fault of President Obama or the Congressional Democrats.

I would say that the Republicans didn't think this thing through adequately, but that would imply that they were thinking at all -- and I've never seen any overt evidence that they were.

 

[BrianDamage]

The Congressional Democrats have the Republicans under their thumb on this issue. If they remain disciplined and refuse to compromise, then they can force the Tea Party caucus to swallow the bitter pill that they prescribed for themselves when they threw their little debt ceiling hissy fit last year.

Whatever damage is done by allowing the sequestration to occur can be easily remedied in the first session of Congress after the New Year. There is simply too much documentation of the skirmish leading up to sequestration for the GOP to convince anyone outside of their base that this situation is the fault of President Obama or the Congressional Democrats.

I would say that the Republicans didn't think this thing through adequately, but that would imply that they were thinking at all -- and I've never seen any overt evidence that they were.

I wouldn't count on that. Voters can be truly stupid.

 

[NightSwimmer]

I wouldn't count on that. Voters can be truly stupid.

I agree. Probably half of all registered voters are of below average intelligence. I don't see how that changes the strategy for the Democrats? The voters can't affect anything that happens this year. The most damaging aspects of the sequestration will have to be dealt with in January, no matter who holds Congress. The only smart and honorable thing that the Democrats in Congress can do at this point is to do nothing. That shouldn't be so difficult. They should be enured to doing nothing by now anyway -- it's about all they've done since 2010.

 

[BrianDamage]

I agree. Probably half of all registered voters are of below average intelligence. I don't see how that changes the strategy for the Democrats? The voters can't affect anything that happens this year. The most damaging aspects of the sequestration will have to be dealt with in January, no matter who holds Congress. The only smart and honorable thing that the Democrats in Congress can do at this point is to do nothing. That shouldn't be so difficult. They should be enured to doing nothing by now anyway -- it's about all they've done since 2010.

I would guess that it's more than half. The GOP keeps managing to get people to vote against their own self-interest, after all. So, it might change things. If departments are going to have to lay off personnel, they have to let them know 60 days in advance. So, just before the election, a lot of people are going to be getting lay off notices. If the GOP has managed to make the dumber folks think it's all Obama's fault that the GOP would rather trash the country's economy than do anything that might remotely help the economy, then that's going to impact the elections.

 

[bdtex]

The sequester was McConnell's idea too. Senate and House GOPs voted for the whole package too. They also knew that the "sequester" would kick in on the same day that the extension of the Bush tax cuts expired. They voted for the perfect storm they're headed into. It's more of a looming political crisis for them than a fiscal crisis and it's a crisis of their own making.

 

[NCmusicman]

The Republican House of Represenataives have passed 32 Jobs Bills and ALL of them are sitting on Harry Reid's desk... Dems have a problem, Call Harry "[Unwelcome language removed]" Reid.

 

[NightSwimmer]

I would guess that it's more than half. The GOP keeps managing to get people to vote against their own self-interest, after all. So, it might change things. If departments are going to have to lay off personnel, they have to let them know 60 days in advance. So, just before the election, a lot of people are going to be getting lay off notices. If the GOP has managed to make the dumber folks think it's all Obama's fault that the GOP would rather trash the country's economy than do anything that might remotely help the economy, then that's going to impact the elections.

If the voters are that stupid, then they'll get what they deserve. Even if the Republicans should win majorities in both houses, we'd still be better off for having taken the sequestration.

 

[TomFitz]

The Republican House of Represenataives have passed 32 Jobs Bills and ALL of them are sitting on Harry Reid's desk... Dems have a problem, Call Harry "<img src=images/smilies/animated/censored.gif>" Reid.

No, the GOP has never even proposed a jobs bill. What they've done is repackaged all their hobby horses and slapped the label "jobs bill" on them. There is no GOP proposal to create jobs at all, and there hasn't been one in four years.

 

[TomFitz]

I would say that the Republicans didn't think this thing through adequately, but that would imply that they were thinking at all -- and I've never seen any overt evidence that they were.

They didn't think anything through at all. Obama has been six steps ahead of them all the way. After the 2010 elections, the GOP practically advertised what they were going to do regarding the debt ceiling. And, as spring turned into summer, it became increasingly obvious that the tea party tail was going to wag the GOP dog. Obama theatrically threw everything on the negotiating table, and he and Boehner were talking about a "grand bargain". But it became quickly clear that Boehner would not be able to muster the votes to pass anything.

So the deal collapsed. Boehner feels stung about this and thinks that the President undermined his effort. All that shows is that Boehner is a very poor negotiator. Obama knew from the start that Boehner couldn't close the deal. There's no point negotiating with someone who can't hold up their end of the bargain ,and John Boehner was that guy.

Mitch McConnel dreamed up the Super Committee and the sequester as a way to bail Boehner and the GOP out of the box they created for themselves.

You won't find anyone today who will admit to being part of the tea party (except a few really deluded nuts). That scam ran its course in 2010. The GOP forgot the Tea Party the day after the election, the money dried up, the websites went dark, and all the consultants went back to K Street on their charter busses.

But every American with a 401K felt the damage that the tea party debacle over the debt ceiling did.

And now, we're headed headlong toward the debt ceiling gambit redux.

Of course, we'll have to tolerate a lot of right wing spin, as the cons desperately try to keep the stink of their failed poltical strategy from sticking to them. But it won't work.

The nation will re elect the President, and look to him to come in and clean up the GOP's mess.......again.

 

[NightSwimmer]

Speaking in broad generalities over the long term, it appears to me that the Republicans got so caught up in (successfully) developing a hard-core, loyal base of support through marketing techniques that they simply forgot how to govern somewhere along the way.

 

[OldGaffer]

No, the GOP has never even proposed a jobs bill. What they've done is repackaged all their hobby horses and slapped the label "jobs bill" on them. There is no GOP proposal to create jobs at all, and there hasn't been one in four years.

Now back to the discussion of stupid voters that vote against their own self interest.

 

[Friday13]

The upcoming crisis is phase two of the tea bagger inspired crisis we suffered through last year when the GOP blocked the routine matter of raising the debt ceiling in order to try and blackmail the nation into adopting the tea party version of fiscal sanity.

The GOP couldnt' deliver the votes for the "grand bargain" that Boehner and Obama discussed, so the deal collapsed.

Instead, we got the lugubrious Super Committee and the poison pill that came with it if Congress didn't act.

The Super Committee was Mitch McConnell's idea.

And it was his party that walked away from their own deal and sunk the Super Committee.

Now the automatic budget sequestration looms, triggered by deals the GOP itself made and then broke.

Obama campaign needs to start shoving this up the GOPer's fat pig noses...

 

[Friday13]

I would say that the Republicans didn't think this thing through adequately, but that would imply that they were thinking at all -- and I've never seen any overt evidence that they were.

 

[wobblies]

That was a prescient post. Thank you. What was your reference to Romney support for government spending and jobs?

God Speed,
David

 

[bdtex]

Anti-abortion bills and healthcare reform repeal bills are not jobs bills PJCon. You're f.o.s.

 

[bdtex]

bump.