Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

~~~

~~~

Monday, August 5, 2013

"Stale, Moss-Covered, Wacko Birds"



Anyone know what that colorful description is about?


Never mind, I'll tell you:


That's what one bunch of GOPers is saying about another bunch of GOPers.

When a political party's only goal is to cripple a presidency, and therefore the country, it usually ends up eating its own, and here are some examples of how the modern Republican Party, in thrall to the crazies in the Tea Party. is doing that very thing:


From TPM:


“ 'I didn’t start this one and I don’t plan on starting things by criticizing other Republicans,' Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said recently as he and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie likened one another to various cuts of a butchered pig. 

 'But if they want to make me the target, they will get it back in spades.' 

 No matter who started it, in the past few months, one Republican called others 'wacko birds,' another said some of the party’s lawmakers were 'stale and moss-covered' and a third suggested one member of the GOP was a tool of the White House. 

 A recent flare-up over defunding the health law prompted Texas Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to question the political manhood of fellow Republicans unwilling to risk closing down the government over the future of 'Obamacare,' as GOP critics call the law they want to repeal. 'They’re scared of being beaten up politically,' he said."

Here's a GOP shill, Charles Krauthammer on the same subject:



"(b) Obamacare 


 The other battle is about defunding Obamacare. Led by Sens. Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, the GOP insurgents are threatening to shut down the government Oct. 1 if the stopgap funding bill contains money for Obamacare. 

 This is nuts. The president will never sign a bill defunding the singular achievement of his presidency. Especially when he has control of the Senate. Especially when, though a narrow majority (51 percent) of Americans disapprove of Obamacare, only 36 percent favor repeal. President Obama so knows he'll win any shutdown showdown that he's practically goading the Republicans into trying. 

 Never make a threat on which you are not prepared to deliver. Every fiscal showdown has redounded against the Republicans. The first, in 1995, effectively marked the end of the Gingrich revolution. The latest, last December, led to a last-minute Republican cave that humiliated the GOP and did nothing to stop the tax increase it so strongly opposed. 

 Those who fancy themselves tea party patriots fighting a sold-out cocktail-swilling establishment are demanding yet another cliff dive as a show of principle and manliness. 

 But there's no principle at stake here. This is about tactics. If I thought this would work, I would support it. But I don't fancy suicide. It has a tendency to be fatal."




The GOP has given up on governing and adopted a siege mentality, inspired by the radicals in their party.  When the Republicans took charge of the House in 2010, their mantra was "Jobs!  Jobs!  Jobs!" on which they've delivered NOTHING.  They've continued in their efforts to be the GOOs (Great Obstructionist Opposition) that has delivered nothing but pain and suffering in the states where they're in the majority and in the House.  

Paul Krugman explains this strange phenomenon that has taken over a once great political party: 


"Last week House Republicans voted for the 40th time to repeal Obamacare. Like the previous 39 votes, this action will have no effect whatsoever. But it was a stand-in for what Republicans really want to do: repeal reality, and the laws of arithmetic in particular. The sad truth is that the modern G.O.P. is lost in fantasy, unable to participate in actual governing."

[skip]


"Republicans, confronted with the responsibilities of governing, essentially threw a tantrum, then ran off to sulk. 

 How did the G.O.P. get to this point? On budget issues, the proximate source of the party’s troubles lies in the decision to turn the formulation of fiscal policy over to a con man. Representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has always been a magic-asterisk kind of guy — someone who makes big claims about having a plan to slash deficits but refuses to spell out any of the all-important details. 

Back in 2011 the Congressional Budget Office, in evaluating one of Mr. Ryan’s plans, came close to open sarcasm; it described the extreme spending cuts Mr. Ryan was assuming, then remarked, tersely, 'No proposals were specified that would generate that path.'

 What’s happening now is that the G.O.P. is trying to convert Mr. Ryan’s big talk into actual legislation — and is finding, unsurprisingly, that it can’t be done. 

Yet Republicans aren’t willing to face up to that reality. Instead, they’re just running away."



Thus, conscience does make cowards of them all!


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

When Obama delays the implementation of his own ACA, he needs no help to cause it's failure.

Infidel753 said...

It's echoed on right-wing sites I read. The rank-and-file are fighting among themselves even more than the leaders are.

The problem is that the contradictions in their coalition are being forced to the surface. The libertarians are increasingly unhappy with the fundies' anti-gay hysterics, for example, while the neocons object to the libertarians' non-interventionism.

The Democratic coalition includes a lot of groups with different goals, but at least they aren't usually in direct conflict with each other. For 2014 the teabaggers are girding up to primary some more electable Republicans in favor of Mourdock or O'Donnell types, and the Republican 2016 Presidential race looks to be almost as big a clown show as the 2012 one.

I never favor complacency, but I'm ready to bring out the popcorn.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Anon, you don't know what you're talking about. President Obama did not delay the implementation of the ACA.

WASHINGTON —The Obama administration announced Tuesday it is delaying until 2015 the requirement that businesses with more than 50 employees provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty.

The announcement by the Internal Revenue Service comes after numerous complaints from businesses that the requirements were too complicated and difficult to implement in time.

Business groups, such as the National Retail Federation, praised the delay, while congressional Republicans jumped on the move to reiterate their opposition to the 2010 health care law.


SOURCE

You really need to turn of FAUX NOOZ and educate yourself.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Infidel753, from what I've read, the current GOP is not ready to give up the Tea Party crazies and their radical ideas. They seem not to be able to grasp that the country is not in favor of their extremist policies.

Shaw Kenawe said...

The wreck that is the GOP:

It took Chris Wallace a mere four sentences to completely dismantle the TEApublican-controlled House during an interview with Eric Cantor earlier today. Of course, Cantor offered excuse after excuse for why the 113th Congress can’t seem to get anything done. Finally, it appeared Wallace had enough and interjected these questions:

“Rightly or wrongly, none of the bills you passed is going to become law. You have only passed four of 12 appropriations bills you are supposed to pass. We face a government shut down in the fall. Is this the best time to spend your time, passing bills that won’t become law?”

Wallace later added,

“You don’t have common ground with the president and you don’t have common ground with the Senate Republican leadership. Aren’t we headed for a train wreck?”

dmarks said...

Shaw quoted: "The Obama administration announced Tuesday it is delaying until 2015 the requirement that businesses with more than 50 employees provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty."

Yes, he has discouraged the provision of the ACA designed to punish businesses for expanding (i.e. hiring more people!) beyond 49 employees.

skudrunner said...

Shaw,

You just confirmed what anon1124 said and then you rip him as not knowing what he is talking about.
For any federal increase tax plan to be set back 2 years means it is not ready for prime time as k=confirmed by several Democrats and Republicans.

What people are missing is that the delay puts the implementation after the next election and the paying public will not not know what is in it until after the vote, good political strategy.

One of the impacts of the ACA is the majority of jobs are now part time. Small business now has another form and tax to pay (PCORI) because of Obamacare. His disdain for small business is growing.

Sally said...

Some employers who care that their employees get healthcare now know those employees can get healthcare without their help and will hire more part time.

Ducky's here said...

That's the bag we're in.

Faced with large problems like health insurance we have one party acting, as Shaw would say, strictly cuckoo bananas.
We are going to reform American health insurance with the likes of Louie Gohmert (R - Cuckoo bananas).

Anyone else suspicious of the recent embassy closings when a goober like Saxby Chambliss takes the opportunity to tout the great work by the NSA uncovering "chatter" identical to the "chatter" prior to 9/11?
So we close down for a week. They must already be picking up the rescheduling "chatter".
Strictly kabuki for Rollo.

The Sword of Truth said...

"The Obama Administration announced Tuesday it is delaying until 2015 the requirement that businesses with more than 50 employees provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty.""

This certainly sounds like a delay in one aspect of ACA. even of only a partial delay. A delay that benefits employers with 50 or more employees. Naturally the benefit goes to busoness, the hardest hit by ACA.

Anonymous said...

The reality is that effective Oct 1, 2013 the exchanges will open expanding the options available for individuals who are seeking health insurance.

The reality is that effective Jan 1, 2014 ACA kicks in with the requirement that all individuals have insurance or be subject to a tax penalty.

The only thing that has changed with the delay to 2015 is the requirement that businesses with more than 50 employees provide health insurance to their employees or face a tax penalty.

Since over 94% of employers with 50 or more employees already provide health insurance to their employees the net effect of this delay is minimum....think restaurant chains, Pizza delivery chains, and convenience stores.

Anonymous said...

Ducky,
Details about the "alert" seem sketchy. Our "Ninja" president (as Bill M. likes to call him) gave a speech about lessening the use of drones, yet, a recent report states he has not. Is this "alert" another "mushroom cloud" type comment to scare the people into backing his military plans?

LOL Anonymous said...

"Is this 'alert' another 'mushroom cloud' type comment to scare the people into backing his military plans?"

Paranoid much?

skudrunner said...

tao,

Since the majority of new jobs are part time and in the service industry. how is letting big corporations delay in the best interest of the American worker?

I guess it is OK for employees of "restaurant chains, Pizza delivery chains, and convenience stores" to have to pay a tax.

Looks like the leader is now targeting the average worker with more taxes as we as the "rich". Nice to see him not discriminate.

Anonymous said...

TAO,
So there is no real excuse for only 6% not to be ready within a year.