Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

~~~

~~~

Friday, October 25, 2013

Ronald Reagan was correct...




when he said  government is the problem, because his own party, the Republican Party, proves it time and time again.  And they are a problem that continues to hurt this country.

The TeaPublican Party would rather hurt Americans by cutting back on food stamps, by not working with President Obama to create jobs, and by wasting the country's time and $24 billion dollars in a temper tantrum to repeal the A.C.A.

America has finally woken up and realized the problem Ronald Reagan spoke about was bad government, destructive government, and an inability to govern.  IOW, today's TeaPublican Party.

And the GOPT's tanked approval ratings prove it.



Jules Witcover, Chicago Tribune:  "The heavy hit on the Republican brand has been emphatically underscored by the post-shutdown polls. The question is whether voters fed up with the party's increasingly sharp turn to ultraconservatism, one not seen since the days of Barry Goldwater, will remain turned off at voting time a year from now. By then, Obamacare may or may not be a principal catalyst for decision-making at the ballot box, pro or con, on midterm election day. The same polls also indicate that Americans still worry much more about the state of the economy and, particularly, high unemployment than about the state of federally subsidized health insurance."







New York Times:  "...Republicans — whether adults or Tea Party members — continue to let the public down. [...] Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking member of the budget panel, says that keeping the current spending caps is a bedrock principle. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, ostensibly an anti-shutdown “adult,” wants to use the conference to cut social-welfare entitlements and relieve the tax burden on corporations. “We have to make a down payment on the debt and deficit,” he told Congressional Quarterly. [...] 

 The obsession with deficits is already taking a huge toll on the poor, who have seen cutbacks in vital programs, and could well see more if the Republicans have their way. Next week, for instance, a House-Senate conference on the farm bill will consider a proposal from allegedly “grown-up” House Republicans that would cut $39 billion from food stamps, which would push three million people off the program a year."





GOP Roots for Failure:

"In theory, lawmakers hope that government programs work well, and if they don’t, try to fix them. In theory, our representatives hope that government agencies carry out their missions smoothly, and if something goes wrong, try to figure out what happened to avoid making the same mistake in the future. Obviously that’s not how things work in the United States, where one of the two parties doesn’t even believe in government. 

Republicans want to shrink government until it’s small enough to drown in a bathtub! They think there’s nothing scarier than the prospect of a government employee trying to help! With beliefs like those, it’s not surprising that — with disturbing frequency — they root for failure in order to score points. [...] “If the [Healthcare.gov] Web site glitches are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Representative Greg Walden, Republican of Oregon, “it’s only a matter of time before the law sinks and takes with it those Democrats who wrote it, voted for it and are proud of it.” 

Breaking that down: If the glitches indicate deep problems, then health care reform will fall apart, in which case Republicans will pick up seats in the next election. In other words, disaster would be good for his party."

h/t Daily Kos










28 comments:

skudrunner said...

Obama said bring something to the table and we will discuss it then says I will not negotiate. Seems the blame can be shared by both sides.

The republicans have sent over 25 job bills to reid and he has yet to put them to a vote. To be fair, reid has sent several to the house that were voted down but at least they were voted on.

I don't know where you found that the obama/reid shutdown cost 24 billion. The federal workers got their extra vacation pay and some even collected unemployment so they got an additional bonus.

Obama 10 trillion to 17 trillion in under five years, HE WINS!!!!

Anonymous said...

Mondale was right

Shaw Kenawe said...

President Obama was correct when he refused to negotiate with a political party that demanded that he defund the A.C.A. and threatened to shut down the government and put the country into default unless the president met with EVERY SINGLE DEMAND.

You keep coming here and pretending those actions by the TeaPublicans never happened or worse, that it was Mr. Obama who was unreasonable? You TeaPublicans truly live in an alternate universe. A majority of Americans understand that it was the TeaPublicans who were intransigent in their demands NOT Mr. Obama. And that Mr. Obama was correct in not giving into their blackmail.

Where did that $24 billion come from? HERE:
Shutdown took $24 billion bite out of economy

Keep repeating that idiotic line about President Obama putting us into the hole and keep failing to apply any of the blame to the GOP. That's what people who are blind to the GOP's culpability continue to do. Another reason the American people dislike the Republican Party and especially its extremist wing--the Tea Party led by Ted "The Sarah Palin of the Senate" Cruz.

Keep pretending that isn't reality.

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

Good morning Shaw. Here are a few quick thoughts:

#1 – One benefit of increasing the top income tax rate is to shift the cost burdens of civilization from the under-towed middle class to the white caps at the top of their wave;

#2 - New algae blooms in the Federal treasury will help balance the deficit and fund new reef building projects;

#3 – The key to changing tax policy is political will (where appearances matter more than content).

Now pay attention to your intrepid cephalopod because you humanoids need a hammed up clam to help you frame this porpoise for public consumption: Offer a turn-back-the-clock approach, where you simply reset the tax tables to a point in history yielding improved economic performance. Actual numbers don’t matter – whether the top tax rate is 39%, 50%, 80% or Avogadro’s Number.

Offer a choice of packages, each wrapped in ribbons and bows with a cheerful gift card inside: The Clinton package, the Reagan package, The Kennedy package, the Truman Package. All solid and revered former Leviathans of history, no one will accuse you of being a “Marxist-commie-collectivist-Jihadi-Barracuda” for raising taxes on sharks. See my point?

Conservatives and liberals alike are more likely to choose the Reagan package as the “easier sell.” The way I see it, Reagan was a former Democrat. He didn’t leave the party; the party left him. Since all ocean currents now flow in reverse, mainstream Republicans are leaving the GOP. Thus, it makes sense for disgruntled citizens of all stars and stripes to meet in Middle Earth and take the Regan package. Actual marginal tax rates are immaterial; what matters more is appearance. After all, if Regan did it, it can’t be all bad.

Dave Miller said...

Regardless of the specific issues I believe there is another problem that people are failing not only to address, but consider.

We do have a spending problem in that we are spending more than what we take in.

Cuts in spending will have to be made, to a variety of programs, including entitlements and defense, the two sacred cows of the GOP and the Dems.

And I am talking about real cuts, not just cuts in the rate of growth, which somehow in Washington talk, is a cut.

But at some point, to use the family budget example many Republican supporters love to trot out, we will have to look at raising more revenue. This is akin to getting a second job.

The Dems, through Obama have offered continuing cuts to entitlements. Has the GOP offered up cuts in defense?

Are there any new revenues the GOP would put on the table?

And beyond the specifics, can any negotiated settlement get through the House with their rabid dislike of President Obama?

I will give you that President Obama can be difficult to deal with, but Skud, in your opinion, does the House GOP have any desire to do any type of deal with our president?

skudrunner said...

I agree with you ms. shaw,. The republicans should have left obamacare alone and it would have imploded on it's own, which is proving to be correct.

They were asking for the same treatment for individuals as the leader granted corporations, an extension. Guess the middle class and small businesses didn't contribute enough to his election. Now what does the leader do, give an extension.

Les Carpenter said...

A: Barry Goldwater was a principled conservative with substance and reason on his side.

B: Are you suggesting ONE PARTY rule? As ineffective as the Republican party and it's Tea Party faction have become I am not convinced that one party Democratic rule would be much better. as (O)CT(O)PUS noted one party rule equals totalitarianism.

skudrunner said...

Dave,

I think both sides are to blame. There is a pause in the hostility until January and during that pause nothing will be done to fine middle ground.

The republicans dislike obama's policies so they won't move and the democrats have said we are winning so they have no incentive to find middle ground.

Neither side will make the cuts that need to be made. The gop will stand and say they want cuts but really don't and the democrats will say the want more taxes and they do.

If you give the government more revenue, they will waste it. One problem is when they talk about budget deficit, there is no budget to have a deficit against. Freeze spending and raise taxes for everyone, eliminate deductions, all of them including charitable and mortgage interest. That increase must go to bring down the deficit.

okjimm said...

there is one more thing...to think about. it isn't merely spending and taxing... it is efficiency.

Congress sometimes just writes a check and let's it go. Defense is a very good example. AND I am not talking guns,tanks,planes.

the DoD advertises on the Super Bowl and other related sport programs. In 2013 the cost of a 30secnd spot for the Super Bowl was....$4mm. In fact, the DoD IS the number one advertiser on sporting programs.

listen...it may seem like 'small' potatooes....but when I have to cut my budget...I start with small things that add up...not with throwing out food.

government needs to trim, trim, trim....a lot of littles...congressional salaries and perks,DoD fat... there are a lot of savings to be made with out cutting SS, food stamps, health care. the Super Bowl will carry on without paid by government ads. just saying.

Shaw Kenawe said...

skud: "I agree with you ms. shaw,. The republicans should have left obamacare alone and it would have imploded on it's own, which is proving to be correct."

How can we take you seriously, skud, when you write silliness like that? The TECHNICAL rollout was a snafu, the law is not fully implemented. So how can you say the law has imploded? You can't. What you can do is repeat FAUX NOOZ and the GOP Noise Machine talking points that have no basis in fact.

(O)CT(O)PUS, President Obama offered the GOP a 10 to 1 deal (cuts and raising revenue). And they said NO! Ten to One! and they said NO!

There is no hope that crazies as demented as that will work with Mr. Obama and do what has to be done and what you have explained in your comment.

Dave Miller said...

Skud, aren't you being intellectually dishonest? How, as Shaw has pointed out, a plan be imploding when we are only in the sign up phase?

No one has any experience with the plans yet, just an over taxed web site...

Anonymous said...

We are getting cuts in welfare programs for citizens, but not for corporate welfare, or defense.
Obamacare won't work. There is no hard mandate to insure solvency, and we have not taken the middle man (health care insurance companies) out of the equation, to save enough money. Glitches are just usual. It took SS years to run properly.
Last figures I saw 45% of Americans will have nothing but SS to retire on, and we want to cut that?
Safety net programs are also good for the security of our country; so as not to have the sci-fi horror of starving, sick people creating crimes just to survive.
Americans have voted for and paid higher taxes for these programs, for 80 years now.
Only this generation has denied to pay the obvious costs of such programs and ensure the health and welfare of the country.

Les Carpenter said...

"The Dems, through Obama have offered continuing cuts to entitlements. Has the GOP offered up cuts in defense?

Are there any new revenues the GOP would put on the table?"

Unfortunately Dave the answer to these quaestions is NO.

The republican consrvatives today are not conservatives at all in the purely fiscal responsibility sense of the word.
In many other ways they are reactionaries.

As I commented elsewhere (and maybe here as well) the republican party, and perhaps American politics in general is to far gone already.

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

Shaw,
For a humanoid, 10 to 1 may mean 50 minutes after Noon or 50 minutes after Midnight, eyes wide open or eyes closed; but cephalopods see things differently no matter what time day.

Humanoids experience icebergs from above, knowing much more lies hidden below water; the reverse for cephalopods. We look up and see a shadowy boat hull, knowing far more floats above the water line - with irascible bipeds aboard.

It is a sublimely rare experience when boaters throw glass bottles overboard. In my travels across the reef, I use discarded bottles as motels – simply squeeze myself inside for the night with no need for reservations, cash, or credit cards. I prefer 2-liter size Tanqueray bottles. Roomy and comfortable, they afford me an emerald-green view of the world.

Helen said...

It's totally bogus for those who supported supply side, cut taxes, no new taxes, starve the beast, failed Republican fiscal policies, to know consider raising marginal tax rates. Gee, you think we should have done that at the first sign of a multi-trillion dollar debt? If we had fully funded our government programs, they would be working as set up. If we had paid as we spent, we would not now be 18 trillion in debt. The crooks who put forth these failed policies for mere political gain and ruined our economy, should not be listened to as we crawl out of this hole. They should be held up as the cause of our financial problems and forever rejected as a serious path to economic reality.

Clearwater, Florida said...

The Obamacare website is a disaster of "Ted Cruz" proportions!!!

Shaw Kenawe said...

skud, my blog doesn't exist for you to unload your bile. If you so desperately need to malign President Obama on a daily basis, I suggest you do so at the TeaPublican blogs you frequent. They'll appreciate the buncombe you disgorge.

They'll welcome you as a true believer.

Anonymous said...

"Among companies listed on the S&P 500, almost one in nine paid an effective tax rate of zero percent — or even lower — over the past year, according to an analysis by USA Today.
There are 57 separate companies listed on the index that paid a zero percent rate from the past year. Those companies include both household names like Verizon and News Corp."

Your residetn troll skudrunner never fails to remind you how the poor are always looking for free stuff and want to take from the rich. He never seems to find anything wrong with corporations that cheat us all by not paying their taxes so we have to make up for it. He's your typical low-information rightwinger who swallows the crap their corporate overlords feed them. then he runs to your blog and trashes Obama for wanting the corporations to pay their taxes?

Shabby Kennebunkport said...

Shabby Kennebunkport said...

There is a Sligo Macaroon Contortionist loot-wanking spelunking Doobie-Doo bug who creams on SCHIAPARELLI’S blanket that Mints, and Murmurs, and refracts the punters on A&E tv, and on a Grease Ball with his or her’s strange implosions from the Constipated poser's lair.

I can undress the stud and implicate him, as there is no lorrey in Ideomeneo and the fapping from these lanky sails is understood.

But what glooms me is the lurking intrepid pope's scissors and his SHARKS that not only elevate but steams the antelope but not defoliating any of it, as it’s been groping for widows upon widows.

Or maybe I am expressing too mushy a bear?

Anonymous said...

Living rent free in their heads!

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

RN: "(O)CT(O)PUS noted one party rule equals totalitarianism."

Yes I did. All the more reason to shake up the political establishment. After the GOP implodes, I am hoping the new status quo will be comprised of:

A Beer Party
Sweet Sixteen Party
Halloween Party
Chickadee Party
Gymboree Party
Potpourri Party
Undersea Party
And a New Year's Eve Party

More choices and better than what we have, don't you think!

Les Carpenter said...

And a Fiesta Party!

Heros Are Ordinary Sandwiches That Do Extraordinary Meals in Extraordinary Restaurants said...


I always knew that progressive/liberals had to be good at everything.

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

How could I miss the Fiesta Party! At least these parties are more LIFE AFFIRMING than the adversarial and endlessly combative ones - whose only mission and purpose is to incite people to the point of bashing each others' brains out.

okjimm said...

Super Bowl Party.
Surprise Party.
Pity Party...oops...that would be a Republican offshoot

Kahn SheeWee said...

Kahn Sheewee October 26, 2013 at 4:57:00 PM EDT

A nineteen year old Chicken named Tron is spewing Blarney, after he punched a $350 belt with his death card.

Let’s call it Schtupping while broccoli - roasted for frying a $350 Boat.


Leeks, damn leeks, and MORE damn leeks from Amazon’s parasols and very corpulent armoires of a dizzying Porcelain Deportment who feeds their relentless pantaloons to an emetic map of sinful acrobats and radical Dominican Tonsils .

Anonymous Anonymous said...

From shaw's friend, F.T.:


"Obama and his wife are just a step above the savage races from which they sprang. They became acceptable only because they have managed to put on a thin veneer of quasi-civilized behavior, and speak passable English with a nearly-white accent, and he is blest with good teeth, even features and looks comely in today's version of a Brooks Brothers suit.

Mme. Obama, our Virtual Empress, speaks better English than her husband, that Would-Be Emperor of the Universe, but her fashion consultants should be taken out and beheaded in the Rose Garden in front of the White House Press Corpse, then ritually butchered on camera, and and buried in strategic locations to aid in providing future fertilizer for Her Majesty's Vegetable Garden. Very frankly Our Empress would look more presentable in a traditional grass skirt disporting bare breasts with a colorful turban wrapped 'round her nappy head than she does in the outlandish getups she has the poor taste and lack of wisdom to allow herself to wear in public.

I think "nasty" was much desired here today, so now you have it -- in spades -- doubled and redoubled.

And the Hate goes on ..."


Indeed. Led by a maniac on the right.

Dervish Z Sanders said...

Regarding the "spending problem" an earlier commenter mentioned and his assertion that "cuts in spending will have to be made, to a variety of programs, including entitlements and defense, the two sacred cows of the GOP and the Dems"... I strongly disagree. The Progressive People's Budget "Eliminates the Deficit and Raises a $31 Billion Surplus In Ten Years" and it does so without cutting entitlements. Entitlements should be expanded (lower the retirement age), not cut.

The Democratic party is a big tent party, so we have Conservatives and Liberals in our ranks. Rule by one party wouldn't be monolithic and therefore not "totalitarianism". Heck, I think it would give the Progressives a chance to assert themselves and actually be heard. They were not heard, for example, when they put out their sensible "people's budget"... it was completely ignored. So, in regards to "one party rule"... I say "bring it on".

Shaw: The TECHNICAL rollout was a snafu, the law is not fully implemented. So how can you say the law has imploded? You can't.

Anyone see the report by Rachel Maddow a few nights ago when she pointed out that there have been no rollouts of a major government program that went smoothly? (See the video here). The gitches will be fixed. This is nothing that should not have been expected and not at all out of the ordinary.

Octopus: After the GOP implodes, I am hoping the new status quo will be comprised of...

Ha, ha, in regards to your joke Party names... but what about a Progressive Party?