Quote from Scataphagos:
Same as throughout history... greed and lust for power.
The GOP has been it's champions. The GOP is all about the wealthy, selfishness, and the power of big business. To accuse the left of that is calling up down.
GOP struggle widens as Boehner rebukes hard right
- Thread starter gwb-trading
- Start date
The GOP has been it's champions. The GOP is all about the wealthy, selfishness, and the power of big business. To accuse the left of that is calling up down.
Ryan will destroy the party. He is equal parts enormous ego and gutless weenie. His budget plans depend on screwing a core republican constituency, middle class and above retired people. Now he has emerged as one of the traitors pushing immigration "reform", ie amnesty.
What he calls "keeping it within the family" translates to sit down and shut up. Like all RINOs, he thinks he should run things and conservatives should just send money and votes.
If keeping it within the family is so important, what was Boehner doing calling a press conference to denounce conservatives? Other than pandering to the liberal media, I mean.
Here is a bit more detail.
Congress Passed A Budget, But It Could Still Blow Up In Their Faces
Posted: 12/18/2013 1:03 pm EST | Updated: 12/18/2013 3:25 pm EST
"WASHINGTON -- Congress' current victory lap is premature. As lawmakers head back to their districts, fresh off passing a budget bill to fund the government for the next two years -- the Senate vote this afternoon merely a formality -- the prospects of political paralysis and even another government shutdown haven't completely faded.
"The next deadline, in fact, is right around the corner. By Jan. 15, appropriators from the House and Senate will have to figure out how to turn that new budget framework into mutually agreed-upon funding levels for 12 spending bills, one for each of the Appropriations subcommittees.
"The task won't be nearly as flashy as the one just completed. But aides on the Hill and observers off it caution that the task could be harder.
"This is where the winners and losers will come from," said one Democratic aide who works on the appropriations process. "How many times have you heard we should be budgeting with a scalpel and not a meat cleaver? This is about to be the reality of the scalpel."
"Confronting lawmakers is the delicate task of divvying up the benefits of sequester relief for the next fiscal year, as agreed to by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.). In general, spending money is an easier task than cutting it. But in this case, lawmakers aren't exactly flush with cash to throw at agencies. If anything, they're like firefighters trying to figure out which houses on a burning block are in the most desperate need of help.
"In fiscal year 2013, sequestration cut roughly $85 billion from non-mandatory spending accounts, driving many government entities to exhaust emergency funds, use administrative gimmicks and make painful cuts. Over the year, defense spending was brought down from $552 billion to $518 billion, while non-defense discretionary spending was brought down from $490 billion to $471 billion.
"Those figures were set to drop even further during fiscal 2014, as the next round of sequestration cuts kicked in. Defense spending was to fall to $498 billion and non-defense spending to $469 billion. But the just agreed-to budget deal stopped that from happening, putting spending levels at $520 billion and $492 billion, respectively.
<img src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1522404/thumbs/o-CHART-570.jpg?6">
"In accounting terms, this meant the budget deal included $44.76 billion in sequestration relief (split evenly between defense and non-defense). In practical terms, the relief was far smaller. Defense spending will be only $2 billion more in 2014 than it was in 2013 ($520 billion compared to $518 billion). Non-defense spending will be $21 billion more ($492 billion compared to $471 billion).
"In other words, the pie is not as large as publicly perceived and there are a lot of hungry groups looking for a slice.
"The amount of sequester relief provided was modest, and so I think it will be challenging to add back funds and meet all the needs that are out there," said Joel Friedman, vice president for federal fiscal policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "The amount that got added back is just a portion. They sort of met halfway. It doesn't get you all the way back or alleviate the first sequester hit. It will definitely be a challenge, and some programs will continue to be short funded at the end of the process."
More>>
Now it has come out that Ryan used misleading Obama double-counting of cuts to make his case to the republicans that this deal even cut the deficit.
This is about three things. One, they want to get back to spending for big corporate interests, like defense contractors. Two, they are deathly afraid of a shutdown. Three, they want to smooth things over so they can sneak amnesty through, another big priority for the corporate interests.
Ryan has emerged as a key figure pushing amnesty. He lied aobut that earlier this year, claiming he had to see improved border security, etc. All lies.
They are just waiting until after the primary filing deadline.
This is about three things. One, they want to get back to spending for big corporate interests, like defense contractors. Two, they are deathly afraid of a shutdown. Three, they want to smooth things over so they can sneak amnesty through, another big priority for the corporate interests.
Ryan has emerged as a key figure pushing amnesty. He lied aobut that earlier this year, claiming he had to see improved border security, etc. All lies.
They are just waiting until after the primary filing deadline.
Who and what is motivating Ryan to be such an idiot.
He spends all that time to become master of the budget only to lie about the budget cuts? To hurt senior citizens... to take money from injured vets?
What the hell is wrong with him and the rest of the establishment.
There are billions and billions which could be chopped from the budget.
Sequestration was a major success in that no one could point to any problems specifically (or very few)... it was all this amorphous stuff like "painful cuts. Screw them... inflation is painful, state local federal, gas, property and taxes all over the place are painful.
These politicans are corrupt scum. I really can not figure Ryan out. I wondered how much just went into his leadership account.
He spends all that time to become master of the budget only to lie about the budget cuts? To hurt senior citizens... to take money from injured vets?
What the hell is wrong with him and the rest of the establishment.
There are billions and billions which could be chopped from the budget.
Sequestration was a major success in that no one could point to any problems specifically (or very few)... it was all this amorphous stuff like "painful cuts. Screw them... inflation is painful, state local federal, gas, property and taxes all over the place are painful.
These politicans are corrupt scum. I really can not figure Ryan out. I wondered how much just went into his leadership account.
A mercenary might look at this fracas in the Republican Party as a natural consequence of a politician's overriding desire to get elected. The misguided tea party-evangelists, bless their hearts, that oddly attached themselves to the GOP, and even more oddly, the GOP welcomed them!, will be able to get re-elected so long as they come from safe districts, provided, that is, they can muster enough financial support to run a campaign. I am talking about the House here.
But there is way more to Washington Politics than the House of Representatives. The Old Line GOP functionaries have their sites on the Senate and White House. To gain these prizes you have to run at large, and therein lies great difficulties ahead for the Republican party, a party that has come down on the wrong side, according to opinion polls, of major issues, and thus insists on shooting itself in the foot -- gay rights, gays in the military, women's rights, military spending, gun control, health care, social security, medicare, medicaid, immigration. This is not to say that by influence (i.e., money) and obstructive tactics the GOP has not often been able to prevail against public sentiment, it has in some cases. And when it could not win an outright victory, it has often succeeded in throwing a monkey wrench into the works. It was also helped in fortuitous ways by Democrat incompetence.
The Democrats are not, and have not been, the monolith that the Republicans have been as of late- though just now we are seeing the first cracks appear in that monolith. Since at least the days of the Dixiecrats there has been a core of senators and representatives within the Democrat party that are Democrats in name only since they have had a nearly 100% Republican voting record. These are the old-line, Deep South "Democrats" (Dixiecrats, Boll Weevils, Blue Dog Democrats, etc.) -- consider Gene Taylor, while in the House he virtually never voted with his party, except on non-controversial, inconsequential issues.
In recent years, we are finally seeing white, Deep South, Republican politicians actually running as Republicans, and Deep South, black, Democrat politicians actually running as Democrats. This makes sense, but having it take as long as it did to get the labels glued on the right drawers does not speak highly of the typical Deep South voter.
Still, even after properly relabeling these Deep South politicians, there is no Democrat monolith. You had Max Baucus, for example, a Montana "Democrat", torpedoing the ACA; thus doing the bidding of the Senate Republican leadership against his own party. The Democrats are not a monolith.
And the Republicans are not normally either -- the monolithic Republican voting block in the House and Senate since 2009 has been remarkable. A testament, certainly, to whomever was holding the Republican strings in the House and Senate -- we assume it was Boehner and McConnell. The monolith spoke as a unified body. Its message was extraordinary; it announced that its primary goal was to get rid of the White House's present occupant. Apparently good government and effective legislation was a distant second on the minds of the ideologues from whom the monolith was constructed.
We have a mid-term election coming up. A realignment is highly unlikely. The Democrats will continue to control the Senate and the Republicans the House. But in 2016 we have a presidential election coming up. Despite Barack Obama's dismal approval rating in 2013, unless the Republicans can shed themselves of the tea party- evangelists, they have little chance of gaining control of the Senate and only a slightly better chance of putting their candidate into the White House, because these are at-large races, and overall public sentiment does matter in at-large elections. They may be able to gain the White House by concentrating on a propitious mix of red States with large numbers of electors -- but their problem is that, except for Texas, there isn't any. All the States, save Texas, with large numbers of electors are normally blue, or purple at best! Their only hope may be to surreptitiously back an independent candidate with strong appeal to Democrats, or failing that, to look for another Kathryn Harris in the woodpile of a big blue State with a Republican Governor. The House on the other hand could remain in Republican control for years, so long as the safe districts remain intact.
The Republicans, despite dismal prospects, are not content with only the House. This is why they will break now from their tea party-evangelist contingent and let them twist slowly in the wind. Meanwhile the Republican monolith will crumble, while they work feverishly to re-build the GOP on more centrist lines in time for the November 2016 election. There are many smart and cagey Republicans, they know they have little chance to gain the Senate or White House if they endorse policy positions out of step with what the majority of voters want, and they know that changing U.S. demographics does not favor them if they stick to the monolith's message of "over my dead body".
Democracy is a bitch when you know you're right and everyone else is wrong!
But there is way more to Washington Politics than the House of Representatives. The Old Line GOP functionaries have their sites on the Senate and White House. To gain these prizes you have to run at large, and therein lies great difficulties ahead for the Republican party, a party that has come down on the wrong side, according to opinion polls, of major issues, and thus insists on shooting itself in the foot -- gay rights, gays in the military, women's rights, military spending, gun control, health care, social security, medicare, medicaid, immigration. This is not to say that by influence (i.e., money) and obstructive tactics the GOP has not often been able to prevail against public sentiment, it has in some cases. And when it could not win an outright victory, it has often succeeded in throwing a monkey wrench into the works. It was also helped in fortuitous ways by Democrat incompetence.
The Democrats are not, and have not been, the monolith that the Republicans have been as of late- though just now we are seeing the first cracks appear in that monolith. Since at least the days of the Dixiecrats there has been a core of senators and representatives within the Democrat party that are Democrats in name only since they have had a nearly 100% Republican voting record. These are the old-line, Deep South "Democrats" (Dixiecrats, Boll Weevils, Blue Dog Democrats, etc.) -- consider Gene Taylor, while in the House he virtually never voted with his party, except on non-controversial, inconsequential issues.
In recent years, we are finally seeing white, Deep South, Republican politicians actually running as Republicans, and Deep South, black, Democrat politicians actually running as Democrats. This makes sense, but having it take as long as it did to get the labels glued on the right drawers does not speak highly of the typical Deep South voter.
Still, even after properly relabeling these Deep South politicians, there is no Democrat monolith. You had Max Baucus, for example, a Montana "Democrat", torpedoing the ACA; thus doing the bidding of the Senate Republican leadership against his own party. The Democrats are not a monolith.
And the Republicans are not normally either -- the monolithic Republican voting block in the House and Senate since 2009 has been remarkable. A testament, certainly, to whomever was holding the Republican strings in the House and Senate -- we assume it was Boehner and McConnell. The monolith spoke as a unified body. Its message was extraordinary; it announced that its primary goal was to get rid of the White House's present occupant. Apparently good government and effective legislation was a distant second on the minds of the ideologues from whom the monolith was constructed.
We have a mid-term election coming up. A realignment is highly unlikely. The Democrats will continue to control the Senate and the Republicans the House. But in 2016 we have a presidential election coming up. Despite Barack Obama's dismal approval rating in 2013, unless the Republicans can shed themselves of the tea party- evangelists, they have little chance of gaining control of the Senate and only a slightly better chance of putting their candidate into the White House, because these are at-large races, and overall public sentiment does matter in at-large elections. They may be able to gain the White House by concentrating on a propitious mix of red States with large numbers of electors -- but their problem is that, except for Texas, there isn't any. All the States, save Texas, with large numbers of electors are normally blue, or purple at best! Their only hope may be to surreptitiously back an independent candidate with strong appeal to Democrats, or failing that, to look for another Kathryn Harris in the woodpile of a big blue State with a Republican Governor. The House on the other hand could remain in Republican control for years, so long as the safe districts remain intact.
The Republicans, despite dismal prospects, are not content with only the House. This is why they will break now from their tea party-evangelist contingent and let them twist slowly in the wind. Meanwhile the Republican monolith will crumble, while they work feverishly to re-build the GOP on more centrist lines in time for the November 2016 election. There are many smart and cagey Republicans, they know they have little chance to gain the Senate or White House if they endorse policy positions out of step with what the majority of voters want, and they know that changing U.S. demographics does not favor them if they stick to the monolith's message of "over my dead body".
Democracy is a bitch when you know you're right and everyone else is wrong!