Support NeoGAF

[balladofwindfishes]

I was recently emailed this: http://www.markshannon.com/republicandemocrat.htm

Wow, at the cognitive dissonance and blatant lies.

Haha
I like how most of the Democrat column can be more appropriately applied to the Republican column

 

[zero_suit]

obama to select Richard Cordray to lead CFPB. good choice..

It looks like he didn't work for Goldman Sachs or at any of the big banks. That's promising...

 

[Byakuya769]

It looks like he didn't work for Goldman Sachs or at any of the big banks. That's promising...

Not for confirmation it's not. I expect an Inhofe block.

 

[Incognito]

some background re: Cordray.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010...davits-maximum-damages-exceed-10-billion.html

regarding his lawsuit filed against GMAC as attorney general of ohio:

The actions by lenders that I am talking about today show gross disregard for the integrity of this legal process and for the private property rights of homeowners.

We are talking about lenders and servicers treating foreclosure not as a legal proceeding that deserves the careful attention of the property owner, the servicer of the mortgage and the courts, but rather as a production line making widgets, that accords foreclosures little deliberate accuracy that the law – or for, that matter, basic courtesy and common sense – mandates be given to such serious matters.”

When challenged by one reporter about the fact that the borrowers were in fact delinquent and that merits some action on the part of the lender, Cordray struck back. “What each side merits is that proper legal processes be carefully followed… If we would file a case with an affidavit we know to be false, that is seen as a very serious matter by the court. I don’t see why this should be taken any more lightly.”

http://washingtonindependent.com/10...-foreclosure-now-at-epicenter-of-fraud-crisis

Officials in Ohio were among the first and the most aggressive in going after the banks making fraudulent foreclosures. On Sept. 30, Ohio’s secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner, told the state’s boards of elections not to use foreclosures to disqualify voters, under the premise that hundreds or even thousands of foreclosures in the state might be illegitimate. Then, last week, Richard Cordray, Ohio’s attorney general, filed a lawsuit against GMAC, seeking $25,000 for every violation of the state’s consumer-protection laws. It was the biggest and boldest legal action taken against mortgage companies since the crisis started unfolding.

“Some ugly revelations have recently come to light about how foreclosures are bring processed in this country,” Cordray said at a press conference on Wednesday. “It appears that, on a mass scale, many homeowners are being deprived of their property based on phony affidavits and without the due and proper processes of law. It is now becoming clear that fraud, deception and an utter disregard for accuracy are in part to blame for our national foreclosure disaster.”

In an interview with TWI, Cordray stressed that the problems were systemic and the violations serious. “What we’re talking about here is not just sloppy paperwork,” he said. “We’re talking about fraud in a court of law. The [foreclosure document signers] were lying under oath, to a judge. And there is evidence that this company has illegally ousted people from their private property, violating their property rights.”

Cordray did not just sue GMAC, but also wrote letters to other major banks, calling on them to investigate their foreclosure processes and to stop evicting families immediately. In intervening days, banks have stopped selling their previously repossessed properties, and have mostly halted the foreclosure and eviction process in Ohio.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Seems like a good choice. I've always felt if one person was the ONLY person worthy of running the board, what does that say about its effectiveness and longevity?

Probably won't be confirmed but maybe the GOP won't feel he's worth blocking from recess appointments

 

[reilo]

He's got some Kenneth The Page thing going on.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Not for confirmation it's not. I expect an Inhofe block.

Not only that, but they will continue to prevent the Senate from having any true recesses, as they have all year, so as to prevent Obama from being able to appoint him. Neutering the CFPB is one of the GOP's top priorities, and the nominee itself does not matter.

The CFPB cannot engage in rulemaking - only enforcement - until it had a chairman. And since the Senate can block that position from ever being filled, I do not have hopes that it will be, until Reid gets some balls and forces the GOP to stay through a nice long holiday recess in order to force a true recess during which Obama can make the appointment.

Their opposition to Warren was partly personal, but it was mostly about the role. Obama is mistaken if he thinks just chosing someone else will allow that role to be filled.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

No chance of happening but wow

Coburn to Offer $9 Trillion Budget-Cut Plan to Spur Debt Talks
July 17, 2011, 3:41 PM EDT

By David Lerman and Laura Litvan

(Adds Treasury comment in 17th paragraph.)

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Republican Senator Tom Coburn said he will unveil a plan tomorrow that would cut $9 trillion from the federal budget over the next 10 years in an effort to curb spending and avoid a default on U.S. debt.

While he said he doesn’t expect his plan to pass Congress, it would offer a wide range of spending cuts and revenue increases that could be used as the basis for bipartisan negotiations on a budget compromise.

“We have $9 trillion worth of savings that are achievable over the next ten years,” Coburn said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “Pick half of them. Half of them solve our problems.”

With Washington deadlocked on a strategy to cut spending and raise the nation’s borrowing limit before an Aug. 2 deadline, the Oklahoma Republican said he will offer a 10-year plan that cuts defense by $1 trillion, makes changes to Social Security and Medicare, and raises $1 trillion through changes in the tax code, among other things.

Some Republicans, including Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, have resisted any talk of tax increases as part of a budget deal.

“We should focus on the real problem, the spike in spending, and not this phony problem of taxes,” Kyl said on ABC’s “This Week” program.

Tax Loopholes

Yet Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said today he would consider closing tax loopholes “like the ethanol subsidy” to boost revenue as part of a budget deal.

“I would be willing to close loopholes and put some of the money on debt retirement, but I will only do that in the context of a serious plan to balance the budget,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Coburn’s push to cut defense by $1 trillion over 10 years is likely to draw opposition. President Barack Obama has called for cutting military spending by $400 billion over 12 years, while rejecting an earlier proposal for a $1 trillion cut as excessive.

“I think we need to cut defense, but as commander in chief I’ve got to make sure that we’re cutting it in a way that recognizes we’re still in the middle of a war,” Obama said at a July 15 news conference.

‘Not Super Hard’

Coburn said a $1 trillion cut to defense over a decade “is difficult, but it’s not super hard.”

Coburn’s plan also would cut almost $2 trillion in non- defense discretionary spending over 10 years, while raising about $1 trillion in new revenue by cutting or eliminating tax breaks and loopholes by about 10 percent, according to a congressional aide.

Coburn said his plan, if enacted in its entirety, would save $1 trillion in interest payments over the next nine years.

The White House, meanwhile, is continuing to reach out to lawmakers in both parties this weekend in search of a deficit- cutting deal as the default deadline looms.

“I think there’s still time to get something big done,” said Jack Lew, the White House director of the Office of Management and Budget, on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“The question is, do we have a partner to work with? And I hope the answer to that is yes,” Lew added.

No Alternative

Treasury Department officials continue to reject suggestions they could prioritize payments and insist there are no alternatives to raising the debt limit, a Treasury official said today. About $90 billion in debt matures on Aug. 4 and more than $30 billion in interest comes due Aug. 15, said the official, who declined to be identified because the department’s discussions aren’t public. Overall, more than $500 billion matures in August.

White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said on Twitter that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other White House officials were discussing “various options” with lawmakers throughout the day yesterday.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner is “keeping the lines of communication open,” said his spokesman, Mike Steel. But Steel couldn’t offer assurances that a deal will be reached soon.

“Conversations have continued throughout the weekend, but there is no news or progress to report,” Steel said by e-mail today.

Fallback Plan

In the Senate, a fallback plan by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that allows the president to unilaterally raise the debt limit is moving ahead. McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid this weekend are negotiating changes to his proposal, with a goal of putting a measure before the Senate as early as Wednesday, said a Senate Democratic aide.

The two are still discussing ways to alter McConnell’s complex proposal, which would let the president raise the ceiling on borrowing authority by $2.5 trillion by the end of 2012 with support of just over one-third of the members of each chamber.

Coburn said today he is “unlikely” to support such a plan because it doesn’t cut spending enough.

“A $2 trillion package will do nothing to reassure the world economic community that we get it,” he said, adding any deal must include at least $4 trillion of cuts.

Graham said he also would resist the McConnell-Reid stopgap measure. He said on CNN he “doesn’t have any confidence” that the proposal of the Senate leaders “is going to lead to the solutions that we need.”

Tough Votes

McConnell wants the increase in the debt limit to occur in three stages, forcing Democrats to take a series of tough votes before next year’s elections.

Democrats are seeking to reduce the number of debt-limit votes to two, and they are also pushing to include caps on discretionary spending over the next two years, the aide said. Such caps would help forestall repeats of the government shutdown battle that dominated Congress for much of this year for the remainder of Obama’s term.

McConnell and Reid are nearing agreement on a new joint congressional committee on deficit reduction that would be included in the plan, the aide said. The bipartisan panel would have eight or 12 members, and would make recommendations as early as next year on a broad plan to curb record-high deficits. The plan it produces that would be protected from a Senate filibuster and couldn’t be amended, protections similar to those offered a commission that has recommended military base closures, the aide said.

While the two Senate leaders are continuing to discuss a package of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion in spending cuts that could be attached to the legislation, it is unclear whether the package will be agreed to when the measure is introduced, the aide said.

--With assistance by Ian Katz, Julianna Goldman and Brian Faler in Washington. Editors: Ann Hughey, Robin Meszoly.

.

 

[PantherLotus]

Yes, I know I'm politically bi-polar and swoon over President Obama's rising populist, middle-ground rhetoric, while in equal parts fearing his somewhat obvious slide to the right. There's lots of things I'm kinda pissy about, but I do sometimes wonder if he doesn't want some of these draconian cuts.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Yes, I know I'm politically bi-polar and swoon over President Obama's rising populist, middle-ground rhetoric, while in equal parts fearing his somewhat obvious slide to the right. There's lots of things I'm kinda pissy about, but I do sometimes wonder if he doesn't want some of these draconian cuts.

I'm sure he does. We have a deficit problem but as repeated so often it isn't entitlements.

 

[PantherLotus]

Well I'm not going to pretend that Medicare/Medicaid don't need a little work.

I dunno. The whole not-prosecuting-wall-street thing is really eating at me. Seems pretty brazen.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Well I'm not going to pretend that Medicare/Medicaid don't need a little work.

I dunno. The whole not-prosecuting-wall-street thing is really eating at me. Seems pretty brazen.

I wonder if the Rupert Murdoch hacking scandal had happened in the states if there would have been any arrests like there have been in the UK. Know what should really eat at us? Media who hacked into a missing girl (now dead) have been arrested by individuals who literally robbed the people of this country of BILLIONS of dollars and who helped usher in a great recession have never once faced a court of law or indictment. Disgusting.

 

[Oblivion]

http://stuff.jonwhitestudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/fun-with-the-debt-ceiling.jpg

 

[capslock]

I like Tom Coburn. He seems like one of the few Republicans who has some real principles.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Nope. And well said.


This is something I've thought about a lot. It seems as though most of the attacks that were leveled against PPACA wouldn't have gotten any traction if we'd simply taken the parsimonious and easy-to-understand tack of saying, "let's give Medicare to everyone." And we would have gotten much better results for it.

The public option and medicare buy in were pretty much single handedly killed by Joe Lieberman in the senate.


a Medicare for All bill (HR 676) was introduced in the House in Oct 2009 but wasn't brought up for debate :/

 

[Baraka in the White House]

The public option and medicare buy in were pretty much single handedly killed by Joe Lieberman in the senate.

So glad that little imp is hanging it up.

 

[GhaleonEB]

For Republicans, this plan is something close to the best of all possible worlds (sorry, but I do not consider a world in which "Cut, Cap, and Balance" passes to be a possible one): It's all spending cuts and no revenues. It's a little plan that denies the Obama administration the political and substantive benefits of a big plan. It's a multi-part plan -- which is more important than people realize -- that forces Democrats to take three hard votes between now and the election, and almost ensures that deficit reduction will be an issue in 2013 and beyond. It's a plan that smartly pockets more than a trillion dollars in spending cuts Democrats can sort-of accept and only then begins a grand bargain process, ensuring that if there's a grand bargain later, it will cut far deeper into the bone of Democratic priorities. If it passes, Republicans will have escaped these negotiations without making any significant political or policy concessions.

As for the Democrats? Well, it's a deal. No particular part of it is so objectionably that Harry Reid couldn't pass it if he tried. And it raises the debt ceiling. That's not a particularly rousing argument, but perhaps it will be enough.​

The great negotiator in action.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...-debt-ceiling/2011/07/18/gIQAKoRZLI_blog.html

 

[besada]

Poll: Americans Unimpressed With GOP in Debt Talks
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...nimpressed-with-gop-in-debt-talks.php?ref=fpa

71% of respondents disapproved of Republicans' handling of the debt talks, with only 21% approving. But beyond the lack of general buy-in to their legislative tactics, CBS reports that they even face a challenge in convincing their own base.

 

[gcubed]

For Republicans, this plan is something close to the best of all possible worlds (sorry, but I do not consider a world in which "Cut, Cap, and Balance" passes to be a possible one): It's all spending cuts and no revenues. It's a little plan that denies the Obama administration the political and substantive benefits of a big plan. It's a multi-part plan -- which is more important than people realize -- that forces Democrats to take three hard votes between now and the election, and almost ensures that deficit reduction will be an issue in 2013 and beyond. It's a plan that smartly pockets more than a trillion dollars in spending cuts Democrats can sort-of accept and only then begins a grand bargain process, ensuring that if there's a grand bargain later, it will cut far deeper into the bone of Democratic priorities. If it passes, Republicans will have escaped these negotiations without making any significant political or policy concessions.

As for the Democrats? Well, it's a deal. No particular part of it is so objectionably that Harry Reid couldn't pass it if he tried. And it raises the debt ceiling. That's not a particularly rousing argument, but perhaps it will be enough.​

The great negotiator in action.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...-debt-ceiling/2011/07/18/gIQAKoRZLI_blog.html

its a combination of that and the shit hole that is Harry Reid.

 

[teruterubozu]

They should call it "streamlining" Medicare, not "cuts". This admin sucks at finding the right word - "bailout", "stimulus", etc.

 

[Chichikov]

http://stuff.jonwhitestudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/fun-with-the-debt-ceiling.jpg

That's great.

Edit: that site is just great in general.

p.s.

Yeah, I think I'm going to make it a thing or something.

 

[Novid]

http://www.egan-jones.com/client/download/RAR/3352Z%20US_110716.pdf

Then a CNBC interview with one of Egan Jones's members:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000033600

 

[zero_suit]

http://www.egan-jones.com/client/download/RAR/3352Z%20US_110716.pdf

Then a CNBC interview with one of Egan Jones's members:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000033600

I was wondering why the Dow was down so much...

 

[mckmas8808]

I dunno. The whole not-prosecuting-wall-street thing is really eating at me. Seems pretty brazen.

Well Wall Street isn't getting away purely scott free. But at the same time I do understand where you are coming from.

 

[besada]

Probably been covered before, but this made me stop and laugh out loud:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/17/herman-cain-fox-mosques_n_900939.html

"Let's go back to the fundamental issue," Cain said. "Islam is both a religion and a set of laws -- Sharia laws. That's the difference between any one of our traditional religions where it's just about religious purposes."

Because no one would ever try to enshrine Christian religious principles in law...

Oh, wait. He's forgotten Roy Moore, from his own state.

 

[empty vessel]

http://www.egan-jones.com/client/download/RAR/3352Z%20US_110716.pdf

Then a CNBC interview with one of Egan Jones's members:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000033600

I don't know how people take this shit seriously:

Real GDP increased at an annualized rate of 4.0% in Q1 2011, following an increase of 3.5% rise in the prior quarter. Personal consumption expenditures, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment contributed positively to growth during the quarter. Meanwhile, imports rose sharply. In the March 2011 quarter, trade in goods and services resulted in a deficit of $562B, many because of the high price of petroleum. However, the major factor driving credit quality is the relatively high level of debt and the difficulty in significantly cutting spending. We are taking a negative action not based on the delay in raising the debt ceiling but rather our concern about the high level of debt to GDP in excess of 100% compared to Canada's 35%. Nonetheless, since the US's debt is denominated in dollars, a hard default is unlikely.

Political nonsense.

More from the rating's founder personally:

“We’ll give the government negotiators a chance to see if they can come up with serious cuts by then,” he said, adding that those cuts would have to be significantly more than the $2 trillion “smaller” deal proposed by Republicans.

“That would have to be coupled with serious indications of more cuts to come, in programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the military,” Egan said.

http://www.onwallstreet.com/news/egan-jones-debt-rating-downgrade-2674191-1.html

Guy is a jackass.

 

[mckmas8808]

For Republicans, this plan is something close to the best of all possible worlds (sorry, but I do not consider a world in which "Cut, Cap, and Balance" passes to be a possible one): It's all spending cuts and no revenues. It's a little plan that denies the Obama administration the political and substantive benefits of a big plan. It's a multi-part plan -- which is more important than people realize -- that forces Democrats to take three hard votes between now and the election, and almost ensures that deficit reduction will be an issue in 2013 and beyond. It's a plan that smartly pockets more than a trillion dollars in spending cuts Democrats can sort-of accept and only then begins a grand bargain process, ensuring that if there's a grand bargain later, it will cut far deeper into the bone of Democratic priorities. If it passes, Republicans will have escaped these negotiations without making any significant political or policy concessions.

As for the Democrats? Well, it's a deal. No particular part of it is so objectionably that Harry Reid couldn't pass it if he tried. And it raises the debt ceiling. That's not a particularly rousing argument, but perhaps it will be enough.​

The great negotiator in action.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...-debt-ceiling/2011/07/18/gIQAKoRZLI_blog.html

No way this deal is done this way. I doubt even the GOP would find enough votes on their side to do this shitty deal.

And isn't the negotiator in action Harry Reid and McConnell?

I don't know how people take this shit seriously:



Political nonsense.

More from the rating's founder personally:



http://www.onwallstreet.com/news/egan-jones-debt-rating-downgrade-2674191-1.html

Guy is a jackass.

Did the guy say anything about tax increases or cutting tax loopholes or ending tax breaks?

 

[Incognito]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2...and_no_one_says_he_supports_huntsman_or_.html

"If there's a dash, that means no one chose that candidate," says ARG president Dick Bennett. "So, no one chose Pawlenty or Huntsman."

The good news: According to Nate Silver, ARG is one of the least accurate pollsters in the business, better only than Insider Advantage and the atrocious Zogby Interactive. So the barren Pawlenty and Huntsman numbers are probably outliers. That still means that Cain and Bachmann are lapping them.

yeah, it's ARG... but still. :lol

 

[Chichikov]

I don't know how people take this shit seriously:



Political nonsense.

More from the rating's founder personally:



http://www.onwallstreet.com/news/egan-jones-debt-rating-downgrade-2674191-1.html

Guy is a jackass.

The investor class is protecting its interests.

 

[RustyNails]

Elizabeth Warren "strongly" considering running for Scott Brown's senate seat in MA

Sunday's announced nomination of former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was a blow to liberals hoping for White House consumer protection adviser Elizabeth Warren to head the new regulatory body. But it doesn't look like the Harvard law professor and tenacious Wall Street critic is going to let that political capital go to waste: According to a number of reports, she's strongly considering running for Senator Scott Brown's seat in Massachusetts--and she's likely the left's best hope. "Political experts [say] Warren has both the appeal and the access to deep donor pockets to seriously challenge Brown," reports the Boston Herald this morning. "And given the role Senate Republicans played in derailing her shot at the federal post, she could have a strong motive to recapture the iconic so-called Kennedy seat for the Democrats."

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Elizabeth Warren "strongly" considering running for Scott Brown's senate seat in MA

 

[gcubed]

Elizabeth Warren "strongly" considering running for Scott Brown's senate seat in MA

good for her, Brown at least appears to have been pragmatic so it will be slightly harder to beat him but she is liked by both types of voters (for how much the GOP itself doesnt like her, their constituents had a better view of her)

 

[speculawyer]

Probably been covered before, but this made me stop and laugh out loud:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/17/herman-cain-fox-mosques_n_900939.html


Because no one would ever try to enshrine Christian religious principles in law...

Oh, wait. He's forgotten Roy Moore, from his own state.

Or Christian-based laws about abortion.
Or Christian-based laws about gays.
Or Christian-based Blue laws.
Or Christian-based abstinence-only dreck.
Or Christian-based Creationist stuff.
etc.

 

[mckmas8808]

Elizabeth Warren "strongly" considering running for Scott Brown's senate seat in MA

Sounds like a win-win. Nominate a good person to the CFPA than could "possibly" get passed through and watch Warren win the Senate spot in Mass.

 

[gcubed]

Or Christian-based laws about abortion.
Or Christian-based laws about gays.
Or Christian-based Blue laws.
Or Christian-based abstinence-only dreck.
Or Christian-based Creationist stuff.
etc.

but christianity and america are hand in hand. Christian God's laws are not laws, but a way of life.

 

[RustyNails]

Sounds like a win-win. Nominate a good person to the CFPA than could "possibly" get passed through and watch Warren win the Senate spot in Mass.

She probably won't announce the official senate bid until the CFPA leader is confirmed to avoid GOP from speculating on this win-win scenario.

 

[Kosmo]

Sorry guys, haven't been around in a few days - did I miss discussion of Bachmann's "Choot-spa"

Spoiler

chutzpah

? Hilarious - definitely a "Palin" moment if there ever was one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_mWlXvKnq8&feature=related

 

[gcubed]

Idiots...


GOP chairman Reince Priebus...

"It is with grave concern that I write to request a Department of Justice investigation into an apparent crime committed by President Barack Obama. On or about June 27, 2011, Obama for America Campaign Manager Jim Messina sent an email message containing an announcement he said President Obama wanted to make personally.

The message solicited funds for a raffle, of which the winner would have the opportunity to have dinner with President Obama and Vice-President Biden.

'If you haven't yet thrown your name in the hat for this thing,' Mr. Messina wrote, 'I have a feeling this announcement might change that.'

Embedded in Mr. Messina's message was a video of President Obama, along with a link to a website through which donors could enter the raffle by making contributions to the President's reelection campaign. ...

According to multiple individuals with knowledge of the White House's rooms and layout, the video appears to have been recorded in the Map Room. According to news reports, however, the White House Counsel has indicated that the video was filmed somewhere in the residential portion of the White House. ...

As Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I have the responsibility to hold the President accountable for his reckless spending, for the unsustainable growth of government and the crushing debt he is leaving for future generations of Americans, and now, sadly, for his apparent criminal behavior. I never expected I would be in this regrettable position, but the President's conduct and the White House staff's stonewalling leave me no choice"

meanwhile...

In this case, it should be noted that the video is set in the Map Room -- which, contrary to the GOP letter, is part of the White House residence, as opposed to a West Wing office.

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...ests-obama-white-house-campaign-video-crime/1

 

[Chichikov]

Sorry guys, haven't been around in a few days - did I miss discussion of Bachmann's "Choot-spa"

Spoiler

chutzpah

? Hilarious - definitely a "Palin" moment if there ever was one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_mWlXvKnq8&feature=related

This just a silly mispronunciation, hardly a Palin moment.

Palin gaffes are a bigger deal because they to demonstrate a staggering ignorance and a shocking lack of preparation.

This is just funny.
But man, it's pretty damn funny.

Idiots...


GOP chairman Reince Priebus...


meanwhile...



http://content.usatoday.com/communi...ests-obama-white-house-campaign-video-crime/1

I don't think you should use any part of the white house for campaigning.
I know everyone does it, I know the GOP are massive hypocrites, I know it's part of the game.

It's still feel very very wrong.

p.s.
Reince Priebus' (or whoever authored that press release) writing is embarrassing.

 

[Mike M]

Idiots...


GOP chairman Reince Priebus...


meanwhile...



http://content.usatoday.com/communi...ests-obama-white-house-campaign-video-crime/1

What exactly is the supposed crime? Something about using West Wing offices for reelection?

 

[gcubed]

What exactly is the supposed crime? Something about using West Wing offices for reelection?

you can't use west wing offices in campaign ad's, etc. There is enough backlash from using backdrops instead of the actual location, the only difference is you can't use White House offices, the map room is part of the residence.

Chichikov... thats a whole different argument, but its just in response to the shit tastic letter from Reince.

"As Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I have the responsibility to hold the President accountable for his reckless spending, for the unsustainable growth of government and the crushing debt he is leaving for future generations of Americans, and now, sadly, for his apparent criminal behavior"

seriously? If you are going to throw that out there, make sure you do your homework.

 

[mckmas8808]

Moody's warns again on U.S. debt
By Charles Riley @CNNMoney July 18, 2011: 1:19 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Credit rating agency Moody's dinged a key backup plan to raise the debt ceiling Monday, and said the United States would be better off if the ceiling was eliminated entirely.

Lawmakers appeared to make little or no progress on the debt ceiling over the weekend, and the deadline to raise the country's legal borrowing limit is now just over two weeks away.

On Monday, Moody's threw some cold water on a backup plan that is gaining momentum among lawmakers as the chances of a compromise deal fade.
The plan, crafted by Sens. Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid, would allow the debt ceiling to be increased, while shifting the political blame for that action from Congress to the White House.

The measure would allow for three short-term increases of the debt ceiling while at the same time letting lawmakers register their disapproval. The first increase would boost the debt limit by $700 billion and the next two by $900 billion each.
Moody's said that part of the plan would reduce pressure.
"Any proposal that reduced the risk of payment disruptions would be a positive step in the short term," the report said.

But Moody's warned the measure should include substantial spending cuts as well.
"Without more substantial deficit reductions being included in such a plan, it would be negative for the long-term outlook," the report said.
The details of the plan have yet to be ironed out, and it's possible that the final bill will include spending cuts. McConnell and Reid are reportedly considering adding a basket of spending cuts to the package, but nothing has been finalized.
In addition, Moody's suggested the U.S. would be better off if the debt ceiling were eliminated entirely.

The limit has not effectively restrained spending, Moody's notes, and the legislative process "creates periodic uncertainty over the government's ability to meet its obligations."
U.S. credit: Raising debt ceiling isn't enough

"We would reduce our assessment of event risk if the government changed its framework for managing government debt to lessen or eliminate this uncertainty," the report said.
Moody's said that because lawmakers have consistently acted to raise the debt ceiling, it had not considered the event high risk in the past. But the situation is different now.

"The currently wide division between the House of Representatives and the Obama administration over the debt limit creates a higher level of uncertainty and causes us to raise our assessment of event risk," the report said.
Moody's said last week it would likely change its outlook on the AAA rating to "negative" from "stable" unless "substantial and credible agreement is achieved on a budget that includes long-term deficit reduction."

Moody's didn't define specifically what it meant by a "substantial and credible" agreement for debt reduction, but presumably having absolutely no agreement would not qualify.
​

##############


Are more of you guys okay with getting rid of the debt ceiling completely?

 

[PantherLotus]

Of course.

 

[Chichikov]

Are more of you guys okay with getting rid of the debt ceiling completely?

Of course.
It's a pointless procedure that was only ever used as a partisan tool.

 

[GhaleonEB]

We're one of few nations to even have a debt ceiling.

 

[zero_suit]

Get rid of it.

 

[TacticalFox88]

Poll: Americans Unimpressed With GOP in Debt Talks
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...nimpressed-with-gop-in-debt-talks.php?ref=fpa

wow im surprised that most of them were intelligent enough to see through it. I expected it to be in the twenties. Yes, im THAT cynical about the intelligence of the average voter

 

[Plumbob]

wow im surprised that most of them were intelligent enough to see through it. I expected it to be in the twenties. Yes, im THAT cynical about the intelligence of the average voter

The average voter has one testicle. What do you expect?

 

[Novid]

We're one of few nations to even have a debt ceiling.

What are the other nations that have one?

 

[Bulbo Urethral Baggins]

Of course.
It's a pointless procedure that was only ever used as a partisan tool.

I think it once served an actual purpose, didn't it?