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[Jason's Ultimatum]

REVEALED: Cantor’s Secret Memo For $350bn In Cuts

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...-in-medicaremedicaid-cuts-savings.php?ref=fpa

Going after the poor. Typical.

 

[mckmas8808]

As I understand it, the Republican party in Texas intended to reapportion away his district. He's not running because he probably couldn't have been re-elected.

Why do they hate Ron Paul?

 

[gcubed]

Why do they hate Ron Paul?

because he doesnt fall in line

 

[timetokill]

because he doesnt fall in line

Yep, pretty much. For instance he voted against the Patriot Act.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Who would have thought an anti-gay Republican would be caught in bed with another man?

 

[Invisible_Insane]

Who would have thought an anti-gay Republican would be caught in bed with another man?

Is it even funny anymore? It's just kind of sad.

 

[Dr. Pangloss]

Scientist/audiophile Dan Warren used the audio of Dreams for My Father to create a bizarre creation myth, in which a savior with the body of a dog sees the apocalypse and brings about a new world in "Son of Strelka, Son of God." Chapters one and two animated on youtube:

Chapter One
Chapter Two

Original website with all 9 chapters free in audio form, and a brief synopsis for each one: http://danwarren.blogspot.com/2011/07/son-of-strelka-son-of-god-audio-odyssey.html

This made me miss the writing that Obama has done. Love him or hate him, I will be getting his memoirs on day one.

 

[Chichikov]

Who would have thought an anti-gay Republican would be caught in bed with another man?

It's never lesbians.


Seriously though, there's something inherently fishy about people that obsess so much about guys getting rimmed up the ass.
I don't know about you guys, but I try not to think about it.

 

[eznark]

It's never lesbians.


Seriously though, there's something inherently fishy about people that obsess so much about guys getting rimmed up the ass.
I don't know about you guys, but I try not to think about it.

closet case total

 

[GhaleonEB]

Is it even funny anymore? It's just kind of sad.

Still hilarious. And timely, given the discussion around Bachman's husband.

Edit: so much for being timely. It's three years old. :\

 

[Evlar]

Kent Conrad released/is about to release his budget. I'm going to copypasta all of Ezra Klein's analysis on this, which I normally don't do. Here's the link to the original, check it out to give him a hit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ile/2011/07/11/gIQARfilAI_blog.html#pagebreak

I'm pasting all of it for two reasons. First, the analysis is interesting, particularly in the way Klein discusses tax policy and how loopy the political world is right now... all of the so-called tax increases everyone shies away from, including Conrad's, are in reality total tax reductions in comparison to just letting the Bush tax cuts expire on schedule in 2012. Second, this is possibly the only time you'll hear about Conrad's budget so it may as well be in depth and informative.

Kent Conrad’s budget: Late, but worthwhile

If the Senate Democrats release a budget and it doesn’t have a chance, will it make a sound? Probably not. Or at least not much of one. Which is a shame. Because though Sen. Kent Conrad is releasing his budget way, way, way too late, there’s a lot in here worth considering.

Conrad is chairman of the Budget Committee and a longtime deficit hawk, so as you’d expect, his budget hits all the typical targets. According to the Budget Committee, it’s got $4 trillion of deficit reduction over 10 years and takes deficits from 9.3 percent of GDP in 2011 to 2.5 percent in 2015 and 1.3 percent in 2021. But you’re probably used to hearing about deficit plans that cut $4 trillion by now. What’s different is how Conrad’s proposal does it.

“When Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee approached this problem, we looked at it in historical perspective,” Conrad said in a speech on the Senate floor. “How did we get into this problem? Half of it is on the revenue side. So we chose to deal with a solution that deals on both sides of the ledger.” The Conrad budget relies on a 50:50 split between revenues and spending cuts — and, since it counts reduced interest payments as spending cuts, you can argue it does a lot more than half on the tax side. But let’s take the two sides separately.

Spending cuts: Conrad’s budget includes $886 billion in cuts to security spending (achieved by reducing spending by one percentage point each year until 2015, and then holding growth at GDP-1 percent) and $314 billion in cuts to non-security discretionary spending (which, adjusted for inflation, holds it below 2008 levels for the next 10 years). So all in all, that’s $1.2 trillion from the “discretionary spending” category.

That leaves mandatory spending: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, farm subsidies, etc. The Budget Committee isn’t naming any cuts from this pot, though I’m told some will be in the final document. So how do they get to $2 trillion on the spending side? Interest. The tax increases and the spending cuts mean we won’t have to borrow as much money over the next 10 years, which means we won’t have to pay as much in interest. The budget counts the money we’re no longer spending on interest payments as spending reductions, which is how they get to $2 trillion. Altogether, this leaves total spending at about 22 percent of GDP — approximately where it was in the Reagan years.

Taxes: Conrad likes to note that on the five occasions when the budget hit surplus in the past 40 years, revenues were somewhere between 19.5 percent and 20.6 percent of GDP. Conrad seeks to get them back to 19.5 percent of GDP, the low end of that range.

His budget proposes to hold the current tax rates for families with incomes below $1 million and to restore the Clinton-era tax rates for everyone above that. The estate tax goes back to its 2009 levels — low, but higher than it is now — while the alternative minimum tax gets patched up for awhile longer and the maximum tax rate on capital gains and dividends is raised from 15 percent to 20 percent.

That, as far as I can tell, is the budget’s tax baseline — and it’s a baseline that raises money against where we are now. From there, the budget uses a tax reform process that cuts unnamed expenditures and corporate breaks until it’s raised $2 trillion. That’s why I say the budget raises more than it suggests on the tax side: Whereas the specific spending cuts amount to less than $2 trillion, the tax increases amount to more than $2 trillion, at least compared to where we are now.

But as Conrad noted on the Senate floor, it amounts to a bit tax cut from where we’re scheduled to be in two years. “If the CBO scored the proposal by Senate Budget Committee Democrats, they would not say there is any tax increase here at all. Let me repeat that. If the Congressional Budget Office scored this proposal by Senate Budget Committee Democrats, they would say there is a $765 billion tax cut over 10 years. How can that be? How can I be saying there is $2 trillion of additional revenue over 10 years, and the Congressional Budget Office would say — if they evaluated this plan by Budget Committee Democrats — they would say it is a $765 billion tax cut? The reason is simple.”

“In our plan, we extend all of the middle-class tax cuts. In addition, we actually broaden the middle-class tax cuts so that nobody is affected by a rate increase unless they are a couple earning over $1 million a year. We also provide the alternative minimum tax relief to prevent millions of middle-class people from being affected by that law. As I indicated earlier, that costs $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years to shield middle-class taxpayers from that. Third, we provide estate tax reform at the 2009 levels so that well over 99 percent of estates are completely shielded or exempt.”

So although the Conrad plan includes much more in taxes than the Republican plan, or Obama’s plan, it includes less than if we did nothing. But it turns out to be enough. “This year the deficit is 9.3 percent of gross domestic product. We bring it down very steadily until we get down to 1.3 percent in the 10th year — a lower deficit in dollar terms, a lower deficit as a share of GDP than the House Republican plan. Let me repeat that. The Senate Democrats on the Budget Committee — our plan reduces the deficit by the 10th year by more than the Republicans in total, and in the 10th year we have a lower deficit in dollar terms and a lower deficit as a share of GDP.”

But perhaps it doesn’t matter. This is perhaps the budget Democrats should have released initially, but now it’s been preempted by Obama’s April proposal, which was was far to the right of this one, and the deal he offered Boehner last weekend, which was far to the right of that. Conrad admitted as much in the conclusion of his remarks. “We are under no illusions,” he said. “We know this is a year in which the normal process is not being followed. We understand there are leadership negotiations at the highest level, so we understand this is not going to be dealt with in the normal course of doing business. We understand there is leadership negotiation, but we believe there are some ideas in this package that deserve consideration as those negotiations go forward.”

 

[Chichikov]

closet case total

LOL
I fucking I knew I was gonna get that answer.
But that's the best wording I could come up with, so I said, fuck it.

I should've said "I don't spend my days thinking about butt sex".

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

Who would have thought an anti-gay Republican would be caught in bed with another man?

its just a running joke now..

 

[eznark]

LOL
I fucking I knew I was gonna get that answer.
But that's the best wording I could come up with, so I said, fuck it.

I should've said "I don't spend my days thinking about butt sex".

Seriously, enough with obsessing over anal intercourse. Issues man, you've got em.

 

[Chichikov]

Seriously, enough with obsessing over anal intercourse.

Never!

Issues man, you've got em.

And how!

 

[Plumbob]

Who would have thought an anti-gay Republican would be caught in bed with another man?

This was published in 2008 and I don't even think it's true. nothing on Wikipedia about it.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

This was published in 2008 and I don't even think it's true. nothing on Wikipedia about it.

It was forwarded to me as new news today D:

 

[eznark]

It was forwarded to me as new news today D:

Gary Condit murdered his intern! Pass it on!

 

[polyh3dron]

Is the GOP creating history?

Nothing new here, they've been doing this for a couple decades now at least.

 

[polyh3dron]

McConnell: Democrats not offering serious cuts

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/12/us-usa-debt-mcconnell-idUSTRE76B3HD20110712

Hahaha

I hate how the GOP can singlehandedly control the narrative with their bald faced lies and the Democrats are pretty much silent with no blowback.

 

[Skiptastic]

Is the GOP creating history?

Creating history? This IS history.

 

[Kosmo]

Obama getting desperate:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html

President Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3 if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.

"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it," Mr. Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, according to excerpts released by CBS News.

Does he really think this is going to cause seniors to put pressure on Republicans to move his way?

 

[GhaleonEB]

Obama getting desperate:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html

Does he really think this is going to cause seniors to put pressure on Republicans to move his way?

Obama and others in the administration have been point this out for months.

 

[Kosmo]

Obama and others in the administration have been point this out for months.

Yet we all know as false a threat as the republicans NOT raising the debt limit. If Obama is going to try and play the "we need $2T in taxes for a deal or else we're not sending checks" he's going to lose that in court of public opinion every day of the week.

 

[gcubed]

Yet we all know as false a threat as the republicans NOT raising the debt limit. If Obama is going to try and play the "we need $2T in taxes for a deal or else we're not sending checks" he's going to lose that in court of public opinion every day of the week.

i dont think he's trying to play that, since he's been saying it for a while he is saying "we need to raise the debt limit or we can't send checks"

 

[reilo]

Obama getting desperate:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html



Does he really think this is going to cause seniors to put pressure on Republicans to move his way?

Is there anything untrue about what he said?

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Yet we all know as false a threat as the republicans NOT raising the debt limit. If Obama is going to try and play the "we need $2T in taxes for a deal or else we're not sending checks" he's going to lose that in court of public opinion every day of the week.

that's not what he said.

He said "We may not be able to do it if there isn't enough money"

That isn't exactly how you imply he's saying it, at all.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Yet we all know as false a threat as the republicans NOT raising the debt limit. If Obama is going to try and play the "we need $2T in taxes for a deal or else we're not sending checks" he's going to lose that in court of public opinion every day of the week.

Wait, what exactly are you arguing, I'm confused. If the debt ceiling isn't raised, spending like SS will be some of the first to go; whether it's exactly on August 3rd, who knows. This is not desperation, it's an attempt to explain the debt ceiling in human terms so people understand it - something Obama has done a terrible job at since the beginning of this fight. The public thinks this is simply the WH wanting to raise the debt so they can spend more money, which isn't entirely true. It needs to be raised to "pay the bills" and so the US can conduct its business, among other things.

 

[Loudninja]

BREAKING: McConnell Opens the Escape Hatch

We're just getting the first word on this. So the details may be subject to clarification. But Senate Minority Leader has just suggested the GOP will give President Obama his debt limit increase without any spending cuts with a legislative maneuver that in essence allows Republicans to say it's all Obama's fault.

If that sounds bizarre, well, it is pretty bizarre. But that's what he said. More in a moment.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/07/mcconnell_opens_the_escape_hatch.php?ref=fpa
Huh?

 

[GaimeGuy]

Obama and others in the administration have been point this out for months.

Why is obama holding senior citizens hostage?!

 

[Esch]

Wait, what exactly are you arguing, I'm confused. If the debt ceiling isn't raised, spending like SS will be some of the first to go; whether it's exactly on August 3rd, who knows. This is not desperation, it's an attempt to explain the debt ceiling in human terms so people understand it - something Obama has done a terrible job at since the beginning of this fight. The public thinks this is simply the WH wanting to raise the debt so they can spend more money, which isn't entirely true. It needs to be raised to "pay the bills" and so the US can conduct its business, among other things.

He's arguing that OBAMA IS A MEANIE.

 

[Clevinger]

BREAKING: McConnell Opens the Escape Hatch

We're just getting the first word on this. So the details may be subject to clarification. But Senate Minority Leader has just suggested the GOP will give President Obama his debt limit increase without any spending cuts with a legislative maneuver that in essence allows Republicans to say it's all Obama's fault.

If that sounds bizarre, well, it is pretty bizarre. But that's what he said. More in a moment.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/07/mcconnell_opens_the_escape_hatch.php?ref=fpa
Huh?

huh, indeed

 

[PhoenixDark]

BREAKING: McConnell Opens the Escape Hatch

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/07/mcconnell_opens_the_escape_hatch.php?ref=fpa
Huh?

GOP blinks first? I'll believe it when it's official...

 

[eznark]

GOP blinks first? I'll believe it when it's official...

The GOP blinked first a long time ago when they agreed to raise the debt ceiling at all. (From a negotiating perspective I mean). They're moronic for conceding that when they did.

 

[Oblivion]

Okay, so I finally wrote a piece on my blog about one really annoying talking point conservatwits like to use, about public employees being leeches cause they're being paid by tax payer dollars. The always insightful Ann Coulter mentioned this on Bill Maher's show the other day.

http://alphanovus.org/?p=561

Yeah, I need a little bit more work sharpening up my writing skills, but I think I get the point across.

 

[gcubed]

GOP blinks first? I'll believe it when it's official...

"Obama's brand of bipartisanship (this time) means we can't get everything we want. Thats not bipartisanship we can believe in."

 

[Jackson50]

So Karzai's brother has apparently been assassinated.

That place is beyond clusterfucked.

I risk redundancy, but this is yet another example of Afghanistan's governance problem. And while his assassination is worrisome, it is not the most disconcerting aspect of this story. That would be his abject corruption. And that is endemic of prominent Afghani officials. Moreover, he was a favored figure of the U.S. Beyond clusterfucked is right.

I'm really not liking this assassination of Karzai's brother. I wonder where this will lead the discussion of the Afghan war; I really hope that it doesn't lead to a call to maintain our current presence there. The amount of money we're spending over there is ludicrous.

I doubt this will effect our "strategy" significantly. The Administration probably considered similar occurrences in its recent deliberations on the timeline. Still, given The Taliban's alleged culpability, it may finally extinguish the pipe dream of political reconciliation.

Obama getting desperate:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html

President Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3 if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.

"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it," Mr. Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, according to excerpts released by CBS News.

Does he really think this is going to cause seniors to put pressure on Republicans to move his way?

Shameless demagoguery. Am I right, Paul Ryan?

 

[PhoenixDark]

The GOP blinked first a long time ago when they agreed to raise the debt ceiling at all. (From a negotiating perspective I mean). They're moronic for conceding that when they did.

That's ridiculous: everyone knew the debt limit would be raised. There was no "concession" there. Big Sicily may disagree, but this IS like "conceding" to pay your mortgage, or "conceding" to pass out life jackets on a sinking ship.

If republicans kept this up, Obama could have walked from the table and gotten a clean debt raise, no doubt about it.

 

[eznark]

Okay, so I finally wrote a piece on my blog about one really annoying talking point conservatwits like to use, about public employees being leeches cause they're being paid by tax payer dollars. The always insightful Ann Coulter mentioned this on Bill Maher's show the other day.

http://alphanovus.org/?p=561

Yeah, I need a little bit more work sharpening up my writing skills, but I think I get the point across.

I like that you don't want people to take you seriously and make sure all your readers know it and that you do it in the first sentence. Thank you.

That's ridiculous: everyone knew the debt limit would be raised. There was no "concession" there. Big Sicily may disagree, but this IS like "conceding" to pay your mortgage, or "conceding" to pass out life jackets on a sinking ship.

I'm simply speaking from a negotiating stand point.

 

[Oblivion]

Yet we all know as false a threat as the republicans NOT raising the debt limit. If Obama is going to try and play the "we need $2T in taxes for a deal or else we're not sending checks" he's going to lose that in court of public opinion every day of the week.

What world are you living in? Taxing the richies is enormously popular.

 

[besada]

BREAKING: McConnell Opens the Escape Hatch

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/07/mcconnell_opens_the_escape_hatch.php?ref=fpa
Huh?

They're offering to abdicate their Constitutional responsibility and allow Obama to raise the debt by fiat from the Executive office until the end of his first term, in return for forced votes on spending cuts. At least thats how I think it goes. It's really upping the crazy bar early in the season.

 

[Oblivion]

I like that you don't want people to take you seriously and make sure all your readers know it and that you do it in the first sentence. Thank you.

Don't mention it. This IS a blog for the American people after all!

 

[eznark]

They're offering to abdicate their Constitutional expo Sinology and allow Obama to raise the debt by fiat from the Executive office until the end of his first term, in return for forced votes on spending cuts. At least thats how I think it goes. It's really upping the crazy bar early in the season.

It's a tactic that screams "we want the economy to keep being shitty for 14 more months" and it's fucking gross.

This isn't the same as the standard, "hey, we benefit from a bad economy so whatev's" stance the GOP has taken to this point. This is a "we know what your doing is wrong but we'll let you do it anyway so that you fuck people over so badly we'll gain power."

Disgusting.

 

[Loudninja]

Update:

In what McConnell described as a "last-choice option," McConnell proposed a method by which the country could avoid default if debt negotiations led by President Obama fail to produce a grand bargain on debt reduction.

"If we're unable to come together, we think it's extremely important that the country reassure the markets that default is not an option, and reassure Social Security recipients and families of military veterans that default is not an option," McConnell said.

The plan would require Congress to pass a bill allowing Obama to raise the debt limit on his own contingent on him taking a series of steps: Obama would have to notify Congress of his intent tor raise the debt limit -- a high-sign to Congress that would be subject to an official censure known as a "resolution of disapproval," and which Obama could veto. If he vetoed the resolution, and if Congress sustained the veto, then Obama would also have to outline a series of hypothetical spending cuts he'd make, equal to the amount of new debt authority he gives himself.

McConnell proposes extending this process in three tranches, to force Obama to request more borrowing authority, and to force debt limit votes in Congress, repeatedly through election season.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...thority-to-raise-debt-limit-alone.php?ref=fpa

 

[Journeywalker]

I hate how the GOP can singlehandedly control the narrative with their bald faced lies and the Democrats are pretty much silent with no blowback.

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Instead of seeing this as an admonition, Republicans have taken this as a How-to Guide on controlling the narrative. If you lie frequently enough (and re-write history to suit your narrative), truth will never catch up to you.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I'm simply speaking from a negotiating stand point.

Ah, although I still disagree; Obama was willing to give them a host of things before the debate began. Their bad negotiation moment is when they refused to accept a deal that went 80-20 in their favor, assuming these reports about McConnell are true and Boehner agrees. They were given the deal of their political careers and turned it down, allegedly. Just to deny the president a hallow victory, and keep tax loopholes for the wealthy in place.

 

[eznark]

Ah, although I still disagree; Obama was willing to give them a host of things before the debate began. Their bad negotiation moment is when they refused to accept a deal that went 80-20 in their favor, assuming these reports about McConnell are true and Boehner agrees. They were given the deal of their political careers and turned it down, allegedly. Just to deny the president a hallow victory, and keep tax loopholes for the wealthy in place.

I disagree. They campaigned and get funding from the people they promised no tax hikes to. Had the GOP accepted (or if they do accept) those tax hikes it's political suicide. It'd be akin to the Dems fucking over the unions but getting everything else they want.

 

[Cyan]

Okay, so I finally wrote a piece on my blog about one really annoying talking point conservatwits like to use, about public employees being leeches cause they're being paid by tax payer dollars. The always insightful Ann Coulter mentioned this on Bill Maher's show the other day.

http://alphanovus.org/?p=561

Yeah, I need a little bit more work sharpening up my writing skills, but I think I get the point across.

I normally just ignore these sorts of plugs, but I thought I'd give you a chance... and then I read your first sentence:

On Friday, Bill Maher had on conservative transexual, Ann Coulter on his show, Real Time With Bill Maher.

Lovely. Stopped reading there.

 

[besada]

It's a tactic that screams "we want the economy to keep being shitty for 14 more months" and it's fucking gross.

This isn't the same as the standard, "hey, we benefit from a bad economy so whatev's" stance the GOP has taken to this point. This is a "we know what your doing is wrong but we'll let you do it anyway so that you fuck people over so badly we'll gain power."

Disgusting.

I suspect we're going to see them roll the offer back pretty fast. Red State's already got a call for burning Mitch McConnell in effigy (and a request to send him weasels via the mail) and the Freepers are comparing the House GOP to the French.

More details on McConnell's last moments as a force in the GOP:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/271706/more-contingency-plan-rich-lowry

(You have to admit, though, this is Grade-A election season crazy we're getting here.)

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

I don't think Americans consider raising the debt limit a primary concern when it comes to the economy. Don't see how McConnell thinks this will actually benefit the GOP if they allow the debt limit to be raised so they can blame it all on Obama.