Posted on 01/03/2013 8:33:23 AM PST by EricTheRed_VocalMinority
Am I the only one who notices just how smoothly and effortlessly the Democrat Party plays the American people and establishment Republican leadership?
Basic timeline:
Last week of October: Hurricane Sandy visited destruction upon the East Coast, most severely New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
First week of November: With the presidential election just days away, Obama lands in New Jersey to get bear hugged by Gov'r Chris Christie in order to give off a semblance of "bi-partisanship," and to secure extra votes from stupid Americans who actually thinks Obama caaaares about them. (Indeed it worked: Exit polls showed many still-undecided voters ended up pulling the lever for the president because it look like he cared about Sandy victims). Stupid-ass Christie took the bait.
First week of December: It took the administration over a month to formally request hurricane relief funding from Congress. Requested amount: $60 billion.
Mid-December: The Senate releases its first draft of the relief bill, which is laden with pork and goodies for items and locales not remotely related to Sandy! Such expenditures include:
That's not all, but when you add this all up, not even half of the $60 billion would be going to help private citizens whose lives were uprooted by Hurricane Sandy.
Last two weeks of December: Despite criticism of Congressional Republicans and some of the news media, the bill sat languishing on the Hill without one penny of pork being stripped.
It bears noting that not all, but the lion's share of this pork was put in there by Senate Democrats. Indeed, the bill was co-sponsored by Chucky Schmucky Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Bob "Dominican prostitutes? What Dominican prostitutes?" Menendez (D-N.J.). Democrats knew that when it came to the Republican-led House voting, there would be one of two outcomes:
(A) The bill would be passed and all their cronies, home states, and pet agencies would get their taxpayer-funded goodies, all the while conning the American people into thinking they really care about them.
(B) The House Republicans would refuse to sign the bill, making them look really callous and cold for holding up such an urgent bill out of ideological spite and petty politics.
First week of January: As we catch up to the present tense, one of the above predictions comes true. Yesterday outcome (B) happened: GOP House leader Boehner and enough Republicans refuse to sign the bill, and it goes down in the defeat.
(That would make it the second time in one week Boehner and the House Republicans got played by the Democrat Party, the "fiscal cliff" "deal" being the first time.)
Here is where N.J. Gov'r Christie and N.Y. Congressman Pete King come in. Not only did Boehner and the House Republicans get branded Scrooge of the Century by the usual suspects (Democrats in Washington and the lib media), but both Christie and King took to the mic to lambaste their fellow Republicans for playing petty politics and putting their own interests above the people.
At his press conference yesterday, Christie said,
"Unfortunately people are putting politics ahead of their responsibilities... You do the right thing. Enough with all the politics ... We respond as Americans, at least we did until last night... it was disgusting to watch. ... In our hour of desperate need, we've been left waiting for help six times longer than the victims of Katrina with no end in sight ... Sixty-six days and counting, shame on you. Shame on Congress."
On the House floor, Rep. King even more hostile. He threatened not to support the reelection of Boehner as House Speaker and said Americans shouldn't even donate money to House Republicans. He used the words "betrayal" and "cruel knife in the back."
These might as well have been Democrats talking!
Sorry, guys, but you are both sorely mistaken. It's the Democrats, who over two weeks ago presented a $60 bill filled over 50% with pork, who are playing petty politics and not putting the American people first.
Instead of bashing Boehner, Christie and King should be castigating the Democrats. This pork had no business being in there in the first place. If they didn't stick it in there, the bill wouldn't have been voted down!
Unfortunately, Christie and King played right into the hands of the Democrat-media complex: They're now being used as pawns to further paint the Republican Party as cruel and heartless. And, may I add, Mr. Christie: You, sir, have an election coming up this November. You wouldn't happen to be playing Mister Bi-Partisan, Mister Populist right now for that reason, hmmmm? If so (And I, for one, do believe that to be so), then it is you who are putting your own personal political interests over the people.
As for you, Mr. King: In the arena national security/defense you are a patriot and deserve respect. In this instance, though, you are playing the boneheaded self-interested politician you accuse Boehner of doing.
So where are we now? Well, as of late last night, it was already being reported that Boehner was starting to cave and will approve an initial installment of the requested funding.
What of the rest of the $60 bil? Will it contain the pork, or will Democrats be asked to remove it?
What difference does it make? The damage has been done and the Democrats got what they wanted:
A Republican Party whose strength and influence in D.C. have been severely damaged and whose popularity with the American people is sure to plunge even further from the gutter-level depths it has already been.
And a Democrat Party who, knowing full well our nation is already $16 trillion in the hole, has no problem adding tens of billions of pork into a bill intended to help hurricane victims, and who will come out of this, no matter what happens, squeaky clean.
No thanks to Chris Christie and Peter King.
It’s schmuck, you schlemiel. (As in Schmuckie Schumer)
(Just kidding)
Yeah but how often do we get to hear a real live Governor Cry about not getting his WELFARE CHECK?? or a sitting Congressman complain and bitch that they didn’t STEAL ENOUGH MONEY from the Taxpayers to give to the WELFARE QUEEN Governor Christie. Priceless.
Boner, Christie and King should have no place in the Republican Party. All three consistently prove that they do not have conservative principles or any principles for that matter. They are sorry waste of human flesh, and in Christie’s case, fat.
Watch all the Union member only contracts that arise like a Phoenix!!
None of this matters.
Only One Thing Matters. Is anyone willing to force the US into default by refusing to raise the debt ceiling? If the answer is no, Boehner has no leverage, and that would not be his fault. If no one else is willing to, they would have no leverage either.
Before you jump up and say not raising the ceiling is not default, here are the numbers.
With the tax increase, revenue should be about 2.5 Trill this year. Spending is 3.6 Tril. Breaking it down we get DoD and Soc Sec at 1.45 Tril in sum. Interest is 0.227 Trill so 1.7ish Tril in sum. Medicare and Medicaid 0.84 Tril to sum to 2.5 Tril. That’s it. That eats all the revenue. If the ceiling doesn’t rise, there’s nothing for anything else. And with that kind of a chop of things (can you really allow airliners to fly with no FAA to do traffic management at airports?) economic activity will be reduced, reducing tax revs.
Let’s look further. Chop off Medicaid and keep the docs who treat elderly (Medicare) and that is about 0.7 Tril and the point is this leaves about 0.1 Trill (100 Billion) to fund EVERYTHING ELSE from the FAA to FDA to interstate highway repair to national parks to forest fire fighting and a lot of things most conservatives accept.
So . . . if you’re not willing to push the negotiations into default, what leverage is there for 1 March?
At last, people are starting to learn that true conservatism is not a matter of mere convenience. Some of us here tried to tell that to the Romneybots in November, and look what his kind of Republicanism led to.
The Republican Party of Romney, Boehner, McConnell, Christie and King is an abject disaster. Good for those here who are seeing it and getting angry.
FWIW, I for one don’t accept any of it.
$136 billion right off the top, Education.
$422 billion welfare-related.
$282 billion medicaid to States.
At the same time, abolish the SEC and all it’s laws and regs, get back to direct capital formation - direct between investor and the business they are investing in. Subject to normal business law.
Just for starters.
States need to afford the programs they have or get rid of them.
We need to get back to making things, but simply move up the quality ladder.
Don’t you know? Ann Coulter declared Christie as the most talented republican of our times.
Porky Pig shows his true colors every time he opens his big mouth. He must be an enormous disappointment to his supporters. I can already see him as the republican establishment and media favorite for the next presidential election. He is already auditioning for the part.
New Jersey is second in per-capita income of all 50 states, right behind Connecticut.
New Jersey has zero excuse, it should be able to support itself and weather its storms.
There should be sinking funds at the state level to handle capital projects. Instead of borrowing and paying interest on the project, the State would be earning interest on the sinking fund, then simply do the project when it’s fully funded.
Insurance could and should cover most damages.
First Energy is a nightmare, the State should require its power providers to be in one state only, New Jersey. It should have a good Competitive model for power. We would have seen much less downtime. The big blackout from 2003 that affected an estimated 10 million people in Ontario and 45 million people in eight U.S. states was caused by First Energy not cutting trees appropriately. That, along with minimizing maintenance staff, apparently are the cost-cutting genius moves that corporate First Energy hangs its hat on, which a few months ago proved very problematic because there was enough wind to take out acres of trees in forests like they were matchsticks.
No State should accept or receive any Federal money for anything, IMHO. The Feds should get out of the highway business completely. NJ spends by far the most on roads per mile of road - far more than any other State. NJ is one of the most corrupt States. It’s common practice for lawyers to serve as municipal attorneys for multiple towns and receive several pensions.
Across most of America, government is nothing but a cesspool of corruption.
Over the last 4 years I chuckled every time someone here touted Christie or Maher’s love bunny Coulter. Christie was never a conservative and Coulter sold her soul a while back to keep her invites to the belt-way parties and get on tv. Both are oxygen thieves.
The only difference between Coulter and Christie is about 500 pounds.
That did not address the numbers. You have no leverage unless you are willing to freeze the debt ceiling, and if you do that, the numbers I laid out trigger.
It’s not a listing of cuts. When you freeze the ceiling, it’s a listing of spending — and when you do that you see that it’s not doable.
You can list cuts until the cows come home but unless you are 100% willing to allow default, Obama can just go on vacation and not even bother to negotiate. Boehner would have to raise the ceiling with no cuts at all — or not. Is he willing to freeze the ceiling and see all those necessary services ended? No, he’s not.
No, nobody would be. The most profoundly right wing Tea Party guy would not be.
We have no leverage at all. Were I Obama, I’d give nothing. Not a single dollar of cuts, or maybe $1 billion off DoD just to pretend. Why should he, if he knows they cannot freeze the ceiling.
Very informative perspective. Thanks.
Debt ceiling must be frozen in order to bring Dems to the table.
Congress can pass laws to change its obligations. That is exactly what they constantly propose to do with SS/Medicare. Somehow when we discuss Federal bureaucrats and welfare, everyone says we can’t legally stop those payments.
There is Federal revenue every month.
It should go to bare essential DoD and other barests of bare essentials. Strip State Dept and WH bare (end all foreign aid), pretty much eliminate all other agencies, i.e., Commerce, Agriculture, etc.
Soc Sec and MC have funding coming in every month, there is a small shortfall. Some of the $2.5 trillion in Treasuries held in the OAS/DI trust fund are redeemed by Treasury to cover this difference.
Everyone else in the Federal government should be shut down, laid off; not enough to pay them, no more borrowing permitted by the Congress.
Dept. of Ed., for example: shut down and go home.
Welfare checks, unemployment, etc., all stop.
Etc.
No default on debt, keep paying interest and rolling it over. But stop all social spending, highways, agencies, etc. Shut down. DoD will be running on a thin budget, States will have enormous pressure on them since they will lose all State aid.
This will happen anyway once no one in the world will pay cash for Treasuries any more.
The private sector has to buy Federal paper in order for gov’t to “borrow”. The Fed carries Fed paper as Assets on it’s balance sheet as well - but it is, in essence, bankrupting itself if it gets in too deep. It already holds far too large a portfolio of Federal debt instruments to be able to find a buyer for them, i.e., unwind the position. That means (like a ponzi) the Treasury will simply keep paying them interest on the paper they own, rolling over old debt into new, until tax revenue is not enough to even do that. Then, it’s Greece time.
The Fed and the banking system are merely enablers for Congressional spending.
Pieter that is just hand waving dreaming. That’s not how appropriation bills are structured.
If the debt ceiling were frozen, lawsuits would be immediately filed to ensure each spending authorization is ordered by the courts.
Go back and look at the precise layout of dollars. The barest of bare essentials are not covered by tax revenue. That’s just the way it is. There is no fix for that other than to kill people, which likely will eventually happen.
This is what people on the right and the left don’t grasp. There Isn’t Enough Tax Revenue For Even The Barest Of Bare Essentials. Go back to my first post and do the additions.
DoD, Interest, Soc Sec and Medicare exhaust all of tax revenue. All of it. Not a penny left. If you shut down airlines because the FAA isn’t funded to land them at airports, then economic activity is smashed (FedEx uses the FAA and if they can’t ship, sales don’t occur). If you smash economic activity, the few tax revs you have don’t arrive and you have to cut even more.
There is no fix for this. No one is going to freeze the ceiling and Obama can just go on vacation and refuse to discuss the matter. It’s not Boehner caving. The most rabid far right Tea Party guy would be shown these numbers and realize the same thing. There is no leverage.
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