Rep. Barney Frank: Supercommittee failure ‘good news’ for Dems

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/budget-approriations/195139-rep-frank-supercommittee-failure-good-news-for-democrats ^

[kcvl]

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said the congressional supercommittee's failure Monday to come to an agreement on spending reforms was “good news” because it will help to end the Bush-era tax cuts and give Democrats more bargaining power in budget negotiations.

Groups on the edges of both the liberal and conservative spectrums have cheered the death of the supercommittee. Liberal groups like the Progressive Change Campaign Committee were happy that programs such as Social Security and Medicare were spared, while Tea Party conservative groups applauded the breakdown in talks because no tax increases emerged from the deficit-reduction panel.

The supercommittee’s failure to reach an agreement sets in motion $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts set to take effect in 2013 through sequestration.

Half of those cuts are to defense initiatives, which has hawks in Congress vowing to undo them. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said Monday that he was readying a bill that would prevent the defense cuts.

Frank, who has long advocated for a smaller military budget said that gives Democrats the upper hand, citing President Obama’s threat Monday to veto attempts to avoid the cuts altogether.

“The people who want to say ‘no’ have more leverage,” Frank said in a telephone interview. “Every showdown until now, the right wing had more leverage. They tended to benefit more from gridlock. Now, thanks to sequestration and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, gridlock is bad for the right wing. So they are now going to be forced to deal.”

Frank said the supercommittee’s inability to produce a plan was not a failure of Congress, but rather a reflection of the country’s “peak divisions.”

[apoliticalone]

That’s part of the biggest problem in the USA. Too many politicians (actually of both Parties) put posturing, political design, playing gotcha and timing it all for elections, over doing what is correct for the USA people RIGHT NOW! Too many of them are worthless weasels that have served their own agendas instead of the citizens.

[ronnie raygun]

Subcommitee failure was planned to offically coinside with zero’s official entry into the campaign with the slogan “congress is ineffective and not working for the people” Totaly removing himself from any blame.

[RC2]

I beg to disagree with Frank, especially since Pelosi told the Democrats on the supercommittee not to agree with anything the Republicans came up with. Not the fault of Congress? Give me a break.

[TomGuy]

Supercommittee failure ‘good news’ for Dems

Boehner and McConnell got snookered by the Dems for ever agreeing to the Supercommittee idea.

It was doomed -- by design -- from the start; a trap the Dems set and the Pubbies jumped in with both feet.

They are called The Party of Stupid for a reason -- they earn it, again and again and again.

[DustyMoment]

I LOVE the sell of Dem SPIN!! The whole thing was a bad idea from the get-go and everyone knew it was a setup to make the ‘Pubbies look bad!!

I think this, like everything else zero has tried, will also backfire!!!

[DustyMoment]

sell = SMELL

(my bad)

[BobP]

Frank, who has long advocated for a smaller military budget ...

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Real Americans have long advocated for Frank's conviction and sentencing on fraud and conspiracy charges.

''Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not facing any kind of financial crisis.''

[ken21]

i’m reading “reckless endangerment” by morgenson.

barney says, p. 247:

“frank wondered aloud why congress was even discussing a new regulator for the companies (fannie and freddie).
‘i believe there has been more alarm raised about potential unsafety and undsoundness than, in fact, exists, ‘ frank concluded.”