Posted on 07/20/2011 7:34:04 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
John Avlon is totally stoked to see the Gang of Six return, as is evident from the biblical terms in which he casts their comeback:
There might still be a chance to depolarize the political debate over the debt ceiling and deficit reduction.
That’s thanks to the Lazarus-like resurgence of the Gang of Six, a bipartisan group of senators who have been working tirelessly to come up with a balanced plan to restore our nation to fiscal responsibility.
Washington’s professional partisans and cynical scribes had written the Gang of Six’s efforts off in recent weeks as well-intentioned but ineffectual, especially after Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, took a hiatus from their talks.
But Coburn was back on Tuesday at a presentation of their $3.7 trillion deficit reduction plan to 46 of their fellow senators. Even more impressive was the endorsement the outlines of their plans got from the president of the United States.
“Lazarus-like resurgence”? The Senators weren’t dead, and neither was their ability to propose legislation, individually or as part of a coalition. In fact, the Gang of Six had been meeting as the Gang of Five since Coburn’s departure, but like the Democratic leadership in the Senate, they hadn’t bothered to put any plan forward until this week. The “chance to depolarize the political debate over the debt ceiling” has existed all along, but Harry Reid made clear that he didn’t want to pursue any budget plans in the Senate while Republicans controlled the House.
Besides, as The Hill reported last night, it looks like Lazarus was a little late in resurging:
Key Senate Democrats on Tuesday said the Gang of Six’s $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction proposal could not be included in a package to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), a member of the Gang of Six, said Tuesday the group’s plan is not ready to be attached to legislation to increase the debt limit.
“The Gang of Six plan has not been drafted nor has it been scored by the CBO — it’s not ready for prime time,” Durbin said, making reference to the Congressional Budget Office. “But as a concept, I think we have the starting concepts together, and that’s what we presented today.
In other words, it’s a big non-sequitur. The only way the Gang of Six Lazaruses have any relevance to the debt-ceiling debate now is if the White House insists on a clean hike in the ceiling in exchange for adopting the Gang of Six plan down the road. That has zero chance of passing the House, and it might not move in the Senate, either. Even the White House acknowledged that there won’t be a debt-ceiling hike without some kind of deficit-reduction agreement attached to it, and they surely know that the GOP won’t be mollified with promises of a deficit-reduction commitment in the future.
That leaves us back where we started, in pre-Lazarus condition, due in large part of the lack of leadership demonstrated by the Democrats. In my column at The Week today, I reference the new definition of leadership at the White House, while pointing out that Republicans have proposed a series of approaches to the debt ceiling and deficit reduction. In fact, they’ve now passed two such plans in the House:
Republicans have now presented four different, specific plans (and passed one in the House), and took part in the Gang of Six proposal – which the Democratic leadership in the Senate now says won’t be ready for the August 2nd debt-ceiling deadline anyway. Democrats in the Senate otherwise have offered nothing for the crisis, despite having control of the chamber. In his three press conferences, Obama repeatedly refused to provide detailed answers for the crisis, talking only about process.
That brings us back to yesterday’s briefing. After Obama left, ABC’s Jake Tapper asked Carney when the President would lead by presenting his own plan to deal with the crisis for which Obama himself keeps raising the alarm. Carney then offered what seems to be the White House definition of leadership: “Leadership is not proposing a plan for the sake of having it voted up or down.”
Obama wants to define leadership as somehow not leading or taking any kind of political risks. Meanwhile, Republicans have offered an array of approaches to the issue, and have done so for months, while Democrats take the same approach to the debt and deficit issue in 2011 that they did for the FY2011 budget in 2010. Leadership may not entirely about proposing plans for an up-or-down vote, but it almost always involves doing just that as a basic prerequisite. Obama and Democrats have abdicated leadership, while Republicans have had to govern in their retreat.
So where is Barack Obama’s plan? Harry Reid’s? Will they offer the nation a Lazarus-like resurgence back to responsibility, or will they continue to demonstrate leadership through abdication? It looks like a number of Democrats in high positions are “not ready for prime time.”
The 6 Gangsters plan is another sham on the American people.
Tax cuts now with the promise of spending cuts in the future, which mean the cuts will never happen.
My question is”: If these hacks are willing to cut spending in the future, why are they not willing to cut spending now?
They shold change their name to “ The Hole in the Budget Gang”.
“Gang of 6” the “GANG BANGERS”....”Gang of Sux”
Not a problem. They will now declare that the plan itself will be enough to calm the markets and the details will be voted and passed later. Of course, the savings (cuts) will be far less than stated for the early years and the later, larger “cuts” will be overturned by future congresses.
Same game. Same result. Buy precious metals and some lead.
I’m very confused with all the different routes our law makers are putting forth, but I can say one thing...
While I support a fiscally conservative approach to our finances overall and our financial difficulty right now, I am getting tired of all these different options coming out NONE of which will be accepted by another part of the puzzle.
The House votes in something that won’t even get considered by the Senate. The Senate may vote in something that the House will just throw out. NOTHING gets settled in Congress so we can go on then. THEN what happens?
I would like to see the Republicans stand firm, go with the message from this last conservative election, and take this historical opportunity to make the changes our country has asked them to. At the same time, I for one am getting frustrated that not one there seems to be able to do something that has a chance of being passed or even further developed.
I’ll throw this in... I support the steadfastness of the Tea Party members. I just wish Washington D.C. could remember how to be diplomatic... “Diplomatic” meaning how to get your way while allowing the other side to not have egg on face. Until they can figure out how to do that, I don’t think we will see ANYTHING accomplished at all. It’s frustrating.
Two huge hurdles for whom? In the absence of any Dem plan from either Reid or Obama, should the GOP just negotiate against itself or raise the debt ceiling without any cuts? The Reps should say there will be no further negotiations or discussions until the Dems come up with a written proposal that can be scored. The House has passed a budget and a bill to address the budget deficits and national debt. The Dems have not even proposed a budget in almost three years. The ball is in their court.
Gang Of Six Learn How To Play Kick The Can
For those of you not old enough, it was a street corner game we played on the city streets in the 40's and 50's.
Back room beltway insider good ol’ boy slimey lifer self serving low life been there too long greedy politician alert!
LOL. The 60’s and 70’s, too. Not that I’m dating myself or anything :)
Speaking of the ruling class, and for anyone who missed it...
America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution By Angelo M. Codevilla
The nation is at a crossroads. You reach a point where some very difficult decisions must be made. There will be winners and losers. There is no "diplomatic solution" that will make it appear that everyone is a winner or loser. The welfare state is imploding. We can't afford it. The Dems want to keep it alive by increasing taxes and mortgaging our future to the point that the country goes into the toliet consumed by welfare programs. It is time to fish or cut bait for the GOP. You either believe in your principles and rhetoric or you don't.
The two most frightening words in the english language:
“bipartisan plan”
Gang/Collective...no difference. POS collectivist politicians.
ANOTHER classic example of why...
...Legislatures (state and federal) can be part-time jobs with 1/10th pay, NO retirement, NO perks, NO insurance. Get a job. Pay for your own crap, you POS politicians.
...That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...
ALTER it.
It’s the socialism, stupid. DEFUND socialist collectives, foreign and domestic.
I maybe stupid, but why do the Democrats need the Gang of Six. They RATS have 53 Votes... so why do they need three traders from the GOP? That tells me the will lose 6 DemocRAT votes...
At which point the 0 Democrats are responsible for putting the USA into "fiscal Armageddon".
Time for Republicans to learn Patton's dictum
NEVER take council of your fears.
They want at least one Republican vote so they can say that whatever damage done by their disastrous policies was "bipartisan." They don't need the votes to get their plan passed they need them so they don't take the blame.
NOW, let the focus be on what the Democrat Senate and President do. If the Democrat continue to do nothing but posture for the media, any consequences are on THEIR heads.
The US House DID it's job. Pass time for the media to quit whining about the GOP and ask the Democrats WHEN, if EVER, they are going to put an actual bill ON THE TABLE for the US people to see. So far all the Democrat have done is make noise, they have offered NOTHING concrete.
You said “You either believe in your principles and rhetoric or you don’t.”
Yes, but you don’t stage a fake grandstand just for yourself either, and that looks like what both parties are doing. Grandstanding never gets the results you are grandstanding for.
Better to look at least a little “gracious” by getting your way (as in spending cuts and less government) and then getting your way (as in conservative-directed tax reform) and then presenting it as though the other side looks like they got what they wanted (as in perceived generated tax income from that tax reform legislation the conservatives really wanted anyway).
Now, is THAT so bad? No. Does it make the Tea Party look they lost a little ground? Yes, probably because it would have taken the egg they want off the Democrats face. Would it be the right thing to do though?
That’s diplomacy, and that didn’t give an inch on principles at all, I think.
The House may have done its job putting something forth, but I think you are naive to think it will end up looking bad on the Democrats. The very liberal media you accuse is feeding me (which I am not fed by, by the way) is the same liberal media that is standing by watching and waiting to seize the moment they want, the moment when nothing even was CONSIDERED, and they will seize upon the moment saying the Tea Party or the Republicans (or someone specific in Republican leadership) just couldn’t do a THING. Oh no, it won’t be that the Democrats didn’t “offer” anything. It won’t play out that way.
Where I think the House did NOT do its job is that they just presented something that is going straight into the Senate’s trash can. And what it looks like the Democratic Senate is going to push through will probably end up on the same place. Now doesn’t that concern you just a little?
And at this point, I can’t even keep up with all the different options being thrown out there, all by the same SIDE! It’s confusing, and it’s frustrating.
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