So much for the Super Congress "Grand Bargain"

[NYcarbineer]

Deadlock would be good, then the automatic cuts kick in and they take a big fat long overdue bite out of defense.

I'd be fine with that along with all the other triggers.


Chances are, by then, some stuffed suit will have introduced and passed some bullshit bill that would either minimize, delay, or flat-out block the trigger.

If the triggers do manage to happen maybe it'd be a splash of cold water to shock them into actually doing something.







I can dream can't I?

Oddly enough one theory already out there is that it will be lobbyists who will push them to make a deal, defense and healthcare lobbies mostly,

just to keep it from going to the automatic cuts, which will hit those sectors hard.

 

[NYcarbineer]

All six Republicans are Norquist no taxes hand puppets, so that's the first hurdle in the path of compromise.

 

[BoycottTheday]

Is a 30 year to life gig for running guns to drug gangs compromise enough?

 

[BDBoop]

Yeah. We're screwed. May as well make some popcorn.

 

[Oddball]

All six Republicans are Norquist no taxes hand puppets, so that's the first hurdle in the path of compromise.

Wow....And they say that there isn't any good news to report these days.

 

[Oddball]

What a pathetic set of picks - on both sides. Virtually no chance of finding a compromise.

Spending needs to be CUT, not just have points shaved off the baseline increases.

Where's the compromise between cutting spending and not doing so?

 

[Trajan]

John F'in sKerry?

What a joke...

patty murray ah yes, well you know; Bin Laden, " he helped pay for schools, roads and even day care centers, and you know, we have not done that"....

 

[Trajan]

as I said in boops thread the left would not be happy with the rights picks either. Oh the horror.

I will say I am surprised neither named any of the gang of 6...were any of these folks dem or rep on the bowles simpson commission?

 

[hortysir]

All six Republicans are Norquist no taxes hand puppets, so that's the first hurdle in the path of compromise.

Of course, with us being opposite sides of the political aisle, we're going to disagree on the taxes.
But only fundamentally.
I'm "patriotic" enough to be willing to take a tax hit but EVERYBODY needs to start to adopt that attitude instead of just the "rich". We're all smothered in this pile of shit.

We (meaning, mostly, you and the other Dems) need to get REAL serious about cutting spending first. Show some real effort.

Years ago, when I was young and stupid, I learned real fast not to take a junkie's word when they said, "Just one more quarter. I'll pay ya Friday".

I know better than to give a democrat more of my money with the promise that they won't spend it.

 

[Trajan]

Yeah. We're screwed. May as well make some popcorn.

hey you got the closer on your side, you know, Obama...so you know, all is well.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDAmPIq29ro]Animal House - All Is Well! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[hortysir]

as I said in boops thread the left would not be happy with the rights picks either. Oh the horror.

I will say I am surprised neither named any of the gang of 6...were any of these folks dem or rep on the bowles simpson commission?

I think I heard a discussion that said that none of the Gang of 6 Could be named.

 

[Modbert]

For the record, I'm not a fan of Reid's picks whatsoever either.

That being said, I don't expect much from the Super Congress at this point in terms of spending cuts.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

To hell with the super congress. It's nothing but an elitist scam anyway. I hope it fails miserably.

 

[Modbert]

To hell with the super congress. It's nothing but an elitist scam anyway. I hope it fails miserably.

I was against the Super Congress from the beginning. But if there's nothing we can do about it, then at least have them pick competent people who can actually get something done. Neither side did this.

 

[Trajan]

that why they need to go back and enact the Bowles Simpson commission tenets. I was not in love with all of its findings, but, I was willing to bite the bullet.

someone didn't want that, they didn't want to go back even one step, so that person how lauded it for a year as the panacea, dropped it like a hot rock.....who was that again?

 

[Modbert]

that why they need to go back and enact the Bowles Simpson commission tenets. I was not in love with all of its findings, but, I was willing to bite the bullet.

someone didn't want that, they didn't want to go back even one step, so that person how lauded it for a year as the panacea, dropped it like a hot rock.....who was that again?

Considering the fact it includes tax increases, they're not going to. Which goes back to my point in the first place about the right not compromising on this. Even Tom Coburn's $9 trillion plan had $1 trillion in tax increases. Which is partly why it was dead on arrival and he was even called a traitor by some on the right.

As much as people like Kerry are incompetent, at least they're willing to compromise.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

How were they supposed to compromise on appointments to the super congress, select Democrats?

No…

Select members who aren’t hard-core ideologues.

To wit:

All six Republicans are Norquist no taxes hand puppets, so that's the first hurdle in the path of compromise.

Unless of course there aren’t any reasonable republicans left.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Debt Panelists Draw Skepticism on Partisanship, Tax Stances - Bloomberg

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced their appointments to a 12-member committee assigned with finding $1.5 trillion in budget savings, a lineup already drawing skepticism about the chances for a bipartisan debt compromise.

Republican Senators Jon Kyl, Pat Toomey and Rob Portman will work with Senate Democrats Patty Murray, John Kerry and Max Baucus, who were chosen yesterday by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. Boehner today picked House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Republican Conference head Jeb Hensarling. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has yet to name her panelists.

The choices from both parties include some “land mines,” increasing the likelihood of deadlock, said Robert Bixby, head of the Concord Coalition, an Arlington, Virginia-based group that advocates for a balanced budget.

Murray, of Washington state, will cause “certain alarm bells to go off” because she heads the Democrats’ campaign to elect senators, Bixby said. Toomey, of Pennsylvania, and Hensarling, of Texas, are committed to not raising taxes. Upton’s panel has taken the lead on investigating President Barack Obama’s agenda, including the new health-care law. And all six Republican appointees have signed a pledge by Americans for Tax Reform against voting to raise taxes.

Once again, it looks like the Republicans will not compromise whatsoever.

If they wanted a grand bargain they should have made the Obama debt commission recommendation the default if nothing else was presented. Only a few idiots thought this was going to turn out any other way.

 

[McDowell's]

How were they supposed to compromise on appointments to the super congress, select Democrats?

No…

Select members who aren’t hard-core ideologues.

To wit:

All six Republicans are Norquist no taxes hand puppets, so that's the first hurdle in the path of compromise.

Unless of course there aren’t any reasonable republicans left.

So there is no compromise unless some income tax increases come out of this.. I'm pretty sure that's a logical fallacy. What if they were to acquiesce to substantial cuts to their interests in exchange for no tax increases? Or, for shocks, what if they agree to tax increases other than income tax increases? I'm pretty sure those would be forms of compromise.

 

[ladyliberal]

Before the members were named, I thought it was unlikely that a deal would be reached. Now, it seems just as unlikely. Max Baucus is certainly extremely conservative for a Democrat, but he's still noticeably to the left of anyone the Republicans were going to name.

The only way I see a deal going through is if small tax "reforms" that Republicans could claim were revenue neutral were included. There have certainly been signals that they might accept some new tax revenues.

Politically, I think the committee will work out fine for the Democrats. It's another chance for Republicans to stake out a position on taxes that is far to the right of the median American voter.