The Debt Ceiling: What do Republicans Want?

[RoadVirus]

What do the Republicans want? To go far beyond the debt ceiling to ensure that Obama is blamed for the resulting financial mess.

Repubs don't give a shit about the American people. They care about making Obama look as incompetent as they can.

Don't you people on the Left get tired of your saem old talking points?

Before the idea of the Sequestration cuts came up, the GOP House tried TWICE to get through a deal in the form of cuts and a Balanced Budget Amendment. Both got fragged in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

 

[AmericanFirst]

.

I know the Republicans are very upset about the debt ceiling issue, so just to clarify, two part question:

1. In your heart of hearts, what would you like to see happen here? Specifically?

2. Assuming that Obama refuses to debate the debt ceiling, what would you like to see happen, specifically?

.

1. Cut spending.
2. Trash obamacare.

 

[JQPublic1]

If you liked that "little joke" you'll love this one:

Hahaha! isn't that funny? What a big joke it is to see how Right WIngers have duped the public into believing that Obama is thie BIG spender when in fact he has spent less than any president since Eisenhower! Oh Oh! there is an eerie silence in here. Where is all the laughter? FOr even more fun and jokes, read this link:

Who Is The Smallest Government Spender Since Eisenhower? Would You Believe It's Barack Obama? - Forbes

Yeah...something they don't mention. It's hard to save much money when one has started two wars(off budget) one totally by choice and unnecessary. Another thing they try to brush under the carpet....Clinton raised taxes, created 22 million jobs, during fy's 1999, 2000 and 2001 actually bought back close to $400 billion of our debt....the entire debt on a path to be completely settled by 2012. Then in 2001 when Bush took over he cut taxes twice and began to double the debt again.

Yeah, I frankly never know which "studies" and "graphs" to believe, but if this sucker is true, it would not surprise me. The GOP loves to ignore the fact that Reagan and Dubya were military Keynesians. And I'd love to see a response to it, without the standard spin, diversion or personal insults, of course. Maybe it's wrong.

Anyone?

.

I doubt that it is wrong considering the sources: Forbes, the CBO and OMB! Partner those sources with the fact that Obama's spending has been severely limited by the Republican controlled House and the graph is highly credible!

 

[Dot Com]

 

[Mac1958]

.

I know the Republicans are very upset about the debt ceiling issue, so just to clarify, two part question:

1. In your heart of hearts, what would you like to see happen here? Specifically?

2. Assuming that Obama refuses to debate the debt ceiling, what would you like to see happen, specifically?

.

1. Cut spending.
2. Trash obamacare.

Good luck with that.

You have far more faith in professional politicians than I do.

.

 

[Cammmpbell]

Why in the hell do some of you people think that Congress wants to resolve the debt mess?

That would require that they do some work. Make decisions. Defend their decisions. Maybe even piss off some big money contributors.

No the debt works much better to keep people like us pissed off at one another. Do you really think any person in Congress gives a flying fuk about the things we like to think they care about? Where's your proof?

Repubs have exploded the debt under Rethug Presidents. Rethugs didn't worry a bit about the explosion of debt under George Bush.

No, when the spending benefits the people whose support you desire, there is no one in Congress who has the balls to do anything about it. Other than get in front of a TV and pander to their base. Look at me look at me I hate washington that's why I wanted to come here. I hate government.

You folks who think they (Congress) do care (about debt) are delusional. It just make a great talking point. And keeps them from having to do any real work. And keeps them in office. Where they get rich and pampered. Great job if you can land it.

Exactly! Back when Clinton was president and the Republicans were busy spending $75-$100 million trying to find something they could remove him from office for I used to remind them that if they handed me three trillion dollars....which is what Reagan and Bush41 borrowed that even I could be a hero. I mean that's a lot of money to borrow and he was the first one by any stretch of the imagination to ever do such an unbelievable thing...'course little did he know that after Clinton kinda straightened things up the "W" would come along and put all of them to shame concerning borrowing.

 

[Avorysuds]

Republicans are using the debt ceiling just as Obama did, sadly Obama has shown a stunning amount of failed leadership and has fallen into another Bush era policy trap. Seriously, where are Obama and Bush different?

 

[Cammmpbell]

Republicans are using the debt ceiling just as Obama did, sadly Obama has shown a stunning amount of failed leadership and has fallen into another Bush era policy trap. Seriously, where are Obama and Bush different?

In case you hadn't noticed Obama is black and came from very meager beginnings. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. Bush on the other hand would have probably gotten his inept ass killed in Vietnam if his daddy hadn't pulled strings in Texas to run him around a waiting list of about 1000 trying to get into the Texas national guards. George W. not only got into the guards he got into the one called the "Champagne Unit." The same one that all the Dallas Cowboys managed to get into. Even at that he didn't serve the last fourteen months of his obligation. The rich and connected just don't do that sort of thing.

Bush assumed a thriving economy, 4% unemployment, a balanced budget with surpluses projected all the way to the outyears. He immediately cut taxes for his rich oil buds not once but twice using reconciliation to block Democratic opposition. Then after starting two wars he ran them off budget and rather than ask his rich buddies to pay a little higher tax rate...he doubled the national debt, even borrowing from Communist Chinese banks for the first time in American history. On top of that he left Obama an annual interest payment of close to half a trillion dollars. Bush graduated a C student from Yale and was refused admission to law school at the university of Texas because he didn't qualify academically. Do I need to continue? There's one helluva lot of difference in Bush and Obama.

 

[whitehall]

Do libs actually think in "multiple choice"? What does the word ceiling mean?

 

[Oldstyle]

Republicans are using the debt ceiling just as Obama did, sadly Obama has shown a stunning amount of failed leadership and has fallen into another Bush era policy trap. Seriously, where are Obama and Bush different?

In case you hadn't noticed Obama is black and came from very meager beginnings. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. Bush on the other hand would have probably gotten his inept ass killed in Vietnam if his daddy hadn't pulled strings in Texas to run him around a waiting list of about 1000 trying to get into the Texas national guards. George W. not only got into the guards he got into the one called the "Champagne Unit." The same one that all the Dallas Cowboys managed to get into. Even at that he didn't serve the last fourteen months of his obligation. The rich and connected just don't do that sort of thing.

Bush assumed a thriving economy, 4% unemployment, a balanced budget with surpluses projected all the way to the outyears. He immediately cut taxes for his rich oil buds not once but twice using reconciliation to block Democratic opposition. Then after starting two wars he ran them off budget and rather than ask his rich buddies to pay a little higher tax rate...he doubled the national debt, even borrowing from Communist Chinese banks for the first time in American history. On top of that he left Obama an annual interest payment of close to half a trillion dollars. Bush graduated a C student from Yale and was refused admission to law school at the university of Texas because he didn't qualify academically. Do I need to continue? There's one helluva lot of difference in Bush and Obama.

Barack Obama was brought up by his Grandparents who were solidly upper middle class and attended a prestigious private school in Hawaii...hardly "meager beginnings". Obama got INTO Columbia and Harvard not on outstanding collegiate grades but because of Affirmative Action.

As for what Bush "assumed" from Bill Clinton? Go and look at the economic numbers at the close of Clinton's second term. The Dot Com Boom was over and the economy was hardly "thriving"...it was actually declining. Throw in 9/11 six months after Bush takes office and you've got your answer to why Bush spent more than Clinton. Clinton was able to fully utilize the "peace dividend", cutting the military back substantially because we were not involved in any major conflicts during that eight year period. Bush had to spend additional monies to bring the military back to full strength.

I'm not sure WHERE you got the idea that China hadn't bought any of our debt before Bush...that's just laughable.

 

[Cammmpbell]

Republicans are using the debt ceiling just as Obama did, sadly Obama has shown a stunning amount of failed leadership and has fallen into another Bush era policy trap. Seriously, where are Obama and Bush different?

In case you hadn't noticed Obama is black and came from very meager beginnings. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. Bush on the other hand would have probably gotten his inept ass killed in Vietnam if his daddy hadn't pulled strings in Texas to run him around a waiting list of about 1000 trying to get into the Texas national guards. George W. not only got into the guards he got into the one called the "Champagne Unit." The same one that all the Dallas Cowboys managed to get into. Even at that he didn't serve the last fourteen months of his obligation. The rich and connected just don't do that sort of thing.

Bush assumed a thriving economy, 4% unemployment, a balanced budget with surpluses projected all the way to the outyears. He immediately cut taxes for his rich oil buds not once but twice using reconciliation to block Democratic opposition. Then after starting two wars he ran them off budget and rather than ask his rich buddies to pay a little higher tax rate...he doubled the national debt, even borrowing from Communist Chinese banks for the first time in American history. On top of that he left Obama an annual interest payment of close to half a trillion dollars. Bush graduated a C student from Yale and was refused admission to law school at the university of Texas because he didn't qualify academically. Do I need to continue? There's one helluva lot of difference in Bush and Obama.

Barack Obama was brought up by his Grandparents who were solidly upper middle class and attended a prestigious private school in Hawaii...hardly "meager beginnings". Obama got INTO Columbia and Harvard not on outstanding collegiate grades but because of Affirmative Action.

As for what Bush "assumed" from Bill Clinton? Go and look at the economic numbers at the close of Clinton's second term. The Dot Com Boom was over and the economy was hardly "thriving"...it was actually declining. Throw in 9/11 six months after Bush takes office and you've got your answer to why Bush spent more than Clinton. Clinton was able to fully utilize the "peace dividend", cutting the military back substantially because we were not involved in any major conflicts during that eight year period. Bush had to spend additional monies to bring the military back to full strength.

I'm not sure WHERE you got the idea that China hadn't bought any of our debt before Bush...that's just laughable.

1) China had never in the history of this country loaned us a penny

2) Tax cuts for the wealthy and Bush wars is what caused the debt. Go read a little history.

3) Republicans began to try to remove Clinton from office in 1993

4) They spent $75-$100 million and failed

5) Bill Clinton left office with a 60% + approval rating

6) Bill Clinton left a surplus and all "gorgeous george" had to do was leave things alone....he cut taxes for his rich buds

7) The Bush administration told a thousand lies before they were able to invade Iraq

8) The only thing George W. Bush fell short of in the race for biggest fuck up was new debt....Reagan and his daddy quadrupled it and slow walking George only doubled it:

Total U S Debt


09/30/2009 $11,909,829,003,511.75(80% Of All Debt Across 232 Years Borrowed By Reagan And Bushes)

09/30/2008 $10,024,724,896,912.49(Times Square Debt Clock Modified To Accomodate Tens of Trillions)

09/30/2007 $9,007,653,372,262.48
09/30/2006 $8,506,973,899,215.23
09/30/2005 $7,932,709,661,723.50
09/30/2004 $7,379,052,696,330.32

09/30/2003 $6,783,231,062,743.62(Second Bush Tax Cuts Enacted Using Reconciliation)


09/30/2002 $6,228,235,965,597.16

09/30/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06(First Bush Tax Cuts Enacted Using Reconciliation)


09/30/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86(Administration And Congress Arguing About How To Use Surplus)

09/30/1999 $5,656,270,901,615.43(First Surplus Generated...On Track To Pay Off Debt By 2012)

09/30/1998 $5,526,193,008,897.62
09/30/1997 $5,413,146,011,397.34
09/30/1996 $5,224,810,939,135.73
09/29/1995 $4,973,982,900,709.39
09/30/1994 $4,692,749,910,013.32

09/30/1993 $4,411,488,883,139.38(Debt Quadrupled By Reagan/Bush41)

09/30/1992 $4,064,620,655,521.66
09/30/1991 $3,665,303,351,697.03
09/28/1990 $3,233,313,451,777.25
09/29/1989 $2,857,430,960,187.32
09/30/1988 $2,602,337,712,041.16
09/30/1987 $2,350,276,890,953.00
09/30/1986 $2,125,302,616,658.42
09/30/1985 $1,823,103,000,000.00
09/30/1984 $1,572,266,000,000.00
09/30/1983 $1,377,210,000,000.00

09/30/1982 $1,142,034,000,000.00(Total Debt Passes $1 Trillion)

09/30/1981 $997,855,000,000.00

 

[Oldstyle]

"1) China had never in the history of this country loaned us a penny

2) Tax cuts for the wealthy and Bush wars is what caused the debt. Go read a little history.

3) Republicans began to try to remove Clinton from office in 1993

4) They spent $75-$100 million and failed

5) Bill Clinton left office with a 60% + approval rating

6) Bill Clinton left a surplus and all "gorgeous george" had to do was leave things alone....he cut taxes for his rich buds

7) The Bush administration told a thousand lies before they were able to invade Iraq

8) The only thing George W. Bush fell short of in the race for biggest fuck up was new debt....Reagan and his daddy quadrupled it and slow walking George only doubled it:"

China was buying US treasury notes way back in the 80's, Dude...are you REALLY that uninformed?

Tax cuts and the wars were certainly a contributing factor to the rising deficits but the rapid acceleration of the costs of US entitlements and overall government spending were also contributing factors. The cost of the trillion dollar deficits that we are running now are primarily being driven by exploding entitlement costs...and we haven't even started feeling the effects of ObamaCare.

Republicans did indeed try to remove Bill Clinton from office. Lot's of people didn't like the fact that we had someone sitting in the Oval Office who blatantly lied to Congress. Bill Clinton's problems with impeachment were self-inflicted. He was a great politician with some serious personal flaws.

Bill Clinton cut the capital gains tax from 28% to 20% right before running his three surpluses. Why do you castigate W for cutting taxes to try and spur a lagging economy while not doing the same for Clinton? Let me guess...you didn't KNOW about Clinton cutting the capital gains tax?

As far as debt goes? Which President has added the most debt to the US? Ronald Reagan added 1.77 trillion over 8 years...Bill Clinton added 1.54 over another 8 years...George W. Bush added 4.9 trillion over 8 years...and Barack Obama added 4.73 trillion but over only 4 years. At the rate he is going now by the time his second term is over he'll be near the 10 trillion dollar mark. Trying to portray Barack Obama as "better" at not running up the national debt is a hard sell, Cam. By the time he's done it's guaranteed that he will have added more debt than all the 43 Presidents before him combined!

 

[JQPublic1]

Barack Obama was brought up by his Grandparents who were solidly upper middle class and attended a prestigious private school in Hawaii...hardly "meager beginnings". Obama got INTO Columbia and Harvard not on outstanding collegiate grades but because of Affirmative Action.

I'd certainly like to see a link or verification that Obama got into Columbia or Harvard because of Affirmative Action. Your saying so without a link or citation has little weight here.

As for what Bush "assumed" from Bill Clinton? Go and look at the economic numbers at the close of Clinton's second term. The Dot Com Boom was over and the economy was hardly "thriving"...it was actually declining. Throw in 9/11 six months after Bush takes office and you've got your answer to why Bush spent more than Clinton. Clinton was able to fully utilize the "peace dividend", cutting the military back substantially because we were not involved in any major conflicts during that eight year period. Bush had to spend additional monies to bring the military back to full strength.

I'm not sure how factual your narrative is but you didn't include the double whammy Bush tax cuts and the Medicare Part D fiasco. Further, I suppose it would be too much to ask why Bush spent billions on two wars that he failed to fund! Maybe you forgot about those small items!

Oh yeah!And those tax cuts for the rich occurred at the same time Bush was spending like crazy on his war machine. Please explain the logic in that if you can!

 

[JQPublic1]

As far as debt goes? Which President has added the most debt to the US? Ronald Reagan added 1.77 trillion over 8 years...Bill Clinton added 1.54 over another 8 years...George W. Bush added 4.9 trillion over 8 years...and Barack Obama added 4.73 trillion but over only 4 years.

Aw, you can do better than that! What fiscal years are you talking about? The gibberish you are throwing out here is meaningless without some sort of reference. It looks to me like you are attributing the 2009 budget to Obama instead of George Bush. IN his first year, the federal budget went from 2.98 Trillion to 3.52 Trillion. That was the budget signed by GW Bush and was in effect 4 months before Obama took office.

At the rate he is going now by the time his second term is over he'll be near the 10 trillion dollar mark. Trying to portray Barack Obama as "better" at not running up the national debt is a hard sell, Cam. By the time he's done it's guaranteed that he will have added more debt than all the 43 Presidents before him combined!

Pure speculation on your part! There are a number of variables that could effect the national debt and the deficit as well. A significant increase in revenue , for instance , would nullify your projections. period!

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

They are not upset about the debt ceiling. Writing checks for previous spending is not what this is about. It is a barganing chip at this point.

A bargaining chip for what?

.

Perhaps not so much a bargaining chip but a chisel to ‘chip away’ at the New Deal/Fair Deal/Great Society edifice. This has little to do with ‘fiscal responsibility’ and more to do with ending the hated social programs which conflict with conservative political dogma.

And as already correctly noted, there is a partisan component to this as well – the continued effort by republicans to frustrate and embarrass the president and Congressional democrats, to keep the Base energized, and to manifest an atmosphere of gloom and doom conservatives perceive to be politically advantageous.

 

[Againsheila]

This is just stupid. Impeachment means NOTHING, less than nothing. Clinton was impeached, what difference did it make? Give it up, it's not worth the fuss.

 

[tjvh]

Yeah that's not it either.

Then why aren't the problems before government being fixed and dealt with?

The problem is the Government spending money it doesn't have with one side wanting to continue with reckless spending, and the other wanting to reign it in. You cannot fix fiscally irresponsible spending habits by simply raising the debt ceiling.

 

[LadyGunSlinger]

Republicans are using the debt ceiling just as Obama did, sadly Obama has shown a stunning amount of failed leadership and has fallen into another Bush era policy trap. Seriously, where are Obama and Bush different?

In case you hadn't noticed Obama is black and came from very meager beginnings. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. Bush on the other hand would have probably gotten his inept ass killed in Vietnam if his daddy hadn't pulled strings in Texas to run him around a waiting list of about 1000 trying to get into the Texas national guards. George W. not only got into the guards he got into the one called the "Champagne Unit." The same one that all the Dallas Cowboys managed to get into. Even at that he didn't serve the last fourteen months of his obligation. The rich and connected just don't do that sort of thing.

Bush assumed a thriving economy, 4% unemployment, a balanced budget with surpluses projected all the way to the outyears. He immediately cut taxes for his rich oil buds not once but twice using reconciliation to block Democratic opposition. Then after starting two wars he ran them off budget and rather than ask his rich buddies to pay a little higher tax rate...he doubled the national debt, even borrowing from Communist Chinese banks for the first time in American history. On top of that he left Obama an annual interest payment of close to half a trillion dollars. Bush graduated a C student from Yale and was refused admission to law school at the university of Texas because he didn't qualify academically. Do I need to continue? There's one helluva lot of difference in Bush and Obama.

WTF?! Who gives a shit what color his skin is and how he grew up? He's done damn well the majority of his life and lived like a King. Your King is NO DIFFERENT than that dumbazz George Boooooooooooosh and has even spent more .. so all of you race baiting sheeple need to put the Obama assjuice down and clear the fog from your brains.

 

[Koios]

Republicans are using the debt ceiling just as Obama did, sadly Obama has shown a stunning amount of failed leadership and has fallen into another Bush era policy trap. Seriously, where are Obama and Bush different?

In case you hadn't noticed Obama is black and came from very meager beginnings. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. Bush on the other hand would have probably gotten his inept ass killed in Vietnam if his daddy hadn't pulled strings in Texas to run him around a waiting list of about 1000 trying to get into the Texas national guards. George W. not only got into the guards he got into the one called the "Champagne Unit." The same one that all the Dallas Cowboys managed to get into. Even at that he didn't serve the last fourteen months of his obligation. The rich and connected just don't do that sort of thing.

Bush assumed a thriving economy, 4% unemployment, a balanced budget with surpluses projected all the way to the outyears. He immediately cut taxes for his rich oil buds not once but twice using reconciliation to block Democratic opposition. Then after starting two wars he ran them off budget and rather than ask his rich buddies to pay a little higher tax rate...he doubled the national debt, even borrowing from Communist Chinese banks for the first time in American history. On top of that he left Obama an annual interest payment of close to half a trillion dollars. Bush graduated a C student from Yale and was refused admission to law school at the university of Texas because he didn't qualify academically. Do I need to continue? There's one helluva lot of difference in Bush and Obama.

WTF?! Who gives a shit what color his skin is and how he grew up? He's done damn well the majority of his life and lived like a King. Your King is NO DIFFERENT than that dumbazz George Boooooooooooosh and has even spent more .. so all of you race baiting sheeple need to put the Obama assjuice down and clear the fog from your brains.

Bigot!

 

[LadyGunSlinger]

In case you hadn't noticed Obama is black and came from very meager beginnings. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. Bush on the other hand would have probably gotten his inept ass killed in Vietnam if his daddy hadn't pulled strings in Texas to run him around a waiting list of about 1000 trying to get into the Texas national guards. George W. not only got into the guards he got into the one called the "Champagne Unit." The same one that all the Dallas Cowboys managed to get into. Even at that he didn't serve the last fourteen months of his obligation. The rich and connected just don't do that sort of thing.

Bush assumed a thriving economy, 4% unemployment, a balanced budget with surpluses projected all the way to the outyears. He immediately cut taxes for his rich oil buds not once but twice using reconciliation to block Democratic opposition. Then after starting two wars he ran them off budget and rather than ask his rich buddies to pay a little higher tax rate...he doubled the national debt, even borrowing from Communist Chinese banks for the first time in American history. On top of that he left Obama an annual interest payment of close to half a trillion dollars. Bush graduated a C student from Yale and was refused admission to law school at the university of Texas because he didn't qualify academically. Do I need to continue? There's one helluva lot of difference in Bush and Obama.

WTF?! Who gives a shit what color his skin is and how he grew up? He's done damn well the majority of his life and lived like a King. Your King is NO DIFFERENT than that dumbazz George Boooooooooooosh and has even spent more .. so all of you race baiting sheeple need to put the Obama assjuice down and clear the fog from your brains.

Bigot!

Bigot???? ROFLMAO For saying who cares what color his skin is - that makes me a bigot??! Quite the opposite actually Zombie but none the less.. you can call me whatever names you want..