Patterico's Pontifications

12/11/2013

Crap Budget Deal Announced

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:20 pm



We already knew about this (“mmmwah!“), so nothing much new here. The only real news is that Mitch McConnell is voting against it.

Republicans are ultra-worried about a government shutdown distracting from the trainwreck that is the ObamaCare rollout. End of story. Politics over policy; business as usual.

123 Responses to “Crap Budget Deal Announced”

  1. The Dems are going to push it through the Senate as a reconciliation of some kind, bypassing normal order, so every last Republican Senator should vote no and let the Dems own it.

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  2. Paul Ryan lol

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  3. government shutdowns only amplify the precariousness of entrusting your healthcares to a floundering brokedick neo-fascist state

    mostly this deal was about slopping the pentagon piggies I think

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  4. floundering brokedick neo-fascist *whorestate* I mean

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  5. The goal should be to win the fall election BIG. Since there is no way to pass anything meaningful — at best we could cut a few billion out — we shouldn’t kill ourselves trying.

    That isn’t to say we shouldn’t make a point or two. I would love to see an amendment that automatically winds down Obamacare if the website is not fully functional by, say, March, or if the mix of enrollees causes a cost overrun greater than, say, $100 billion in the current year.

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  6. Sometimes strategy should give way to tactics, and sometimes it shouldn’t.

    When the house is burning down, you shouldn’t be arguing about who gets to control the TV remote.

    Steven Den Beste (99cfa1)

  7. When the house is burning down, you shouldn’t be arguing about who gets to control the TV remote.

    ?

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  8. it would be helpful if you at least communicated a wee lil urgency about the burning house I think

    rather,

    whilst this house is burning our pal Paul Ryan leisurely hands some carefully-selected christmas presents to some random-assed filthy anti-american fascists he met on the subway, strips off all his clothes, throws on his headphones, wanders into the tv room, kicks the kids’ toys out the way, cranks up his fave Roxette tunes and starts in on the P90X like he doesn’t have a care in the world

    Paul Ryan does not speak for me.

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  9. he’s kind of a nastly lil freak actually

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  10. *nasty* i mean

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  11. The budget deal is nothing more than trying to save some Congress people’s hides in the next election.

    Another shutdown will kill any GOP momentum and the deal gives cover to the Dems for “bipartisanship.”

    It’s all about the next election cycle. I have no idea why the right thinks it has a disadvantage, but it is doing everything it can to piss away the Obamacare gift.

    Ag80 (eb6ffa)

  12. And he never delivered on the gay vote and the lonely lady vote which was the only real reason to pick him for VP anyway.

    nk (dbc370)

  13. Paul Ryan never even delivered on the whole “I can’t wait to see him debate Joe Biden” thing

    sad little man, almost Palinesque in his own pitiful way

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  14. Here’s an owl just doing it’s thing. Here’s wolves doing their thing.

    Ag80 (eb6ffa)

  15. And the g.o.p. get squished like a bug or runs from the fight.

    mg (31009b)

  16. McConnell is up for re-election so he’s trying to appeal to conservative voters, but there’s another good reason why McConnell may be voting against this budget deal.

    Clearly, Paul Ryan isn’t that smart after all.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  17. Ryan is worried about who is going to win the 2014 election.

    I’m worried about the dollar crashing. If that happens, it won’t matter which party controls the Senate.

    Steven Den Beste (99cfa1)

  18. “As a conservative, I deal with the situation as it exists,” happyfeet said.

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  19. For those of you who are bemoaning this deal, let me ask you this: What was the alternative? The way I see it, the GOP could have held firm on sequestration, the Dems would have happily shut down the government again, the news would switch from Obama’s failures to the alleged GOP “intransigence,” and then we would have ended up negotiating from weakness and agreeing with the Dems on — yep, you guessed it! — this exact deal. This is how it goes when your party only runs one of the three negotiating entities.

    There are plenty of articles floating around on sites like National Review and Commentary explaining some of the nuances of why this isn’t such an awful deal, even from a budgetary point. Obviously no conservative considers this a victory, but bear in mind that our friends over at The Nation (who call it “cruel and irresponsible”) and the New York Times editorial board don’t like it, so there must be something good about it.

    JVW (709bc7)

  20. Mr. buttons brought up the idea of the ecks pay tree a shun

    just a thought Mr. Beste

    it’s warm where Mr. buttons is

    people are smiling

    they look happy

    kick ur shoes off kick em off git you some of this slowdown fast

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  21. what was the alternative to a free prosperous america in possession of its own dignity and destiny Mr. JVW

    this is not a trick question

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  22. Paul Ryan could be the dumbest m.fer to be b- slapped by the bimbo Murray. What a f-ing dunce ryan is.

    mg (31009b)

  23. what was the alternative to a free prosperous america in possession of its own dignity and destiny Mr. JVW

    Mr. feet, that ship sailed in 2008 and failed to return to port in 2012.

    JVW (709bc7)

  24. byebyemissmairkinpie

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  25. I agree with JVW. What’s the point of another shutdown? At this point, the GOP is winning the PR war and Obama is destroying himself.

    One branch out of three, with a president who wants to be HugoChavez. They could not have gotten a better deal.

    Patricia (be0117)

  26. There is no alternative with the current GOP leadership, JVW, because they fear shutting down the government more than anything. Maybe they’re right. Maybe hanging on by their fingertips is all we can expect from Republicans until 2016.

    But I see decisions like this as death by a thousand cuts, and I’d rather go down as the political party willing to fight against ObamaCare and big deficits — instead of the party willing to fight for itself and the re-election of its establishment politicians.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  27. ObamaCare is going to fail if costs/deductibles increase too much, or if employers drop coverage for millions of employees next year, or if the medical networks shrink so people can’t get reliable health care. No amount of PR will change that, and a government shutdown isn’t going to make people forget or ignore things like this happening.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  28. who hunged from his fingertips was Sumner Redstone and it worked out pretty well in the end for him

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  29. well

    I think technically he’s still alive

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  30. But I see decisions like this as death by a thousand cuts, and I’d rather go down as the political party willing to fight against ObamaCare and big deficits. . .

    Sure, but we know that there will be no compromising with Obama on these issues. Even if the GOP wins back the Senate in 2014, Obama is still going to veto pretty much every initiative to roll back ObamaCare and cut spending. Recall that George W. Bush played what was thought to be a weak hand fairly adroitly in 2007-08. We should expect that Obama — incompetent that he is — will do likewise.

    ObamaCare is going to fail if costs/deductibles increase too much, or if employers drop coverage for millions of employees next year, or if the medical networks shrink so people can’t get reliable health care. No amount of PR will change that, and a government shutdown isn’t going to make people forget or ignore things like this happening.

    I agree with you, but there is a huge difference with the aftermath between ObamaCare failing in 2015 or in 2019. If Dems hold the Senate (because the GOP gets distracted by the shutdown/defund strategy), they will try all sorts of skullduggery to breathe life into ObamaCare at least through the 2016 election. As we have discussed before, if ObamaCare lasts past the 2016 election then it will probably just turn into the springboard to single payer. After all, it’s pretty hard to overcome entitlement America.

    If this were a compromise on something really significant, like agreeing to tax the top earners at 50% or raise the capital gains tax back up to 33% or throwing $500 billion at a Stimulus II, then I would certainly be manning the barricades with you. As it is, this is small potatoes and can only be a distraction from the main goal of taking the gavel out of Harry Reid’s hands and paving the way to recapture the White House in 2016.

    JVW (709bc7)

  31. Paul Ryan clearly wants an effing cookie

    I propose

    I propose we do not give him one

    screw Paul Ryan, I say

    we have better things to do with our cookies

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  32. let it burn.

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  33. screw the g.o.p.
    or be screwed and lied to by the g.o.p.
    republicans suck.

    mg (31009b)

  34. It isn’t as bad a deal as I had been expecting. Take it. The Republicans right now have exactly zero leverage in forcing Harry Reid to accept any significant shrinkage in the budget. This basically takes us past the 2014 elections and when the next Congress convenes in early 2015 the crafting of the FY 2016 budget can get underway. Assuming Republicans take the Senate, if Obama doesn’t sign it by Oct. 1, 2015 then then a united Congress leaves Obama hanging on the “shutdown” hook instead of a Republican House.

    This is as good as it gets right now. It takes away a major issue the Democrats have been using to demonize Republicans and leaves the spotlight on the Democrats while the albatross of Obamacare ripens around their necks.

    I have to question the sanity of anyone who is seriously against this right now. I don’t mean doesn’t like it, nobody likes it, I mean is serious going to fight this. My question to such a person would be “How do you plan to force Harry Reid and Senate Democrats to accept a ‘better’ deal?” considering the general public will not support the Republicans in a shutdown effort and will likely throw them out of office in November if they try to go that route. The Republicans have some political capital right now due to the Obamacare train wreck. Lets not throw it down the toilet. Take the deal.

    crosspatch (6adcc9)

  35. I’m worried about the dollar crashing. If that happens, it won’t matter which party controls the Senate.

    Problem is, there is utterly nothing we can do but hope we can play it out. The Dem Senate and the Jerk-in-Chief control the play. If we have any hope whatsoever, it is to win the next election, which looks pretty good right now.

    Pointless political breath-holding won’t help and to the degree it puts the next election in jeopardy it’s about as helpful as a roomful of Todd Akins.

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  36. Rather than shutting the government down, or attacking the deficits head on, we should wrap this whole mess around the Dems and Obama.

    Attach riders to the bill that auto-destruct Obamacare if certain really bad things happen because of it, and let the Dems scream that 1) the bad things won’t happen and 2) no way they’ll pass the bill with those riders.

    But whatever we do, we need to make Obamacare the lighting rod for the next election. We need to make it a swear word, so that when we win 8 seats in the Senate and another 20 House seats, we claim a mandate and repeal the bloody thing. And drive through the vetoes with a some very scared Dems, or impeach.

    No need to wait until 2016, we can fix this in 2014 so long as we don’t lose the plot out of impatience.

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  37. It probably is important for some members of the GOP to raise a stink about it, though, at least in a “oh, please don’t throw me in that brier patch” kind of way.

    crosspatch (6adcc9)

  38. Off topic, but just terrible.

    Former Conservative (6e026c)

  39. And some people think elections are not fixed.
    Republicans are in on it. Helloooooooooo suckers.

    mg (31009b)

  40. Boenher \Graham 2016 and beyond

    mg (31009b)

  41. Romney\Mccain 2016
    for all you feel good types.

    mg (31009b)

  42. The alternative is the sequester cuts already in place. It’s not ideal but it’s better than this. Ryan and the GOP establishment love the militaty industrial complex, the Dems love social spending. They each get to keep spending. A $23 billion cut in growth when you spend $1.3 trillion more than your tax receipts is NOTHING.

    Bugg (f0dbc7)

  43. The g.o.p. is full of people who only do what the establishment says. So they move up the progressive ladder and screw conservatives.
    I want a LEADER, Goddammit.

    mg (31009b)

  44. As the republicans pander for collectivists, the conservatives look for a storm cellar heading underground to get away from the filth of the g.o.p.

    mg (31009b)

  45. Lando Calrissian would agree with this deal.

    narciso (3fec35)

  46. How is it that sequester levels were “x”, proposed spending levels were “y”, and the “compromise” was y+billions?

    JD (a8d68a)

  47. it’s just part of the ‘spring surprise’ from the whizzo chocolate assortment,

    narciso (3fec35)

  48. JVW,

    How did we get to the point that trillions of dollars is small potatoes?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  49. Plus, I think you underestimate the degree to which people will give Obama credit for “making government work” because of this budget deal. Instead of keeping the focus on the ObamaCare disaster, I suspect this will help Obama’s poll numbers and could even help the polling on ObamaCare as well.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  50. Rand Paul says this deal will add $7 Trillion to the deficit over 10 years. Even if he’s only half right, that’s too much … but what if he’s right?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  51. what if he’s wrong and it’s higher than 7 trillion?

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  52. because you & i both know these fools will never stop spending on their own…

    #DOOM

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  53. I see Rico zeroed in on the great benefit of the deal to useless squatters 160 days per year within the Senate chamber:

    Cover for humongously hideous azzes and show votepaloozas.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  54. and, while we’re at it, here’s $75 Billion we could save & not even miss it.

    http://michellemalkin.com/2013/12/11/obamas-cash-for-universal-preschool-clunker-plan/

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  55. What continues to astonish is the craven dishonesty of our political class.

    A year ago Ryan was the most popular Republican in the country, Rubio not far behind, Flake was on the leaderboard.

    Yet here we are a short 12 mo. later and now know, beyond a shadow of doubt, they were yanking our chains, they’ve no scruples and no aspirations beyond avarice.

    And to beat all, inside 24 mo. the Whigs will pass into the recesses of history all.over.again.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  56. 43. Seminal.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  57. The budget is way out of balance and has been for years. Obamacare is going to bust it wide open. Why are we beating up the Republicans for this? How about we beat up the Democrats instead. They actually deserve it.

    Rather than say: “the Republicans ought to be ashamed not holding the line”, we ought to say: “the Democrats are forcing reckless spending as the price of keeping the government open.”

    Kevin M (536c5d)

  58. How did we get to the point that trillions of dollars is small potatoes?

    Well, from my understanding this “agreement” ups spending by $60+ billion over two years. In return, there are some fee increases which allegedly actually exceed the extra spending, and there is an agreement to keep the new sequestration spending levels for an extra two years (through 2016) rather than having them automatically repealed in 2014. Yuval Levin in National Review has an interesting graph of what this agreement does.

    No doubt there is an argument to be made that this actually costs “trillions of dollars,” but budget math can be made to prove just about any point that you want to make. What I know is that liberals are squawking that Sen. Murray didn’t restore 100% of the sequester and that federal employees now have to pay more for their pensions, so it’s not like we got our clocks cleaned on this. As I argued earlier, if we have to put on our Klingon Cloaking Device for the next year to get through the 2014 elections and re-take the Senate, then I’ll compromise on principles more than I would otherwise care to do.

    JVW (709bc7)

  59. Rather than say: “the Republicans ought to be ashamed not holding the line”, we ought to say: “the Democrats are forcing reckless spending as the price of keeping the government open.”

    Agree wholeheartedly, Kevin M. The GOP’s line on this budget agreement shouldn’t be, “Hey, this is a pretty excellent deal,” but it should be, “Hey, our financial situation is still on a dangerous course and we desperately need correction, but this is the best we can do so long as the public elects Democrats to Congress and to the White House.”

    JVW (709bc7)

  60. JVW,

    You may be right. Megan McArdle thinks the GOP got the better end of the deal, too. But I don’t trust the Democrats to look out for America’s interests, and I’ve learned over the years not to trust Republicans either.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  61. But I don’t trust the Democrats to look out for America’s interests, and I’ve learned over the years not to trust Republicans either.

    As P.J. O’Rourke said years ago, a little bit of luck and a little bit of government is needed in life, but only a fool trusts either.

    JVW (709bc7)

  62. ==A year ago Ryan was the most popular Republican in the country, Rubio not far behind, Flake was on the leaderboard.
    Yet here we are a short 12 mo. later and now know, beyond a shadow of doubt, they were yanking our chains, they’ve no scruples and no aspirations beyond avarice.==

    Well I can’t say that I trust any of the guys and gals in D.C. either, but those are pretty strong words and accusations about people’s character and motivations that you are ascribing to their actions because you disagree with them. You’d be in favor of R’s forcing another unpopular government shutdown in the midst of Obama’s and the Dems’ total meltdown over the Obamacare nightmare catastrophe, then, Gary? Would that make a difference or improve fiscal matters in any material short term way when what we most need is for the D’s/Progs and the Marxist mindset to be electorally expelled from influence? If that’s what you do believe then I don’t quite get your logic of that. And “let it burn” does not work for many of us because it does not appear to be well thought out strategy. Unintended consequences can be a beatch and usually are not able to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys. I hate statists but I fear socialist tyrants even more.

    elissa (207170)

  63. We need an offensive front from the Tea Party.
    Not offensive behavior from the elite g.o.p.

    mg (31009b)

  64. They are pushing for amnesty, and now this bogus deal, a little less than a year ago, they were willing to sell us out on guns, honestly there is no deal that can be made with the Dems,

    narciso (3fec35)

  65. How many times should they roll over for the secproggs in the name of comity? Or is it comedy? How many more ratchets to the Left are acceptable to show they they are kinder gentler moderates that are so much more electable?

    JD (a8d68a)

  66. ==We need an offensive front from the Tea Party.==

    OK. What action/activity does that consist of in, say, Dec-Feb 2013/14, in your opinion mg?. Things, crises, issues and positions change seemingly on a regular basis. How many reliable Tea Party votes do you currently count sitting in the two houses of the 113th congress? What is the best (realisitic) way you can see to gain more reliaible Tea Party votes in the 114th Congress?

    elissa (207170)

  67. MOAR TEA PARTY

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  68. Rubio is openly fighting Ryan on the budget deal. Meanwhile, gg above is counting both Ryan and Rubio in the traitor to the cause/no scruples category. How does one figure out how to score this round? Is there a cheat sheet?

    elissa (207170)

  69. Rubio has improved his standing, Ryan has weakened his, keeping your promises means something,

    narciso (3fec35)

  70. 70. While there will be a test the answer to your question is detailed above. Again, “McConnell intends to vote no”, Cornyn “is puzzled”, Rubio calls it “a disaster”.

    Note these are Senators. Their vote is rendered immaterial by the ‘Deal’ except as resume fluff for the primary season, and thereafter, for straw polls.

    Narciso is correct Rubio, having trashed his rep, has recognized his abysmal stupidity and is on message. That does not mean he can regain his once lofty esteem, pre-Romany.

    The Whigs want to wag the dog. Epic fail.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  71. Yer a hard guy to figger out, gg.

    elissa (207170)

  72. 68. Another good question. Their are indications some ‘TEAs’, e.g., Steve Stockman, are not what they appear.

    Some like Mrs. Bachmann, tho not herself suspect(except to instate Libertarians), seem easily swayed by appearances.

    They might have as many as 80 votes among them and another 50 in Red district sympathizers but too few to matter.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  73. The GOP needs to get to Nov with as few distractions as possible.
    A shutdown would be a major distraction.
    By allowing the appropriations process to revert to “regular order” v. another continuing resolution, they can tailor appropriations to each Department/Agency/Bureau/Administration/Commission/etc. as required, with multiple bills, and imposing their will upon the bureaucracy as best they can. If the WH is then unhappy, a veto only closes a specific part of the government (at the President’s wish), and not the entire government as we saw on 1 Oct 13.
    The goal is to take the Senate, and to increase the GOP majority in the House.
    Anything less will be a victory for the WH.

    No distractions, and let the Dems sink or swim on the performance of BarryCare, and the impending cancellations that are looming for employer-provided policies (Taft-Hartley excepted).

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  74. Comment by gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 12/12/2013 @ 11:10 am

    No one is politics is as they seem.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  75. 73. Not really. Predicting an election is difficult. One hopes to capture a number of cultural intangibles in a moment of time to predict human behavior.

    Economics also deals with human behavior but over a longer period targeting a continuous process and, moreover, rather than guessing what people may be guessing one knows that the mob is interested at bottom in their own epidermis.

    The times have simplified things a bit, removed degrees of freedom from the calculus. People are in comparatively dire straits and believe things to be getting much worse.

    QED, the future events and forces the pols will strive against are known from history, even if we don’t know exactly how they will respond at each turn.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  76. R.I.P. Jim Hall, master jazz guitarist

    Icy (b0295e)

  77. 75. “No distractions”

    We’re trying to win multiple games on one board. Power politics, managed expectations and avoiding irreparable damage to the Union, are three.

    The game theory has to be comprehensible to the players and these are the Whigs.

    So, next non-distraction, taking up Amnesty while avoiding Conference after the primaries are set.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  78. Re: #77… condensed gulrud… future events like these will happen… in the future.

    Colonel Haiku (f9c738)

  79. 64. “Strong words”?

    We are getting very close to global economic RESET. It is now known that the major economies have printed something approaching $25 Trillion and yet credit continues to collapse as well as economic activity.

    We are in the second day following the “relief” of a budget Deal and the markets continue down.

    At some point the survivors in the Markets will decide they must raise prices, volume has simply entered famine territory.

    And shortly thereafter confidence in the dollar will wane. Our stock markets will fall not because money isn’t plentiful but because the value of depreciating assets doesn’t warrant a purchase.

    Stagflation will begin in earnest as it reigned at the end of Nixon’s Presidency.

    The budget deal brought that day closer and investors know that.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  80. askeptic nails it in #75.

    This budget deal will pre-empt any silly government shutdowns between now and Election Day next November.
    I know there are some people many Republicans conservatives who think it sounds romantic to stand in front of a government building with a pitchfork and stage a re-enactment of the French Revolution, but that sort of campy theatre is a huge turn off to the great number of low information voters, independents, and moderates, whose votes are legally tabulated in determining the elections.

    As askeptic points out, we really need to have ObamaCare isolated as the main dish on the menu for voters to express their rage toward Democrats and government in general.
    Let’s not be idiots tempt fate by giving Obama a lifeline which enables the media to say, “Look, squirrel ! The mean Republicans shut down the Grand Canyon again !

    The 2014 elections must be all about ObamaCare and the complete failure of big government.
    If there were to be another government shutdown (which this budget deal pre-empts), the election would then become about Washington and gridlock and mean Republicans.

    Let’s try to avoid stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  81. 82. “we really need to have ObamaCare isolated as the main dish on the menu for voters to express their rage toward Democrats and government in general”

    Well, as Rico has pointed out more than once, a few like Cruz are smelling like a rose.

    He’s not up for re-election tho.

    Mostly the Whigs are just standing around, going “Tsk, tsk, that poor lady with cancer and no policy. Hope she lives ’til Nov. and votes those rascally bastards out.”

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  82. ES, I have nothing against staging a re-enactment of the French Revolution, as long as we have a sufficient supply of Tumbrels.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  83. aseptic,

    I’m more of an Edmund Burke guy when it comes to assessing the French Revolution—after all, we’re all in favor of advocating for and preserving civil society.

    But if we are going to storm the DNC, let’s wait until after Election Day to do it. Meanwhile, we’ll put our friend Gary Gulrud in charge of procuring the teams of horses and oxes that will eventually pull the tumbrels.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  84. know there are some people many Republicans conservatives who think it sounds romantic to stand in front of a government building with a pitchfork and stage a re-enactment of the French Revolution, but that sort of campy theatre is a huge turn off to the great number of low information voters, independents, and moderates, whose votes are legally tabulated in determining the elections

    That is a far cry from pointing out it is a shlt deal. The status quo was the sequester numbers. We managed to compromise into just a few tens of billions of spending increases. Yippee! Are we not capable of pointing out that they want to spend like the Spanish Armada on crack and that ObamaCare is a package of lies and redistribution? Are 2 simple messages really that damn difficult?

    JD (5c1832)

  85. Oops, sorry, I misspelled your name in #85, askeptic.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  86. “Now the Republicans won’t be able, for a couple of years anyway, to throw the country into chaos over their ideological differences with the President”. — Jay Carney (Heard it on the car radio, close enough for quotation marks.)

    Yeah, we won.

    nk (dbc370)

  87. the teams of horses and oxes that will eventually pull the tumbrels.

    The tumbrels? No, the politicians. Apart.

    nk (dbc370)

  88. nk,

    askeptic wants tumbrels. And if we don’t have tumbrels, what is Gary Gulrud going to do with all of those horses and oxes ?

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  89. In ancient Korea the punishment for traitors was to tie each leg and arm to an ox and prod the oxen in opposite directions. That’s what I meant in my 89.

    nk (dbc370)

  90. Draw & Quartering is not so bad.
    I’m sure we can find a sufficient supply of Hill Staff to clean up the mess, after all, that is what they do, isn’t it?

    nk likes to Get Medieval.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  91. Say, does anyone know if Boehner’s family still owns that bar?
    It will be comforting to a lot of people to know that he’s got a job waiting for him after the close of the 113th Congress – others just won’t care one way or the other.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  92. 88. Yeah, most of the cuts do not take effect until year 2022.

    Now we already know that spending is going way up, not just discretionary spending. We know revenues are headed down despite the new “fees” and hidden taxes, like the cut for 404Care from the sale of your McMansion.

    We also know that even if the Fed follows thru on “Taper”, someday, it will not mean selling bonds but repurchase agreements, i.e., they will just be printing money via another mechanism, one that might benefit some other than banks.

    They may end IOER but the banks have warned they will charge interest on our deposits. In any case, the days of Zero Interest are over.

    How fast the Government loses its control over interest rates(especially their own) and therein spending is anyone’s guess, but they have a wild ride in store.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  93. Nominations for the Golden Globes were announced today.

    Speaking of French Revolution overreactions, some heads are gonna roll over Oprah Winfrey being snubbed for “The Butler.”

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  94. yet again Oprah, she is a victim

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  95. elissa, I must admit I don’t know exactly what a tea partier is. But I know what they are not. Have been to a few gatherings, seems like people are ready for something different. ABD,R.
    Ross Perot would win in these times.

    mg (31009b)

  96. mister happy, it is all those right wing journalists in the foreign press corps (or, “corpse” as Obama would pronounce it) who victimized oprah by not nominating her.

    in order to comfort herself, i bet she will go eat some ice cream and donuts and cake and lil’ debbie snack cakes and ho hos and cocoa puffs and…

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  97. Was Oprah in a movie? What did she play? A leather couch?

    nk (dbc370)

  98. nk,

    Yeah, Oprah had a role in ‘The Butler.’
    There has been enormous Oscar buzz for her performance.
    I’m going to predict that the Golden Globes ‘snub’ will ensure that she’s nominated for an Oscar.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  99. I stand with the torch brigade. Pin stripes and wing tips don’t get it.

    mg (31009b)

  100. I imagine Oprah feels like torching the Golden Globes right about now.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  101. 97. And my point follows that, which is–Why, after we just got mugged, then messed up because we weren’t grateful enough, would we then go home with some bystander who held the mugger’s coat so’s we didn’t bleed on it?

    Stupidity unbounded.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  102. 97. Comment by mg (31009b) — 12/12/2013 @ 1:25 pm

    Ross Perot would win in these times.

    Does anyone realize, that Ross Perot didn’t but the budget was balanced ANYWAY – with no special measures measures take to get there (except for Bill Clinton;s phony 1993 budget plan maybe)

    And that Bill Clinton liked tough budget negotiations so much, (because you could get lots of thinbgs passed in huurriedly put togetehr big bills) that he came up with the idea of putting Social Security taxes into a “lockbox” which if course couldn’t be done? I think Al Gore talked about that more.

    Sammy Finkelman (ca4c0f)

  103. Sammy, didn’t Clinton do it by 1) merging the Social Security trust fund into the general budget and 2) changing the currency to make the underground economy dig the money out from under their mattresses and spend it on things where it could be taxed?

    nk (dbc370)

  104. 46. Comment by JD (a8d68a) — 12/12/2013 @ 5:42 am

    How is it that sequester levels were “x”, proposed spending levels were “y”, and the “compromise” was y+billions?

    All compromises involve spending more money.

    Sammy Finkelman (ca4c0f)

  105. 105. Comment by nk (dbc370) — 12/12/2013 @ 2:32 pm

    Sammy, didn’t Clinton do it by 1) merging the Social Security trust fund into the general budget

    No, I think it was President Johnson who did that in 1969. I need to check.

    and 2) changing the currency to make the underground economy dig the money out from under their mattresses and spend it on things where it could be taxed?

    No money was really chased out, because all the old money was still good.

    What did it was, Jack Kemp’s prescription, economic growth, which Clinton kept on minimizing the extent of.

    Clinton deliberatrely raised taxes in 1993 and made sure not one Republican voted for his budget plan, and that it passed by one vote in both Houses, so he could attribute any economic growth that happened purely to Democrats.

    It didn’t help the Democratic because of Hillarycare and economic growth didn’t really start till later. I think monetary policy caused it.

    Clinton’s low-balling of projections of economic growth misled the California electricity regulation people, who, as a result underestimated the demand for electricity and there were brownouts.

    Sammy Finkelman (ca4c0f)

  106. How is it that sequester levels were “x”, proposed spending levels were “y”, and the “compromise” was y+billions?

    All compromises involve spending more money.

    Sammy – You never fail to amaze me.

    JD (5c1832)

  107. “Clinton’s low-balling of projections of economic growth misled the California electricity regulation people, who, as a result underestimated the demand for electricity and there were brownouts.”

    He came from Planet Sammy
    He drove a Plymouth Satellite

    Colonel Haiku (f9c738)

  108. Juan and Evita Obama… Don’t cry for me, Rawalpindi

    Colonel Haiku (f9c738)

  109. Well, 63 Thugs voted against, presumably because they thought spending too high, 31 Dhims cause ’tweren’t enuf.

    The Squeester was Jack Lew’s idea, the Whigs couldn’t even own real cuts.

    I can’t believe the divots who are still playing dumb around here. “What’d we do?”

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  110. gary, this gives the wing tip crowd something to cheer about.
    and give them time to plan the next cave in.

    mg (31009b)

  111. 112. My State Senator and Bachmann, my Rep. are not running again. Julianne Ortmann has the early straw poll lead over McFadden who’s a RINO for US Senator. Emmer is the anointed replacement for Bachmann.

    My assemblyman can count on my vote, the rest are subject to review.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  112. What will team republican throw the towel in on next?
    Who will team republican throw under the bus next?
    Stoopid minds would like to know.

    mg (31009b)

  113. if everyone in DC thinks this bill is a good plan, you know it sucks.

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  114. well said Mr. red

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  115. The Huntress chimes in;

    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/12/Exclusive-Palin-Op-Ed-Budget-Read-My-Lipstick-No-New-Taxes

    many have dissapointed, from Brewer to Bondi, Grimm to whoever, most seem absorbed by the Borg;

    narciso (3fec35)

  116. 46. Comment by JD (a8d68a) — 12/12/2013 @ 5:42 am

    How is it that sequester levels were “x”, proposed spending levels were “y”, and the “compromise” was y+billions?

    SF: All compromises involve spending more money.

    108. Comment by JD (5c1832) — 12/12/2013 @ 2:52 pm

    Sammy – You never fail to amaze me.

    Let me make that: that’s the easiest compromise to reach.

    The fact of that matter is the Republicans wanted to increase the military budget above the sequester caps.

    The compromise was the Republicans got their spending increase, the Democrats got their spending increase, (and hey didn’t want to “waste” the spending increase they were getting on extending unemployment benefits), nothing called a tax was increased but some other items not called taxes were.

    Sammy Finkelman (ca4c0f)

  117. “Clinton’s low-balling of projections of economic growth misled the California electricity regulation people, who, as a result underestimated the demand for electricity and there were brownouts.”

    This is absolutely true.

    California assumed tghat electricity demand would parallel economic growth, as it usually does. Clinton did deliberately low ball projections of economic growth in the late 1990s, and especially in the year 2000 itself.

    California regulators expected spot market prices to be cheaper and biased things agaimnts lomng term contracts. It was only so much having to be bought on the spot market that made the market manipulation possible.

    Sammy Finkelman (ca4c0f)

  118. just shuckin’ jivin’
    selfies at a funeral
    clueless 0bama

    Colonel Haiku (1be04f)

  119. face it 0bama
    when you’ve lost the uninsured
    game ovah baby!

    Colonel Haiku (1be04f)

  120. Bendover Nation
    meltdown in Twenty Fourteen
    sh*t’s gonna hit fan

    Colonel Haiku (1be04f)

  121. mirror does not lie
    it’s Alfred E. 0bama
    he’s “what… me worry?”

    Colonel Haiku (1be04f)


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