Republicans in the U.S. Congress are negotiating the repeal of two unpopular Obamacare provisions in an effort to end the partial shutdown of the federal government which began earlier this week.
However it remains to be seen whether the two concessions will be enough for fiscal conservatives.
GOP leaders are offering Barack Obama and Democrats in the U.S. Senate their choice of a 45-day or 75-day temporary funding resolution in exchange for the permanent repeal of Obamacare’s $3.2 billion medical device tax and the elimination of the congressional health care subsidy.
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner tried to rally his troops behind the elimination of the subsidy earlier this week.
“Why don’t we make sure that every American is treated just like we are?” Boehner said.
Really?
This is yet another example of Boehner’s galling hypocrisy. As recently as July Boehner was working closely with Senator majority leader Harry Reid and House minority whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) to ensure these subsidies remained in place for members of Congress and their employees. He even personally lobbied Obama on behalf of these subsidies.
Hypocrisy aside, any deal to fund government for 45 days, 75 days or 365 days (remember when our “leaders” in Washington, D.C. passed annual budgets?) must be contingent on the complete defunding of Obamacare and the permanent elimination of its insidious tax hikes and oppressive mandates.
Anything short of that is caving …
26 comments
Oh crop. It just hit me. Reid and Steny / Ren and Stimpy.
BBBBWWWWaahaahhahahahahahhahaha. Just exactly what is happening now. Two morons devouring the country. Idiots.
At least they’re not trying to devour the rights of my vagina.
Wait for it…….
Both sides are completely classless. It’s like watching a Jacksonville
vs. Raiders game. I don’t really care for either one of them, but
somebody has to win.
Obamacare is coming whether you like it or not. It had its court case and the bill is signed. The push to defund Obamacare is like a toddler throwing tantrums because mamma wouldn’t buy the toy.
At the same time, Harry Reid should negotiate instead of being a complete dickhole about it.
“Both sides are completely classless. It’s like watching a Jacksonville vs. Raiders game.”
lol….funny!(and true)
I have to say though that just like a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut, the Raiders may have stumbled into a diamond in the rough in Terrelle Pryor.
To think they got him a the 3rd round, supplemental none the less…is pretty amazing.
Not Tom Brady 6th round amazing, but still.
The Dems have been pushing and pushing the GOP trying to force a shutdown they could blame on the GOP. The Dems keep putting things out that they know the GOP can’t agree to. Why the GOP let it go this long is beyond me. The GOP keeps letting Dems decide battles, weapons and battlefield (calm down you over sensitive types, it’s just an analogy). These two items are petty in the big picture. The subsidy for Congress and staffers was more than likely put in there just so it could be taken out at a time like this. The GOP leadership has obviously gotten on board the 0bamaCare train and now only postures for votes. If they really wanted to have any positive impact they, the GOP, would set the BUDGET as the battlefield, one hasn’t passed the Democrat controlled Senate in four years ±, and refuse ANY continuing resolutions and put the Dems into a position of shutting down the government.
“The Dems keep putting things out that they know the GOP can’t agree to.”
That’s not hard to do when a faction of your party has decided that compromise is a dirty word.
The annual deficit has fallen every year since 2009. A majority of the overall deficit was the result of thing locked into place before Bush left office and the 3 trillion dollar unfunded Wars we fought and are fighting. So what battle do you want to have?
Well Tom, at over a trillion dollars a year don’t you think it should fall. We’ll still manage to get to a 17 trillion dollar debt shortly so apparently the falling deficit has been of little consequence. That’s OK keep blaming Bush because he did have a hand in it just as every President before him but Obama has out done them all at 7 trillion on his watch alone.
I would think that after five years of being President 0bama would be considered responsible for something. In order for someone to go along with your premise that this is all Bush’s fault one would have to first remove their brain, and then completely forget that for two years the Democrats had both houses of Congress, super majorities, and the Presidency. One would also have to forget that 0bama pushed through a nearly trillion dollar stimulus bill that was nothing more than pork for his supporters and all the “Quantitative Easing” not to mention the billions in the ACA.
Now you want to say that the deficit has gone down every year since 2009 and you would be nearly correct (but I’ll give it to you anyway) but it just went from $1.4T to just under one trillion, barely. You want to blame it on Bush’s wars but for each year the wars, combined cost less than $200B, that’s billion, as in 1/5 to 1/7 of the deficit. I understand that you don’t want to have Democrats accept any responsibility for all this, why would you, you would have to admit you’re wrong, but facts are facts. Also, for the record, the Democrats gave the authority to Bush to engage the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so it wasn’t Bush’s wars nor the Republican’s wars it was all of them’s wars.
All figures in $Trillions
Year GDP Debt Deficit Revenue War Cost
2007 14.03 8.95 .16 2.57 170.4
2008 14.29 9.99 .459 2.52 185.6
2009 13.97 11.88 1.41 2.11 155.0
2010 14.5 13.53 1.29 2.16 165.0
2011 15.08 14.76 1.3 2.3 167.9
2012 15.68 16.05 1.09 2.45
2013 16.2 17.25 .97 2.7
Budget data;
http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/classic.html
Cost of wars data;
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
If you’ve read this far please explain to me how Democrats can be so big on stimulus but argue against military spending. It would have to be the easiest kind of stimulus there is. The money is spread fairly evenly across the country as the military industrial complex has tried to put some part of everything in as many states as they could so they would have as many Congressmen as possible protect every little part of it. The spending on the bases, hardware, software and human capital would spread money around more equitably than any of the Democrats (or Bush’s one) stimuli. The war spending should have brought new found prosperity if you believe those that said/say it was WWII that snapped us out of the Great Depression.
Good article on the decreasing deficit;
http://spectator.org/archives/2013/10/01/obamanomics-rip
I knew the party wasn’t gonna last. As Colonel said, they dare not let a “shutdown” last too long…lest the sheeple get the notion that life goes on fine without them….and for most…even better.
This is so CUTE! Defund-or-it’s-caving, tut tut tut. “Defunding” was never going to work, and now even Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are suing for peace by asking for delays in this or eliminations of that. So, Will, have Cruz and Lee “caved”?
It must be lonely to live in the barren ideological wasteland you do.
Then the GOP will cave because your demands will never be agreed to by Senate Democrats.
And if the Senate Dems did agree, it would be Obama’s fault for vetoing.
#ObamaCaves
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/10/02/breaking-obama-invites-congressional-leaders-to-wh-shutdown-summit/
It’s about dam time Obutthead learned his place.
Here is a suggestion that could make Will Folks look like a real journalist: Sic Willie goes to the PPACA website (may take a while, since it is so popular) and checks out what it would cost him for health insurance for Willie and Mrs. Sic and the kids.
This has to be a fair comparison in terms of current benefits. Will he?
To hell with that. Don’t do it Sic. That things gonna be worse than DSS. Once they get their claws in, they ain’t comin’ out for nuttin honey.
Here’s the data for you to right for your very first ‘real journalist’ story.
http://www.infowars.com/obamacare-fines-to-be-seized-from-bank-accounts/
BBBBBWWWWAaaahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Infowars? Really? Infowars?
Pics or it didn’t happen.
There was a pic. Other than that, maybe this guys a liar. there will be plenty more. You know it. :)
A picture of a Facebook comment, not of the actual part that said it would deduct money from his bank account.
Even if they tried, it would be thrown out in court due to this provision:
(A) Waiver of criminal penalties
In the case of any failure by a taxpayer to timely pay any penalty imposed by this section, such taxpayer shall not be subject to any criminal prosecution or penalty with respect to such failure.
(B) Limitations on liens and levies
The Secretary shall not—
(i) file notice of lien with respect to any property of a taxpayer by reason of any failure to pay the penalty imposed by this section, or
(ii) levy on any such property with respect to such failure.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/5000A
I’m not aware of enough of Will’s situation to really know if the exchange is a viable option for him and his family. The exchange was not designed for every person/family. Might be interesting to see what he would get, but I doubt Willie would want to divulge all the information he’d need to give us an idea why he was quoted X price. I wouldn’t.
We ain’t seen nuten yet, the debt limit is comin.
It’s absolutely amazing that the Senate hasn’t passed a budget in how many years? IF you don’t know, go look it up. I can’t believe people are still blaming Bush.
You really need to read this article in the Georgetowner, a local Georgetown/DC area news paper. The lengths your President and his administration are going to to make the “shutdown” crisis a media event are insane. They’ve spent more money shutting down the C&O Canal BIKE PATH than it would have cost to man the very limited services offered – they actually removed handles from well pumps along the route so they couldn’t be used. http://www.georgetowner.com/articles/2013/oct/01/shutdowns-little-details-say-lot-towpath-parks-closed/
The Mount Vernon trail, another bike path has been marked as closed – even though there is no expense required to operate it and the policing of the area continues. Locals are ignoring the shut down like good Americans should. http://wamu.org/news/13/10/02/shutdown_leaves_government_workers_with_free_time_but_no_access_to_popular_va_trail
But best of all, the NPS Police tried to block access to George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon – even though it is owned by a private organization that the NPS shares a parking lot with.
And then there’s this one: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Famous-City-Tavern-Closed-by-Government-Shutdown-226198441.html