Super Fun Time Politics Thread in Which We Discuss Stuff

by **td11** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:21:20

Robert Costa @robertcostaNRO
The emails/texts from members and aides are colorful. Anger twd McCarthy for whip fail, twd Boehner on strategy, twd tea party for criticism

by **jerseyhoya** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:23:17

Reid Epstein ‏@reidepstein
America: Where a plan that was DOA anyway fails, causing the market to tank, which would spur quick action, except for Christmas. Scene!

by **drsmooth** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:27:46

fortunately the right has a deep bench of capable leaders to draw on

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by **drsmooth** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:28:57

Can we all just concede now that congresspersons in the main are total fucktards, with Republican House congresspersons the emblematic fucktards

by **pacino** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:30:32

there remain no centrists. the centrists are the controlling portion of the democratic party. the republicans are about 99% crazies at this point, and are likely purposefully forestalling an actual recovery with jobs. but paul ryan and john boehner and eric cantor are VERY SERIOUS. very, very serious.

by **td11** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:32:56

6d ago
Eric Cantor @GOPLeader
We will not adjourn Congress until a credible solution to the fiscal cliff has been announced. Revised House calendar » pic.twitter.com/hfmZiCTR

1h ago
Eric Cantor @GOPLeader
The House of Representatives has concluded legislative business for the week. The House will return after the Christmas holiday when needed.

by **drsmooth** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:33:10

jerseyhoya wrote:
Reid Epstein ‏@reidepstein
America: Where a plan that was DOA anyway fails, causing the market to tank, which would spur quick action, except for Christmas. Scene!

oh well. maybe "the market" will start buying itself a different breed of "politician"

by **td11** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:33:47

pac u said pres is a centrsit

by **pacino** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:34:39

well, i would said he is part of the controlling part of the democratic party...?

by **drsmooth** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:34:46

td11 wrote:6d ago
Eric Cantor @GOPLeader
We will not adjourn Congress until a credible solution to the fiscal cliff has been announced. Revised House calendar » pic.twitter.com/hfmZiCTR

1h ago
Eric Cantor @GOPLeader
The House of Representatives has concluded legislative business for the week. The House will return after the Christmas holiday when needed.

Eric Cantor is a feckless assclown

by **pacino** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:35:27

td11 wrote:6d ago
Eric Cantor @GOPLeader
We will not adjourn Congress until a credible solution to the fiscal cliff has been announced. Revised House calendar » pic.twitter.com/hfmZiCTR

1h ago
Eric Cantor @GOPLeader
The House of Representatives has concluded legislative business for the week. The House will return after the Christmas holiday when needed.

this Congress has taken an insane amount of time off. what are they, the Texas legislature?

by **pacino** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 22:37:08

td11 wrote:pac u said pres is a centrsit

i mean, at this point the country is what was previously known as 'socially liberal'. now those ideas are the mainstream, and are entirely centrist. even many younger self-described conservatives hold these views. his economic views are entirely centrist. fine, if you're a fan of that...i'm not the biggest fan of that, though.

by **dajafi** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 23:46:22

My onetime colleague Glenn Thrush, now of Politico and co-author of a new e-book, is on NY1 right now. He looks totally grown up and sober, and isn't swearing. Makes me sad.

Glenn was an amazing NYC journalist. He's still probably a great reporter, but Politico is just so fucking gross.

by **CalvinBall** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 23:58:04

Republicans blow. It's unreal. The majority of the country is going to blame them. They don't get it.

by **swishnicholson** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 23:59:19

jerseyhoya wrote:Going over the cliff then. At least we'll get some spending cuts.

jersey, the way I always saw this going down was that at the last minute Obama would announce some spending cuts, while sticking to the expiration of the tax cuts. This wouldn't be particularly hard to do, of course. He's announced support for the general idea of spending cuts and I always figured that no specifics have been announced simply because if you trot them out too early the Republicans have plenty of time to shoot them down as insufficient. Made with enough fanfare and at the right time they can seem like concessions, and thus the Republicans can save face and Obama can retain enough cred by getting the tax rates which were the main part of his program. At one time I would have thought the largest impediment to this was Republican intransigence to the idea of accepting the expiration of the tax cuts under any circumstances, and obviously this works best if you've already come to a bipartisan agreement-otherwise it's just grandstanding. But it's pretty damn good grandstanding, so ti might be worth it in the long run anyway.

So I don't know if I should be frustrated that this sort of announcement hasn't come yet, simply patient because the time isn't right yet and you really have to bring this to the brink for it to work, or if I've simply mis-read the situation.

While it's clear where your sympathies lie, you have a cool head about these things. How do you see it playing out?

by **jerseyhoya** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 00:30:12

swishnicholson wrote:
jerseyhoya wrote:Going over the cliff then. At least we'll get some spending cuts.

jersey, the way I always saw this going down was that at the last minute Obama would announce some spending cuts, while sticking to the expiration of the tax cuts. This wouldn't be particularly hard to do, of course. He's announced support for the general idea of spending cuts and I always figured that no specifics have been announced simply because if you trot them out too early the Republicans have plenty of time to shoot them down as insufficient. Made with enough fanfare and at the right time they can seem like concessions, and thus the Republicans can save face and Obama can retain enough cred by getting the tax rates which were the main part of his program. At one time I would have thought the largest impediment to this was Republican intransigence to the idea of accepting the expiration of the tax cuts under any circumstances, and obviously this works best if you've already come to a bipartisan agreement-otherwise it's just grandstanding. But it's pretty damn good grandstanding, so ti might be worth it in the long run anyway.

So I don't know if I should be frustrated that this sort of announcement hasn't come yet, simply patient because the time isn't right yet and you really have to bring this to the brink for it to work, or if I've simply mis-read the situation.

While it's clear where your sympathies lie, you have a cool head about these things. How do you see it playing out?

I have no idea. I think we're heading into the new year without a deal.

Although this blowing up might make some of the House GOP more likely to take a deal, work with whatever Reid can pass the Senate. Whereas if it had passed, we might have felt comfortable saying "Hey we raised taxes on millionaires. That's reasonable. If Obama doesn't want that then it's on him." and let it go.

by **jerseyhoya** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 00:31:26

Boehner opened the conference meeting with the serenity prayer. That's fantastic.

God I hope he gets through this OK. He's the best, and whoever else the conference would pick would be brutal.

by **drsmooth** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 08:16:37

The House Republican fiasco is a more serious consequence of party functionaries' inability to basic things - among them, to count. They simply do not understand that they are not in charge. It's like watching hundreds of people in a group suffer strokes simultaneously

by **drsmooth** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 08:31:28

David Brooks' wonderfully titled* op-ed today, Strangers in the Night, basically tells Republicans they should wait'll next year

*wonderfully titled because though he uses it to refer to house republicans and the White House occupants as strangers to each other, it works as well to describe the House Republican caucus all by itself

by **drsmooth** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 08:35:21

Karl, Kochs, Grover, NRA, Boehner et al living the downside of abiding by Mitt's "corporations are people too" category error

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