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Even Politico can’t spin the GOP’s intransigence in their ‘insiders’ writeup of what happened on the Stupid-Committee. Seeking faux balance, reporters Sherman, Raju and Bresnahan want readers to believe that
fresh stories of bipartisan friendship emerged from this panel
but here are the immediately following examples of bipartisan friendship.
Example One, of Democratic-initiated bipartisan friendship:
Kerry occasionally invited members of the group to dine with him at his Georgetown home, and members would negotiate over Legal Sea Foods and Cosi sandwiches.
Example Two, of an activity presumably to illustrate GOP-initiated bipartisan friendship:
Kyl drew on his 16-plus years in the Senate to counsel Republicans on how to talk to his Senate Democratic colleagues. Kyl said he knew just how Democrats would try to wiggle out of arguments and suggested ways to frame questions and their positions.
Sounds like a senior GOP teaching his junior buddies how to finagle conversations with Democrats. Getting over on framing and positions hardly qualifies as bipartisan friendship. But it shows how the GOP used Democrats’ overtures to their partisan advantage. And this is the first tortured example of how both sides “reached out” to each other, when it’s clear any reaching out by GOPs was to gain partisan advantage while hapless Democrats thought they were making real progress with bipartisan, bicameral bike rides.
The GOP leaders cracked the whip to maintain party unity; the Democrats’ leadership allowed their Stupid-Committee members to wander away from party orthodoxy:
Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell held frequent meetings to make sure their six GOP negotiators remained united. And they tried to make the case that the absence of White House engagement — combined with an apparent lack of coordination between Reid and Pelosi — ensured that Democrats on the panel were divided on some key issues.
I’m as happy as the next 99%er that the panel “failed:” its mission to crack open the Social Security piggybank and slash Medicare funding was clear from Day One. But when even the most reliable GOP Village pixel-rag can’t provide Stupid-Committee balance between the GOP and Dems to support a narrative that everyone was really nice and tried hard to reach out, you know it was a doomed enterprise from the very start.
Thankfully, the duplicity of the double-crossing GOP may very well have saved America from the negotiation-challenged Democrats’ instincts for a Bad Bargain.
43 Comments
Thank God Obama’s influence on the Dems was not as great as Grover’s influence on the GOP.
Obama and the Democrats in Congress disgust me.
The deficit is not a problem, and even if it were, social security did not cause or contribute to it.
Joblessness is the problem. There are 26 million people who cannot find a full time job.
There is a lack of demand for goods and services because those 26 million people and many others with upside down mortgages and marginal minimum wage incomes cannot afford to spend money.
Since the private sector is unwilling to create jobs, given the absence of demand, the government must step in and spend money to create jobs.
Obama’s plan to deal with this crisis, which is fully supported by the democrats is Congress, is to cut government spending and enter into a series of free trade agreements that will create jobs in foreign countries at the expense of losing more jobs in the United States. This policy is the functional equivalent of attempting to extinguish a fire by pouring gasoline on it.
Obama and the democrats are either the stupidest people on the planet or its most corrupt.
I vote for the latter because I don’t think it’s possible for them to be that stupid.
I don’t much care anymore which is the case because they so revolt and disgust me.
And the republicans are just an irrelevant clown show.
“Kerry occasionally invited members of the group to dine with him at his Georgetown home, and members would negotiate over Legal Sea Foods and Cosi sandwiches.”
Oh my! How delightful! *gags*
As a Massachusetts liberal, I have grown to despise John Kerry. As he has come into his old age (and mind-boggling wealth courtesy of his wife), he has abandoned the populist and famously anti-war positions of his youth in favor of Joe Lieberman-lite policies that would destroy our already frayed social safety net. He also loves him some hippie-punching.
I too find John Kerry quite disgusting. Too bad this a$#wip$ was the best the Democrats could field as a candidate in 2004.
As soon as JK was announced as a Stuper-Committee member, he provided comments indicating one of his goals was to attack “strengthen?” Social Security.
And of course the Democratic positions floated included not only cuts to Social Security, WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DEFICIT, so WTF!!!, but also “provider AND BENEFICIARY” cuts for Medicare.
Was only a little while ago that Democrats were claiming Medicare cuts would only be on the provider side, now their true goals are out in the open.
The Blue Dogs and craven multimillionaires selected by the Democrats to be the Super-Committee members included not one man / woman who could be considered a populist or a liberal. That sort of made it clear where our prezican’t was coming from from the start.
Grover’s power is at its zenith, I believe. When both parties’ prominent players (Reid, Simpson, et al) blame one guy for their lack of progress, and that guy isn’t an elected official, you know that guy is going down, soon and hard.
Every article I’ve seen in the past two days online about Grover quotes the Politico mention of a client who sought legislative protection from a law designed to outlaw child porn. I find it very timely, this oft-repeated link (from the same cite) between Grover and child porn.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2011/11/09/grover-norquist-anti-tax-pledge_n_1084129.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/opinion/zealots-remorse.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67906.html
He became a made man when he declined to fight over Ohio’s blatant voter suppression in 2004.
“pixel-rag”… an interesting juxtaposition of the old and new.
Did you see Harry Reid’s response to the failure of the Super Committee. It’s PRICELSS!
“The American people are tired of their elected leaders listening to the extreme voices in their party instead of the voices of reason. I am disappointed that Republicans never found the courage to ignore Tea Party extremists and millionaire lobbyists like Grover Norquist, and listen instead to the overwhelming majority of Americans – including the vast majority of Republicans – who want a balanced approach to deficit reduction. For the good of our country, Democrats were prepared to strike a grand bargain that would make painful cuts while asking millionaires to pay their fair share, and we put our willingness on paper. But Republicans never came close to meeting us halfway.
Instead, Republicans relentlessly sought to end Medicare as we know it by privatizing the program and putting seniors and future generations at the mercy of insurance companies. In addition, Republicans insisted on expanding President Bush’s tax giveaways to millionaires, an approach that would have made our deficit problems bigger, not smaller, while increasing the gap between the top one percent of taxpayers and everyone else.”
Instead the Republican relentlessly sought to end Medicare as we know it by privatizing the program and PUTTING SENIORS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS AT THE MERCY OF INSURANCE COMPANIES!!!!!
The same Harry Reid that voted to, you know, put ALL OF US at the mercy of insurance companies when he voted for Obamacare.
What a hypocritical asshole.
Thank you!
It’s ™
No argument here.
Just because “failure” was the preferred Peoples’ Outcome of the Stupid-Committee doesn’t mean any of their absurd caterwauling over the reasons-why is any more valid.
Goes for Obama too.
I am having a tough time deciding who I despise the most. The dastardly, despicable, blackhearted bastards (TM) that are today’s republican party or the useless, clueless and spineless legislaturds that call themselves democrats who purport to be “for” the working class when all they are doing is pocketing the same corporational lobbyist money as their counterparts across the aisle.
Great piece, Teddy. “…the most reliable GOP Village pixel-rag…” Way too funny.
May I recommend a coin toss?
Free yourself from choosing: #OccupyThemAll
Why, thank you!
Seriously, comments like yours make it all worthwhile.
I really appreciate it, sincerely.
Excellent post. Recommended, of course.
With the failure of the Super Committee, Democracy won, and won big time!
And with Obama’s camouflaged “veto” threat, perhaps, will play well in Peoria, but not here in the Peoria of the Sonoran Desert. As such, there is no “need” for camouflage, and Obama doesn’t seem to understand, that we, the folks, West of the Mississippi, want to see a more agressive Oval Office recipient speaking out and louder.
I also like “the Stupid Committe.”
Hi Teddy.
Hope all is well with you and yours.
We’ve not chatted for a while.
Pam’s sister site has somewhat diffused your blogs, but I have to say… Oh, never mind.
We’ve had a hard time here, you and me. Just from my point of view, no worries.
Lottsa changes here, and I normally Go with the people I know, but I wish it was easier for me to Talk to you.
I’ve tried to hook up with new people here, including the New Young Voices, and the new Sister Sites, but to no avail.
I’m sticking with the issue of my choice, which is Feeding People.
Even those queers.
Every one shows up to be fed. Every One! And, every one with Dignity
“I too find Kerry quite disgusting.”
Fatcat dem invites somewhat less fatcat repubs to come home with him for catered cordon bleu grub, and to make kissy-face about all of them successfully doing jackshit for the cottage people.
What’s not to like?
That some democratic bloggers think THIS is going to hurt the republicans more than the democrats, is why I’m seriously thinking about going third-party after a lifetime of dem voting.
Count me too – admiring that turn of phrase “pixel-rag.”
You know we’re all going to steal it, don’t you? ; )
I’m sick of hearing all the false equivalency descriptions of the “failure”: this a.m. it was Susan Page on npr saying that whle the Republicans look pretty bad, it looks bad for the Democrats, too. No real justification for that statement.
No wonder I grind my teeth. Anyway, this was a nice piece, and a relief to read.
“This policy is the functional equivalent of attempting to extinguish a fire by pouring gasoline on it.”
Or maybe treating anemia with leeches.
Shutting up now, since …well since I shouldn’t have been honest in the first place.
But, I was, in this moment, being honest.
And, I didn’t put a few snark tags in on purpose, because if people know me, they understand how to read my comment.
“combined with an apparent lack of coordination between Reid and Pelosi — ensured that Democrats on the panel were divided on some key issues.”
Mourning Joke will love that quote as he slurps over his daily Politico stooge.
WH told Reid what to do! Nancy has steel ovaries.
That comment and a nickel, and what a ya got?
It’s your choice.
You have to get up earlier in the morning to make a snarky impression here.
Did anyone else catch the FOX interview of Kerry, when he said that if the GOP stopped fighting the end of Bush tax cuts, the Dems would agree to ALL the GOP entitlement cuts?
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1286956178001/super-committee-stalemate-whos-to-blame/?playlist_id=87937
Check his “deal” to cut and agrees to Toomey BS revenue deal. What a sick, weak, elite moron.
His middle name is FORBES, after all.
He and his old lady are worth billions, so I guess he doesn’t need Medicare.
What a fantastic story of bridge-building and burgeoning friendships. I’m glad I am alive to see it.
Its ok, in other words to be at the mercy of Ins. companies according to Reid until your 65 and actuarially a loser for them , then the taxpayers can have them. Up until then their all OURS suckers!! LOL!!
Not feeling the love? Think of the USA as the Titanic. Our economy collapsed in 2008, if you want a history of how that happened, there’s Paul Craig Roberts’ book How The Economy Was Lost, available through amazon.com I believe. What I think is happening is that they really are that stupid, and have no idea what to do now that 50 years of bad government, corruption and a successful fascist economic and cultural revolution have culminated in our current crisis. Our government is a criminal enterprise working with and for the 1% to steal the remaining wealth to save their own families, and this government has decided that we are all expendable. Illegal immigrants, slave labor (note Gingrich’s idea about removing barriers to child labor) will form the new workforce, or jobs will be overseas. They really have no intention of creating jobs. Read Confidence Men by Ron Suskind with some strong drink because it is brilliant and truly disgusting, especially the part where Obama makes it clear he’s decided that productivity gains mean joblessness is just a fact of life and there’s nothing to be done about it. That’s why he’s done nothing for three years. It’s the ‘new normal’ to the Social Darwin elitist jerks Obama represents and is himself. This is after all what globalization is all about, reducing all labor costs to the minimum available. Repubs and Dems are the minority of registered voters now, don’t have to wonder why! But Independents, who are now the majority, have no candidate to run against R&D clowns and criminals. Strong drink highly recommended.
I concur Mason and it has been that way since the founding of our nation. The rich elite control everything and they use the divide and conquer method against the 99%. I am just finishing up for the 2nd time Howard Zinn’s a peoples history. Reading what he has to say disgusts me even more. My 2 cents.
None of them are for the working class. Never have been, never will be. This is a capitalist country that has been trying to destroy the working class from the beginning of our time as a nation. We fight back, they call out the gestapo. Obama wants us to ‘eat our peas’ because in his mind we’re at fault for everything that’s happened to us. Be patient, he says. Accept the new normal. Typical 1% thinking.
Social Darwinism is the credo of our ruling class. They’ve got theirs and the rest of us deserve to eat shit and die. Their philosophy in a nutshell. Problem with all this is, the end of cheap oil is upon us, and soon, very soon, globalization will fail, free market economies will fail, capitalism will fail and my hope is that all over the world the 99% will come up with a different way of handling things. But desperate times create desperate solutions. Our ruling class is committing suicide and trying to take us all with them. Next I think they will come up with a big war in an attempt to survive by diverting our attention, forcing the young via the draft to fight in it, or flee, remember fleeing is an option, stimulating the economy in a very destructive way, and doing away with democracy and dissent in the name of national security. It’s happened before. It may very well happen again. Only this time the stakes are much higher. But I think our ruling class is too insane to realize this, they think they are back in WWII, really they are stunningly stupid.
Kerry: More Lobster, Mr. Kyle? Please put some in your pockets to take home with you.
Kyle: If you insist, you big dope. You know I prefer Rocky Mountain Oysters and Dyncorp Dancing Boys.
The whole deficit mania and hysteria has nothing to do with facts or logic. It’s all a smokescreen and a dog-and-pony show to fuck over the middle-class once more for the benefit of the Oligarchs. The GOP has always been owned by the Banksters and Wall Street and the Democrats have become the new whore in their cat-house.
These books are also available at employee-owned Powells.com
Thank you very much for your kind words.
And, yes, you’ll see a more aggressive speaker in the Oval Office, starting right now. It’s Election Time! It’s when 0bama’s at his most Populist.
Many thanks.
I often wonder what neurons connect to form something like “pixel-rag” as they did this morning. I’m so happy to see it appreciated; sometimes equally brilliant neologisms just slip through the hourglass of MyFDL. I really did not expect that one to generate the enthusiasm it has.
But I’m here to entertain, so nothing could make me happier.
It is a tremendous relief to me not to have to be the Gay Blogger here at FDL. It’s one of the reasons I proposed Pam’s move into our abode last summer. Smart me, I stepped aside after making the proposal and the introductions, leaving the tech synch to the smart folks Jane’s surrounded herself with.
Not so much a diffusion as a diversion of viewpoints; it’s wonderful to have more than one LGBT Blogger and has freed me, actually, to pursue some Real Life issues and focus on health and happiness IRL.
I couldn’t be more happy with the conversations happening here, every day on every venue. This is a very happy time for the blog, in my view.
Glad you’re still aboard.
Ha! Me too!
Speaking of John Kerry and Ohio 2004.
I was an Official Observer in the Ohio Re-Count 2004, serving in Erie and Seneca counties. I even did a live Indy Media report from there to Minnesota, where I live.
John Kerry allowed the blatant election theft, voter fraud and suppression. So did John Edwards, the VP candidate and “working class hero”, or so Madison Ave told us.
The entire Democratic Party allowed it, including Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers. Those are the ugly realities. They allowed a blatant violation of the 1965 Voters Rights Act that were the 2000 and 2004 selections. This is undeniable by the way, at least to those who have the political courage and integrity to be really honest.
So it always amazes me to see so many self styled liberals and “progressives” involved in Democratic Party turd polishing. To paraphrase the title of this piece.
Telling The Truth In A Time Of Universal Deceit, Is A Revolutionary Act-
George Orwell
Super Congress failed because of Republican allegiance to Grover Norquist.
In this one case I’d like to say, “Thank you, Grover Norquist.” Without complete and utter intransigence from Republicants, Demoblicans would have sacrificed the their best of their own party’s platform to the false god of austerity.
I made a diagram of the way our economy works in
http://pshakkottai.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/how-the-econom…orks-a-diagram/
to explain Modern Monetary Theory which is nothing but actual accounting. This diagram is useful to demystify all the nonsense being talked about by the mainstream media using phrases like “living beyond your means”, “deficit crisis”,”making your grand children pay for your mistakes” and so on.
“– who want a balanced approach to deficit reduction. ” is the problem. Deficit is good and decreasing it is nonsensical. See my blog
http://pshakkottai.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/how-the-econom…orks-a-diagram/ to explain MMT.
It’s sad in a way, watching the dems play their same tired game, oblivious to the fact that they have exposed their real intentions so many times that few people are gullible enough to keep believing them. Dems want what the repubs want, they just use different words to get there. Dem think we still believe their words, but actions like Kerry’s are just more proof that the dems sleep in the same bed with the repubs. Btw, the site looks good on a Xoom tablet, and your writing is better than ever, TP.
You are too kind. Thanks.