Monday, September 30, 2013

Keep saying NO, Mr. President


Last week, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew sent the House a very serious warning that, for the first time, the United States would be unable to pay its bills beginning on Oct. 17 if the debt ceiling is not lifted. House leaders responded this past Thursday with one of the least serious negotiating proposals in modern Congressional history: a jaw-dropping list of ransom demands containing more than a dozen discredited Republican policy fantasies:

Speaker John Boehner and the other GOP leaders said they would refrain from deliberately sabotaging the global economy if President Obama allows more oil drilling on federal lands, drops regulations on greenhouse gases, builds the Keystone XL oil pipeline, stops paying for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, makes it harder to sue for medical malpractice, and, of course, halts health care reform for a year. (We will also hold our breath and turn blue in the face if we do not get what we want!)

The absurdity of the list shows just how important it is that Mr. Obama ignore every demand and force the House extremists to decide whether they really want to be responsible for an economic catastrophe. Many items on the list are intended to put vulnerable red-state Democratic senators on the spot should the plan wind up in their chamber. One of them, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, said Thursday he could support a year’s delay on health reform. If the unified Democratic opposition to the debt-ceiling threat is shattered in the Senate, the pressure on Mr. Obama to come to the table would be intense.

It is clear the Republican agenda is to overturn the duly enacted Affordable Care Act while nullifying the Supreme Court decision and the presidential election of 2012.  They want to prove that their intransigent brand of “constitutional conservatism” can work politically. They want to prove that the minority can rule the majority through temper tantrums, lies, and obstruction.

Any sober-minded lawmaker should realize that the danger of trifling with the debt limit is far too high. But Mr. Boehner has been encouraging his members to toss their pet projects onto the towering list of demands. By day’s end, many Republican members remained skeptical of the leadership plan. The House leaders clearly hope the president will take the bait and negotiate on a few items on the list, forcing him to break his promise never to bargain over the debt ceiling ever again.

A failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause a default on government debt, shattering the world’s faith in Treasury bonds as an investment vehicle and almost certainly bringing on another economic downturn. Unlike a government shutdown, a default could leave the Treasury without enough money to pay Social Security benefits or the paychecks of troops. The full effects remain unknown because no Congress has ever allowed the government to go over the brink before. The Government Accountability Office estimated that simply by threatening to default in 2011, Republicans cost taxpayers $1.3 billion in higher interest payments because of that uncertainty. The 10-year cost of those higher-interest bonds is $18.9 billion.

There is no one, not even debt default enthusiasts, who think wrangling over the debt limit is going to be good for the economy.

To prevent the House from making every debt-ceiling increase an opportunity to issue extortionist demands for rejected policies they can achieve in no other way, the president has to put an end to the routine creation of emergencies once and for all by simply saying NO.  Obama made a mistake by negotiating in 2011, hoping to reach a grand bargain.  During that negotiation the GOP produced and insisted on  the corrosive sequester cuts to which the president agreed.

If no negotiations occur, then there is a reasonably high probability that the GOP’s corporate allies will make Boehner walk the plank and cooperate with House Democrats to pass a “clean” debt limit increase. That’s actually the only sane way out of the dark place Boehner is leading the country towards right now.

Keep telling the Teapublicans “NO,” Mr. President.  Stay firm. Walk a straight line. Do not waver. Nip this hostage taking in the bud. Once this happens, the Teapublicans in the House will have real head-exploding convulsions – hopefully to the point of not being re-elected next year.

In the throes of desperation


Why are the Tea Party Republicans so desperate to defund Obamacare right now? Because they know that once it goes into effect its popularity will skyrocket. The Republicans know that once it is in effect, it will be impossible to tell the millions of Americans who have a pre-existing condition that they have to return to the days when they either were denied insurance coverage or had to pay an arm and a leg to get it. They know that once it is in effect, it will be impossible to end the affordable coverage where prices have come in much lower than projected.

They know that once it is in effect, it will be very difficult to end coverage for the millions who will for the first time have health insurance through expanded Medicaid. They know that once it is fully implemented, it will be impossible to take away the many benefits of Obamacare. It is one thing to prevent something good from being passed by Congress. It is quite another to take something away from the voters.

Most importantly, they know that all of the many Obamacare “horrors” they have predicted will not happen – from “death panels” to price increases to a “government takeover.” As a consequence, they believe that once Obamacare is fully implemented, their credibility on the subject will collapse, support for major new progressive initiatives will increase, the popularity of the President – and of Democrats in Congress – will go up, and their chances of hanging on to the House or taking the Senate in 2014 – and the White House in 2016 – will decline. This is why the GOP will risk shutting down the government or defaulting on America’s obligations – on the chance that they can force President Obama and the Democrats to delay its implementation and allow them to live to fight another day.

They are desperate. And to achieve their narrow ideological goal, they are willing to use the same desperate measures that other marginal movements have adopted around the world: they have taken a hostage. Except their hostage is not one person – it is 320 million people – it is the American economy.

But their hostage taking strategy faces two virtually insurmountable obstacles:

First, President Obama is not willing to negotiate whatsoever over the debt ceiling or Obamacare. Obama has learned, categorically, that he should never negotiate with hostage takers, because to do so only encourages them to take more hostages and make more demands. He knows that if he negotiates with people who are willing to collapse the American economy just to get their way, they will then use the same threat again and again. And he is obviously unwilling to sacrifice his signature initiative, Obamacare.

Second, many among the GOP establishment think that the Tea Party’s willingness to shut down the government or cause a default is sheer madness and would severely damage the GOP brand.

The GOP demand that President Obama and the Democrats surrender or face a government shutdown or default is like a combatant in a war demanding that the other side surrender or he will blow his own head off. From a purely political point of view – if it were not so bad for the country and economy – you would have to say: “Go ahead, make my day.”

All the polls show that if either a shutdown or default takes place, Americans will blame the Republicans by a factor of at least two to one. And after they have taken the blame, in the end they will collapse. Even the Wall Street Journal editorial page said so:

The evidence going back to the Newt Gingrich Congress is that no party can govern from the House, and the Republican Party can’t abide the outcry when flights are delayed, national parks close and direct deposits for military spouses stop. Sooner or later the GOP breaks. So while the state of desperation in evidence among Tea Party Republicans at the prospect of Obamacare going into effect — and becoming very popular — might be understandable, their desperate strategy of holding the economy hostage in order to kill it [Obamacare] is downright suicidal

Jim Carville and Stan Greenberg wrote: The Republican Party has a serious brand problem, and it keeps getting worse. The GOP is viewed unbelievably negatively, and even Republicans themselves agree that it is deeply divided. Polls show the Republican brand problem manifesting itself in the Virginia gubernatorial race and in Senate races across the country. And if Republicans damage their brand even worse by shutting down the government, we think that they could trigger a revolt that might even imperil their House majority in 2014

Then again, while suicide bombers end up as victims of their own actions, there is no question they can inflict enormous amounts of pain and suffering on everyone else.


From an article by: Robert Creamer, The Huffington Post Blog, September 20, 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Ted Cruz will never be president


Ted Cruz has been in Washington for less than a year.  His refusal to observe Senate protocol to first sit back and learn, as a freshman is expected to do, has rubbed some of his more senior colleagues the wrong way. He is considered to be inappropriately loud and opinionated – often making statements that are very offensive toward both Democrats and Republicans.  He says he was not elected to the Senate to stay quiet. And his on Tuesday, he took that edict to the Senate floor to prove to his base that he wants to defund Obamacare, saying he would speak "until I am no longer able to stand."  

In upping the ante, Cruz’s latest battle to disrupt Obamacare is tied to funding the government in the new fiscal year that starts on October 1. His refusal to give up the fight – which many say could be the GOP’s undoing in the 2014 election – has rankled many of his fellow Republicans, widening divisions in a splintered party. 

"I find it amusing that those in Washington are puzzled when someone actually does what they said they would do," Cruz told CNN in February. "At the end of the day, I was elected to represent 26 million Texans and to speak the truth. You know, I think a lot of Americans are tired of politicians in Washington in both parties who play games." 

Yet that is just what Cruz is doing – playing games – and taking it to the nth degree.

Cruz was elected by promising to shrink government – especially the new health care law.  Although that battle has been embraced by most Republicans in Congress, Cruz’s latest tactic has frustrated many of them. New York Rep. Peter King has been an outspoken critic of Cruz' latest crusade – at one point calling him a "fraud."

"Whether it's Custer, whether it's kamikaze, or whether it's Gallipolli or whatever, we are going to lose this," the New York Republican said on CNN's "The Situation Room" last week.  Republicans are frustrated by his insistence at fighting a divisive, losing battle. Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee tweeted that he "didn't go to Harvard or Princeton" but that he "can count" that Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Senate, referring to the fact that Cruz, in studying for his law degree, would only study with Princeton, Yale, or Harvard college grads.

"We are giving Obama the escape out," Republican strategist Ana Navarro said on CNN's 'AC360.' "Instead of now focusing on the problems with Obamacare, everybody's focused on the civil war in the Republican party." Navarro also noted that the numerous polls, including CNN's latest poll, that while the public is concerned with Obamacare, they don't support shutting down the government over it.

"If you want to fix Obamacare or repeal it or fix it or change it, the best way to do it is to elect more Republicans. And the political cost of a government shutdown is really going to affect any – any possibility of electing more Republicans," Navarro added.

Frank Bruni of the New York Times called Cruz's all-nighter "grandstanding" and too said the Republican Party may suffer in 2014 if the Texas senator causes a government shutdown:

"This week he is blithely putting the lawmakers in his party between a rock and a hard place. If they fail to match the anti-Obamacare passion that he flexed anew in a Senate speech Monday, they'll land on the far right's watch list. But if they match it and the government shuts down, there's a good chance that the Republican Party takes the blame..."

"While many others have, no doubt, come to the Senate in the past as a springboard to the presidency, it's hard to recall someone who has created as much controversy within his own party," said CNN political analyst Gloria Borger. Is this about his principles or about presidential aspirations? In questioning Cruz’s motives, Republicans think he is putting his political career above all else.

Cruz’s "filibuster" will not do anything to block Obamacare funding. There is a key procedural vote on the issue scheduled for noon today,Wednesday, that will put an end to Cruz’s "stand in the schoolhouse door." Cruz knows this, but he said his speech was to simply "make D.C. listen." Hardly anyone is listening, though, not even FOX News. They spoke about it for a minute while showing a quick video of Cruz’s filibuster in the background, but there was no sound.

Cruz could alienate his colleagues to a point where he becomes marginalized and completely ineffective in Washington. He has risked being relegated to some of the lowlier Senate committees where his bloviating will do less harm. If he has no support of the Republican Party, he risks being cut off from its resources and financing. The presidential nomination he wants will become his dream only – and that of a small extreme rightwing contingency.



Saturday, September 21, 2013

President Obama Should NOT Yield to GOP


Republicans in the House are like a bunch of 3-year-olds playing with matches. Their hapless leaders don’t have the sense to scold them and send them to their rooms — which means President Obama has to be the disciplinarian in this dysfunctional family.

Mature adults in the GOP should have explained reality to these tantrum-throwing tykes long ago: It simply is not within their constitutional power to make Obamacare go away. They can scream at the top of their lungs, roll around on the floor, hold their breath until they turn blue, waste everybody’s time with 41 useless votes — whatever. All they can really do is hurt themselves or others.

Yet here we are, with Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) cowed into letting his members threaten to shut down the government unless they are allowed to stay up all night watching television and eating candy. Also, unless the Senate and Obama agree to nullify health-care reform before it fully takes effect.

I happen to believe that Obamacare is a great accomplishment, providing access to medical insurance to millions of Americans who lack it and bringing the nation much closer to universal health care. It’s an imperfect law, to be sure, but it could be made much better with the kind of constructive tinkering that responsible leaders performed on Social Security and Medicare.

Even if Obamacare were tremendously flawed, however, it would be wrong to let a bunch of extremist ideologues hold the country hostage in this manner. If Republicans want to repeal the reforms, they should win the Senate and the presidency. If not, they’re welcome to pout and sulk all they want — but not to use extortion to get their way.

At issue is not just the threat of a federal shutdown, which will happen Oct. 1 unless Congress passes a continuing resolution to fund government operations. The debt ceiling has to be raised before the Treasury hits its borrowing limit, which will happen around Oct. 18. If House Republicans don’t kill or neutralize Obamacare with the funding bill, they are ready to threaten the nation — and the global economy — with a potentially catastrophic default.

The proper response — really, the only response — is to say no. And mean it.

Obama is, by nature, a reasonable and flexible man, but this time he must not yield. Even if you leave aside what delaying or defunding Obamacare would mean for his legacy — erasing his most significant domestic accomplishment — it would be irresponsible for him to bow to the GOP zealots’ demands.

The practical impact of acquiescing would be huge. Individuals who have been uninsured are anticipating access to adequate care. State governments, insurance companies and health-care providers have spent vast amounts of time and money preparing for the law to take effect. To suddenly say “never mind” would be unbelievably reckless.

The political implication of compromising with blackmailers would be an unthinkable surrender of presidential authority. The next time he says “I will do this” or “I will not do that,” why should Congress or the American people take him seriously? How could that possibly enhance Obama’s image on the world stage?

Obama has said he will not accept a budget deal that cripples Obamacare and will never negotiate on the debt ceiling. Even if the Republicans carry through with their threats — and this may happen — the president has no option but to stand his ground.

You don’t deal with bullies by making a deal to keep the peace. That only rewards and encourages them. You have to push back.

The thing is, this showdown is a sure political loser for the GOP — and smart Republicans know it. Boehner doesn’t want this fight and, in fact, should be grateful if Obama hangs tough and shows the crazies the limits of their power. Most Republicans in the Senate don’t want this fight. It’s doubtful that even a majority of House Republicans really, truly want this fight, no matter what they say publicly.

But irresponsible demagogues — I mean you, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) — have whipped the GOP base into a frenzy of unrealistic expectations. House members who balk at jumping off the cliff risk being labeled “moderate,” which is the very worst thing you can call a Republican — and the most likely thing to shorten his or her political career.

The way to end this madness is by firmly saying no. If Boehner won’t do it, Obama must.


By: Eugene Robinson, Opinion Writer, The Washington Post, September 20, 2013

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

You really cannot fix stupid


Washington was recently visited by Tea Party members rallying to urge Congress to “Defund Obamacare.” Here is the most interesting (and ironic) thing about the Defund Obamacare effort: Even if Congressional Republicans hold America’s budget hostage and shut down the government, it won’t defund Obamacare; but it would defund America by stopping the funding of critical programs.

A government shutdown will not defund or shut down Obamacare. That is what the Congressional Research Service reported when asked by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK.  How is that possible? Obamacare is funded by multiyear, mandatory funding. Such funding is unaffected by the annual appropriations that the Tea Party wants House Speaker John Boehner to shut down. The state marketplaces set up by Obamacare (known more commonly as “exchanges”), the subsidies for low-income people to buy insurance, the individual mandate and all the new rules prohibiting insurance company discriminations and abuses (remember the days of pre-existing conditions?) will all go forward even if the Tea Party succeeds in disrupting this year’s federal budget.

The Tea Party’s rationale is not valid – and its goal is not possible. Nevertheless, whether or not Boehner will cave to the Tea Party’s demands remains very much in question. Boehner may indeed try to defund Obamacare and end up defunding America instead. After all, his speakership rests in part on his ability to keep the extremists in his caucus supporting him – not always easy with Eric Cantor circling overhead like a vulture.

No wonder Senator Richard Burr, R-NC, called the defund plan “the dumbest idea” he ever heard, and why Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, called it “Shenanigans.”

Okay, so shutting down Obamacare is not possible. The Tea Party is all confused (ignoramuses). They claim the reason to “exempt America” from the Affordable Care Act is that Congress is already exempted from it and because large employers are, too.  Neither point is true.

First, the federal Office of Personnel Management ruled a few weeks ago that members of Congress and their staffs will, indeed, receive their insurance through the state Marketplaces. But, Tea Party leaders apparently figure people have not heard the OPM news – and they are probably correct about that.  The majority of Americans do not bother to keep up with what’s going on in Washington.  Among those who do, too many watch Faux News (“We Deceive. You Believe.”)  Tea Party leaders feel that there is no need to tell the truth. Why let facts get in the way?

Second, 96 percent of large employers already offer health insurance because that is what the market demands. Only 4 percent of employers do not offer insurance.  They did not get an “exemption” as the Tea Party contends; they simply got a temporary delay in having to provide insurance so that they have more time to get their act together. Obama decided he didn’t need to fight with a tiny handful of businesses if they honestly needed a few more months to get organized to offer insurance.

So it is a lie to say that Congress and big business is permanently “exempt” from Obamacare.

What would happen if the Tea Party “won” and shut the government down? What impact would they have? Here are some examples of who would get hurt if Republicans defund America:

  • Recent veterans returning from Afghanistan, who try to file new claims with the VA. Although VA hospitals would presumably remain open in a shutdown, the staff (who normally handle new claims) would not be at their desks.
  • Parents sending their kids back to school, who want to know that federal food inspectors will be on the job making sure peanut butter and hamburgers are not contaminated.
  • College students who have questions about federal student loans, including vets using the GI Bill (which is often late or incorrect in its disbursement) – but who will find no staff at the Department of Education or VA desks to answer their questions.
  • Grandparents who are finally old enough for Social Security and want to file a new claim will find that there is not Social Security staff around to get them started. Social Security will continue to be sent out on time – that is, unless the tea party also succeeds in convincing the GOP to push America into a default crisis at the beginning of October, when the credit card payments come due that Congress has racked up; then nobody knows what will happen.
  • Americans of all ages who get hit by the flu season or an outbreak of whooping cough, because there won’t be Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff at their desks to track and warn us about the flu or any other disease.
  • Government workers will be sent home, including those who process your tax refund.
  • Grandma will not be able to have her surgery because the Medicare people will not be there to process her claim. 

But they cannot defund Obamacare by shutting down the government.  It is impossible.  It also cannot be repealed (although the House R’s have tried to do so over 40 times).  It is the law of the land.  It is here to stay.

One Tea Party leader recently wrote in USA Today that she is “undeterred by the consequences” of a government shutdown. Oh, really? Doesn’t she care who gets hurt?  Or does she only care about making a political statement? No wonder only 7% of Americans side with the Tea Party’s idea of shutting down the government over Obamacare. The other 93% do not want to defund America.

If the Republicans go ahead with their plan to shut down the government – causing Americans to not receive their Social Security checks, Military pay, etc – it will not take long before Congress’ phones will be ringing off the hook from constituents angry that the shutdown affected them.  Obama will not be blamed for this (except on Faux News), the Teapublicans in the House will be blamed (and Boehner).  It will become a Republican kamikaze mission – perhaps even causing the party to lose in 2014 and then self-destruct. (Oh boy! Wouldn’t that be wonderful!)

Damn…these Teapublicans are incredibly stupid – and you cannot fix them – you truly cannot fix “stupid.”  These fools are beyond repair.  I think they left what little brains they had at the schoolhouse door.