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Roll Call: “President Barack Obama may find that he has some surprising new Republican allies next year. With Democrats poised to lose seats and possibly control of Congress in the midterm elections, House Republicans are looking to the next year to restart their relationship with the White House. Members say they think Obama will have incentive to work with an emboldened GOP and see an opportunity to advance a shared agenda.”
Here's the latest Washington Post/ABC poll: "Less than a month before the midterm elections, the political landscape remains strongly tilted toward Republicans, although Democrats have made modest improvements with voters since their late-summer low point. Democrats have cut in half the GOP's early-September advantage on the question of which party's candidates voters say they will support on Nov. 2. They have also made small gains on the question of which party people trust to handle big issues, such as the economy and health care."
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President Obama has talked the same tax talk for three years now... what are you guys not getting?
LouisJ
President Obama has talked the same tax talk for three years now... what are you guys not getting?
That'd be NO obstruction from the Party of "NOPE"!!!
Dems have had Super Majorities for the past two years in both houses of congress, and you blame the Minority party for the failing of the President.
That is funny. Not realistic or true. But funny.
So the President has set up a Tax payer funded advisory committie, and is ignoring the advice. I guess that is the Republicans fault also.
Frankusa
The supposed Super Majority in the Senate never truly existed. Besides that the MINORITY can control the Senate through the use of the Rule 22 fake filibuster which only requires 41 "votes" to table legislation forever. Not delay legislation, like the real filibuster, but to essentially kill bills that have already passed through the House, to date 300 of them.
This truth makes much if not all of what you wrote a talking point LIE. You sir are a LIAR.
Paul,
If Obama hadn't been pushing such a fringe left wing agenda he would have gained the little GOP support he needed. I mean, if you can't get Collins and Snowe from Maine, you can't argue that you tried to compromise at all. Bipartisanship...another campaign promise broken..no shattered..obliterated??
The class warfare being pushed by this president is disgusting. Since his campaign for office he has continually drawn a dividing line....$250,000 for a family / $200,000 for an individual, knowing how many 'voters' sit on each side of that equation.
We are also being led to a point in our country where a majority will not be paying any federal income taxes. Isn't that just great ? There will be half the nation's politicians drooling for the majority of votes from people who pay nothing and the other half of politicians seeking for votes from among the minority of citizens paying the full federal tab.
And it is certainly no mystery on which side of the equation the current president will land come the 2012 elections.
Your right on target! Talk, talk, talk, giving speech after speech is all President Obama has done his entire life. "A Community Organizer", talk, talk, talk......promise, promise, promise.....never to come true.
"True Americans" have give President Obama "a 2 year grace period" and have received nothing but....blah, blah, blah. And the "Left" only hears and see "Obamism". Some people never see through the smoke and mirrors, it's that simple. So don't waste your time trying to convince someone who's not listening to the "Cold Hard Facts".......
Isn't it about time President Obama starts thinking of AMERICA 1st! Or maybe he just cares about "Himself" Pitting American against American is just the "New Democratic Party Way"
It's bad when you have a president not qualified to lead the country... it's criminal when that same president is Communist, corrupt and leading the country off a cliff. It will take years to undo the damage he has managed to inflict in 18 months...we would have been better off with Pee Wee Herman in charge (although Obammy reminds me of Pee Wee sometimes)...
I miss Bush.
House Republicans are looking to the next year to restart their relationship with the White House.
This to me is very revealing about the GOP. Only when they are in the majority are they willing to reach across the isle and work with democrats on legislation. While in the minority, their game plan has been 'obstruct, obstruct, obstruct' in an attempt to weaken Obama and the dems enough for them to regain their majority. During a financial crisis, I would have hoped most of our elected officials would be responsible enough to work together in an attempt to regain our economic footing.... I guess I expect too much from those on Capital Hill.
The Republicans reached across the aisle from the very beginning - only the Democrats slammed the door before they even got a chance to extend their hand. The Dems purposely didn't invite them to the bill writing meetings behind closed doors, but then they proceeded to bash them for not attending. It's pretty obvious.
Time for a real change! November is going to be a great month!
Jeff in these tough economic times, I would have expected the majority party to consider spending LESS rather than more. To minimize government entitlements and cut back on unnecessary pork spending like Obamacare and all the pork & bribes and backroom deals it took to get it passed. In these economic times, when the party in power ADDS tremendously to the national debt rather than trying to give the working taxpayers any amount of relief would have been welcomed. The Democrat congress and house have cost this economy dearly and therefor strangling the taxpayer with additional taxes and higher cost of living. Some of these things may have been a good idea, but not at this time. If the Democrats had listened to what the business owners and taxpayers were saying, the outrage wouldn't have been so huge. What the people have been trying to say ever since the recession hit (yes during the Bush years too) is we understand the need for some handouts, but not at this time!!!! Yet they shoved their agenda down our throats for the sake of a legacy, not for the good of the country. I'm sorry if you don't want to see things for what they are, but I really wish the dems would close the checkbook and get back to the business of working for the American people, not themselves.
It's rather two faced of Obama to refuse to extend all of the Bush tax cuts because he says the 2% will cost the taxpayers money. Had he used that same rule of thumb for his previous entitlements like healthcare and stimulus it would be easier to understand. Now that the republicans are standing their ground to extend all tax cuts, he wants to get in a pissing contest about money...when he so freely threw it around for 2 years....
Amen, millerz! Great post.
Please list which taxes have been increased during the last 2 years. Remember that roughly 1/3 of the stimulus bill was tax cuts. And as for the notion of cutting back on entitlement spending, I want to make sure I understand what you're saying: When Unemployment is at nearly 10% and people are finding it increasingly difficult to find work, you want the government to CUT unemployment benefits? When States are finding it nearly impossible to balance their budgets, you would rather they cut benefits to those in need and cut civil services rather than have the federal government help them out to keep police and teachers working? With the economy shrinking and the private sector not pumping money into the economy, the government did what it had to do to help keep money flowing. Had it not passed the stimulus, unemployment in this country would be somewhere between 11 and 16%. Don't take my word for it- look it up yourself.
They had a chance to work together on an issue just lack week. About 40 Democrat congressmen were going to vote along with Republican members to extend the Bush tax cuts in their entirety. That's as "bipartisan" a majority as we've seen in some time.
So what happens ??? The head Democrats in control of the House simply cancel the vote and adjourn all business for the campaign season.
The dirty Dems weren't getting their way, so they didn't bring it up for a vote. How else could they go on vacation and explain that they extended the tax credits to the "rich" people who make $250,000?
That alone validated my reason for voting straight Republican.
Democrats only care about retaining their "power" and saving their own asses in November. They don't care about us - the working class at all. It's time we let them know we don't care about them and we certainly don't want them to retain their power!
Jeff,
I don't think anyone is saying unemployment benefits should be cut. If you remember correctly the bills to extend those benefits have always been attached to some other controversial bill the Democrats wanted passed. They wanted to force the Republicans to vote NO on unemployment benefits for purely political reasons. To that point they have succeeded.
I think where people get upset is when they see stimulus money their tax dollars going to local governments to keep public employees (other than safety employees) clerks, etc. A town near me Belleville IL recently instituted a $20 a year wheel tax for each vehicle owned so they would not have to lay off public employees. How do you think that went over? Private sector employees having been laid off really don’t care if pubic sector employees are about to be laid off. I can tell you how it went over, most people refused to pay the tax, having done so they are risking a $100 fine if they are caught. Most are willing to take the risk. So now the mayor is furious that people refused to pay a new tax to save public employee jobs. Again, we aren’t talking about police and firemen.
Check out the Obama crony, Austan Goolsbee at whitehouse.gov, using taxpayer $$ to claim "everyone agrees" it costs "too much money" to let these citizens KEEP THEIR OWN INCOME. What did they let this guy smoke before letting him read the script? Unless they are making income criminally, it's their income (as much as what each of us bring home should be ours). Most Americans have been duped into thinking a tax cut is something the FED has to 'afford' - like somehow they worked for the income, and have to forfeit it. It's your freakin' money. My parents recall a time when their federal tax bill was paid off by late Spring of each year... I can't even imagine that. And they probably used the rest of the year spending that $$ to 'build the economy'.
Obama,
Keep up the good work !!!
your the best thing that eve happened to the republican party !!!
Good job...
Got to love the current Dem party and the Alfred E. Newman, "Who Me?," mentaility of the current dem power base. It will cost the Country too much money to let the people who earned it keep it. So he sets up the highly vaulted advisory group, who tells him he is wrong but yet he insist on "His way." He claims his plans have saved or made X number of jobs with no way to account for how they came across that number, but the numbers that have been proven has shown a cost vs benifit factor that ony Washington thinks was a good return. Obama, Pelosi and Ried have shown the country for those who dont have their egos hurt that this guy is a failure. Yup, blame Bush thats the answer.
I can't believe he disagreed with someone from Harvard! I thought people from there were never wrong. Maybe it is just Harvard Law that produces infallible super humans.
The "Rich", also known as achievers, should have their taxes raised as they are only paying 90%+ of the Federal Tax burden. How many non-achievers have posted a job opening lately?
So, you think only those making over $250,000 are achievers and have the heaviest tax burdens - NOT!!!! Additionally, their tax burdens are far, far less than those making less than $100,000, considering that payroll taxes cap out at $100,000. Nice try at distortion. But, to get anyone to believe your garbage, you'll need to to your next Tea Party for Dummies meeting.!!!
1. Under the existing Bush tax cut for lavish bonus parties, a sole job plan for the republicans, the country already saw millions of job cuts.
2. By contrast, Dems favor extension of tax breaks for middle class, the symbol of advanced countries.
Yeah...."advanced countries" like the ones currently rioting in the streets over the fact that their precious government payrolled jobs and benefits need to be reigned in before their national economies collapse under the weight of unfettered government spending.
Governments take too much and spend foolishly...all we have to do is look locally, statewide, or federally.