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Subscribe to RSSThe New York Times: "It was a day of legislative chess moves, back-to-back party caucuses and closed-door meetings that ended with a nationally televised presidential address and a rebuttal by the House speaker, John A. Boehner. Their separate speeches reflected that the two sides are farther apart than ever — just a week ago, the two men were in private negotiations on a 'grand bargain' of spending cuts and additional revenue, what Mr. Obama called 'a balanced approach.'"
Bloomberg News: “President Barack Obama warned of a ‘deep economic crisis’ without a compromise to avert an Aug. 2 U.S. default as he dueled Republican House Speaker John Boehner in back-to-back speeches on increasing the debt limit.”
“President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner squared off on national television Monday night, back-to-back appearances driven by the debt debate and underscoring Washington’s high-stakes political gamble with default— only seven days away,” Politico adds.
And Roll Call also picks up the theme: “President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner held dueling addresses to the nation Monday night, sparring over who is to blame for the stalemate in Washington ahead of next week’s deadline for raising the debt ceiling.”
As does The Hill: “President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) clashed in dueling prime-time speeches as Obama warned against Boehner’s proposal for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling.”
The Boston Globe: “President Obama, reminding lawmakers ‘the whole world is watching,’ exhorted them last night to break through partisan bickering and pass a comprehensive budget deal that protects Americans from the pain of a government default in one week. … A hint of how lawmakers will respond is expected to come as soon as tomorrow. Speaker John Boehner plans to hold a vote in the Republican-controlled House on his two-step approach that would cut spending by $1.2 trillion and allow the government to keep borrowing money for another seven or eight months.” And: “Obama targeted conservative Republicans in the House, blaming them for blocking a balanced deal he and Boehner had been working on…. In an attempt to isolate the Republicans backed by the Tea Party movement, Obama made an unusual appeal: Americans who agree with him should call and pressure their local lawmaker.”
(Here’s the Globe’s breakdown of the competing plans and AP’s timeline.)
AP notes that Obama is skipping several reelection fundraisers because of the debt-ceiling crisis.
The Boston Globe’s editorial page agrees with President Obama (and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has been making the case for a while) that the Tea Party is to blame: “Too many mainstream conservatives, fearing the appearance of disarray in the GOP caucus, have been unwilling to take on the Tea Party extremists. Those who are keeping quiet now - or pointing fingers at Democrats to create the false appearance that both sides were equally unwilling to compromise - may have miscalculated. Voters cannot forget the damage done by this back-bench attempt to impose an ideology that most Americans reject. And voters should demand accountability not just from the Tea Party, but from those who enabled its utterly irresponsible actions.”
Political Wire: “A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds ‘roughly as many people blame Republican policies for the poor economy as they do Obama. But 65% disapprove of the GOP's handling of jobs, compared to 52% for the president.’”
“The wealth gap between whites and minorities has grown to its widest level in a quarter-century,” AP writes of a Pew study. “The recession and uneven recovery have erased decades of minority gains, leaving whites on average with 20 times the net worth of blacks and 18 times that of Hispanics, according to an analysis of new census data. … It offers the most direct government evidence yet of the disparity between predominantly younger minorities whose main asset is their home and older whites who are more likely to have 401(k) retirement accounts or other stock holdings.”
No politics for Michelle Obama after her and her husband leave the White House. “ ‘The answer is N-O. Period, dot,’ Mrs. Obama said in an interview with AARP The Magazine, on whose cover she will appear for its September/October edition,” per The Hill. “ ‘I think one reason Jill [Biden] and I are comfortable and happy is that we’re doing what speaks to us,’ the first lady said. ‘And what I’ve learned as a woman growing up, getting older, is you’ve got to know who you are. And a politician — it’s never been who I was or wanted to be.’”
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Looks like the tea party demogogues are set to bring down the U.S. economy, to H*#$% with the consequences for us and the world. All you who sent these people to Washington (who haven't got the slightest idea on how to govern for the good of the country), how's that workin' for ya?! And I really wish John Boehner would stop talking about what the American people want -- I am an American people and what I want isn't even close to what's on his agenda!!
Sorry to say it's not about you. You're a person, not a people, if that even made sense, The American people want a lot of stuff, heck some of "your people" don't want to pay for it and have others pay for you. Most of the people didn't want Obama Care, but it was shoved down our throats, guess what? It doesn't taste good from my end, but I'm just a person not a people and the "people" spoke up in 2010 because of "people" like yourself. Big Government doesn't work Fedmom, but you do have the word "Fed" in your name, so I'm pretty much seeing where you coming from.
No Paul in Florida - "The People" didn't speak up last November. I small but vocal minority went out to vote and a lot of people stayed home because they didn't understand the consequences of not voting. Most people want jobs and don't give a damn about deficits and debt. A lot of "people" want their Social Security and Medicare and don't understand that this "discussion" about cutting trillions of dollars from governmet spending will take away their Social Security and Medicare. But when they finally wake up and realize what's been done to them, there will be a cry around this country that you just haven't seen in a number of generations. And BTW, you're lying when you say that "your people" want others to pay. Americans have been paying and paying into Social Security and Medicare for decades and yes they expect to receive their benefits at the end of day just as they were promised. So I say to you sir...it's not about YOU. It's about all those hard working Americans and I am one of them that paid for and is expecting to receive Social Security and Medicare and this government, this congress better damn well make sure they take in enough revenue to provide these social benefits. Period. The hell with the Tea Baggers and their I've got mine attitude. They are hell bent on destroying the social fabric and compact of this country and they must stopped at all costs.
Fedmom, I'm with you, so now that there are at least two of us, we are now "people". The Boner and the Tea Party don't speak for me either.
And before I get the crap about wanting something for nothing, Ive had a job since 1781 when I enlisted in the Navy at 17. I've never went without one since and have paid into the so called entitlement at every single one otf them. All I want is to know that in 20 years that I'll still be able to exisat comfotably.
1981, the "1781" was a typo and I missed the editing time to change it.
More proof that most of what comes out of the President's mouth is purely rhetoric. The following article was in the Post yesterday:
While those we elected to "serve " us in Washington fight like school children, the United States debt continues to rise as shown here:
In the last 9 months alone, the United States has added nearly $1 trillion or 7 percent to its debt.
Kind of seems like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, doesn't it?
I would like to 1st say Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned. He was in Antium at the time and the violin wasn't invented until the 16th century.
This is called" I guess some things never change!
The place northern China.Five century's before Christ.Down a dusty road from Loyang .A old man hunched forward from years of being spent over scrolls of the emperors library. He has concluded that the greatest truth is not in books or words but in nature.
He longed to live a simple life free of the shallowness of society. He had seen how man used man, how the poor were taxed heavily while rich led glittering but empty lives. he had seen how people coveted material rewards, in return surrendering peace of mind . In such a world how could there be any happiness.
LAO-TZU (c. 604-531 B.C.)
Social security and medicare are things we've been taxed on all of our lives, and to take it away from the people who will need it when they retire is just unforgiveable ! How about getting rid of the free healthcare and tax breaks that these polititians are getting. Our children are learning how to fight and play baby games from them too! GROW UP, and work w/our President. I feel you are all beating him up just for doing the right things ! THANK-YOU PRESIDENT OBAMA !
You are right Gale Kerr. I am heading for retirement and I spent all my live working to support the system. I think its my turn to collect the benefits. I support the President 100%.
Michelle Obama may not want to be a politician, and I certainly don't see her as another Hillary Clinton, but she has been a true public servant in the best sense of the word. She's made this world a better place to live, for many people; you can't say that about most politicians.
How so Amy? How did she make the "World" a better place? Really, the WORLD!! Besides that, I'm pretty much speechless on some of things you come up with. The World, that's priceless......haha
It's time to start taking away the really good benefits of all the congress people. They need to be held accountable and this is a good way to start. They all play games with everything that we need and have paid for, by the way, so they should also suffer. What can we do as ordinary citizens to see that this is one area that needs fixing?
JoAnn,
I almost never copy and paste, but I got this e-mail from a cousin this morning, and it seems very apropos to your topic.
Subject: Fwd: 28th amendment
This is more than interesting - it's outrageous. DID YOU KNOW THIS??? Well, please read
below.......
No one has been able to explain why young men and women serve in the U.S. Military for 20
years, risking their lives protecting freedom, and only get 50% of their pay while politicians hold their political positions in the safe confines of the capital, protected by these same men and women, and receive full pay retirement after serving one term. It just does not make any sense.
For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many
citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform... in all of its forms. Somehow, that
doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop.
Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not
apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."
I can't attest to the validity of any of the comments regarding retirement, didn't spend the time necessary to check it out. However, if it's true, then this particular amendment should be a no-brainer from the standpoint of ordinary citizens, but quite probably a non-starter in the opinion of our elected officials.
TOTAL AGREEMENT:
"We hold this truth to be self-evident;
that all are created equal."
The very FOUNDATION upon which this nation is based.
Bring our public servants back in touch with America and American citizens!
i certainl disagree with the first comment. business does not create jobs! jobs are created through demand for product. if there is no demand there is no job.
secondly, economic history points out that the wealthy must pay an average tax rate of 50% to sustain a well functioning country. ever since regan reduced those tax levels to 26% and then back to 30+% the majority of americans lost income every year, up to the present, and the wealthy have increased their income @ 10% min for the last 30 years. so as the majority ran out of monies the demand had to fade, increasing manufacture to find cheaper labor outside the US to provide a less expensive product to provide to the sinking incomes of the majority.
add to this the lowering of tariffs to reduce the product cost, and the removal of regulations to sell an inferior product, and the false mtg programs to provide more monies to stay afloat in the shallow economy, and the unfinanced wars which deletes the treasury and CRASH!
all countries must raise revenues, and believe it or not, the wealthy in this country pay almost the lowest taxes in the world, and this fact alone causes an unbalance economy in our country. everyone must be taxed at what they can afford, it's the only american principle, infact, to pull the economy out of the ditch during the great depression the tax rate was 90%, yes 90%. and those monies were used to rebuild infastruture and invest in jobs, which create individual income, which create demand for housing and product, which created jobs for product development, which created new products, which created new jobs, which created new jobs.
what we need now is higher taxes, higher tariffs, and regulated oil prices and the removal of speculators. but it isn't cuts in the budget, nor do businesses create jobs.
Call the White House, Senators, Congress Men and Women and take it to the streets. The Republican's signed the pledge not to raise taxes, this is disgusting that they would hold the country hostage to get their way!!!! Obama should say screw them and raise the debt ceiling using the 14th Amendment and move on to Job Creation. Before President Obama got in the White House we never heard about a debt ceiling because it was always raised, but anything our current President try to do they are against.
OBAMA 2012
I would like to repeat this: Every elected Republican(TEA party or GOP) in office anywhere in America should be scheduled for a Rectal Encehpaloectomy so that they can see the real world!