As we can see, this so called bi-partisan group of 12 is hitting the same wall as Congress as a whole. Democrats propose something, Republicans tell them to shove it up their A@@

I saw Paul Ryan's so called speech to the Heritage Foundation. What a bunch of crap.

What really ticks me off is, when we hear these Republicans talking trash and making statements that are 100% false or inaccurate, why doesn't anyone from the Democratic party step up and say something? Every damn day we see one of the 3 musketeers on TV. I'm seriously loosing my patience.

Another question I'd like to ask members of the Party of NO. Just who are these small businesses they keep referring to? Convince me that raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires will put these "small business" out of business? I want a sample of names. Know what we'd get? Not a bloody thing because their definition of "small business" would be GE, Comcast, Verizon, etc.

How can we tell our repesentatives we want specific information. Not sound bites that can't be substantiated.

How long are we going to allow them to continue with this crap before we demand better?

JBURNS

What really ticks me off is, when we hear these Republicans talking trash and making statements that are 100% false or inaccurate

and to top it off, when they do these speeches they always always say "It is what the American People wnat" and "It is not what the American People want"... These guys have no idea what America needs or wants, not unless they are referring to the people called Exxon Mobile and all their other "American" corporation buddies.

J BUrns_— You should be pissed off, but direct your anger at companies like GE that just happen to be run by the Obama Adminstration "economic consultatnt in chief". They take their tax writeoffs for green initiatives, pay no taxes... in fact they get tax bonuses from the Government in tax credits for these "green" initiatives which is nothing more than their company's products. Then to top it off, this Obama confidant takes all the tax writeoff profit and moves more jobs over to China! That isn't the Republicans doing that... That is the Obama "green" initiatives doing that ... and what makes matters worse is he has been touting (major cameo visits to eh GE plant) GE as a model for the green movement since he cannot find any other examples that are not abusing our tax dollars!!

Very interesting that you are losing it over Ryan's speech. Just what specific parts are you saying are lies? Ya cannot make generalities on this blog and say it was all republican lies! Well, maybe ya can since this blog is so loaded down with liberal bias!

“The Democratic plan would trim much more, a total of $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion, through cuts in the growth of federal entitlement programs, including Medicare, and more than $1 trillion in new tax revenues.”

Typical rhetoric. They're not serious about 'cutting spending', merely cutting the 'growth' of spending INCREASES.

Also, mere 'promises' of future spending cuts are not binding on any future Congress or President, but tax increases ARE BINDING, since they require legislation to put them in place, and once they are enacted, it's almost impossible to change them.

How about some REAL spending cuts in return for additional revenues, and the automatic cancellation of the tax increases if the spending limits are not achieved.

I thought the whole idea of a so-called super committee was to formulate a plan, tweak it and THEN bring it to the public. Why is shyt leaked to the media that is not official? Here we go with the politics again. Nothing is going to get solved as long as politicians are working on it. This is not ALL Republicans jacking this up either. Both sides are full of sh**.

WTH is future cuts? Most of these members will not have to budget these cuts years down the road. There will be a new congress and who knows what they will come up with.

IntheMiddle, TX "I thought the whole idea of a so-called super committee was to formulate a plan, tweak it and THEN bring it to the public."

It was, but it appears that the Democrats just can't resist 'playing politics', even on such a serious issue.

What this tells me is that the Democrats now expect to fail to have an agreement, and are just getting a jump start on the "Blame Game".

See Maggie's comment below about Democrats only wanting to "restrict" program growth instead of cutting back programs to reduce our Federal spending. She hit the mail on the head about the Democratic smoke and mirrors game being played. Democrats never ever want to cut anything! Obama also increased federal staffing levels by over 25% or more in all Departments, yet the Democrats seem to want to keep all these Governmental spending levels as the norm and restrict future growth. Can't you see through this Democratic smoke screen cut approach because it is being applied across the board by Democrats?

“I can see your point. I can relate to what you’re saying,” he said. “What I don’t think we need is to create a bigger divide by throwing negative energy at each other. This has been a very ugly negotiation. I don’t want us to continue to find ways to paint them in a bad light. I don’t want to make it my self-fulfilling prophecy, pointing a finger at them. We’re both upset. Both trying to find a deal that favors us. I definitely see your point. But I don’t want to spend my time or energy or add to the volatility and stick a knife in them anymore. I want us to think outside the box and look at this as a partnership and how can we both be happy.”

So said a representative discussing the impasse in negotiations between the two parties.

Oops, this is First Read. Posting this on the wrong blog today.

That is actually what Steve Nash Phx Suns guard said about the NBA players and Owner negotiations. Negotiations that still actually have a chance of seeing some agreement. The US super committee has no chance of agreement.

_________

In this protracted labor dispute, a group of largely conservative, right-wing billionaires are betraying the values and principles they allegedly hold dear: fix your own problems, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, quit looking for handouts.

The NBA is a $3-billion industry. It has global reach. The lack of discipline, the free-spending and irresponsible behavior of ownership, are the only reasonable justifications for 22 teams allegedly losing a combined $300 million. The economy is bad. The incompetence of NBA ownership is worse.

Rather than accept and deal with their culpability for its financial mess and look within for solutions — as its conservative philosophy dictates — NBA ownership has simply proposed sticking its hands in the players’ pockets for a seven-percent/$400-million kickback/bailout.

foxsports.com Nash, Hill open up on owner hypocrisy - By Jason Whitlock

__________

As usual democrats willing to compromise. In GOP fashion they will not accept $1 of tax increases to $10 cuts, per their unanimous show of hands at the debates. Democrats need to stand against cuts to Medicare.

So since they can't do their jobs, we have automatic cuts. It'll take a lot of money out of the Defense Department. That's something I support anyway. But I do wonder why we still pay Congress because it's not like they actually do any work.

They got a way better deal than any of the union workers they complain about, way better.

A real family would toss this SOB to the curb and rely on Family Court to knock him down off his pedestal and bring him back to reality.

An excellent point about Democrats only wanting to restrict "growth" that got lost in all the discussion. It belies their smoke and mirrors approach that keeps taking us to an impasse!

So you guys are saying no to any tax revenue; period. That's not compromise, that's old, tired republican 'my way or nothing' partisanship. Asking the wealthy to go back to what they were paying under Reagan or Clinton is not unreasonable. Maggie, you're saying the democrats should not put forward any proposals that the republicans 'can't stomach'......well, that would have to go both ways. The republicans, necessarily, shouldn't put forth anything repugnant to the dems......and where does that leave us all? In the ideological hell we've been in for far too long. Both sides HAVE to give if anything is going to get done for the good of this whole country.

Sueb1

I am just saying that time is getting short and the CBO wants time to score the bill. If you know something is not going to pass then why waste time with it? I think everyone knows that something is going to have to be cut and we can't just keep raising taxes. The bill that was leaked has NO cuts whatsoever in it. It will only stop the growth of debt and we have to start back the other way.

A family can't say that it was going to spend x amount of dollars on a vacation but since thay cancelled they saved money. Sorry, I just can't seem to think in trillions so I break it down to family size bites.

The bill that was leaked has 2 Trillion in cuts --some of them to Medicare and medicaid; it also calls for 1 trillion in revenues. That's the democrats compromising big time in my book. The republican plan just released cuts 2 Trillion including medicare and medicaid and raises no revenue. Which one is offering a useless plan and which one is trying to solve our problems?

When do the cuts come into play? 2035 or something probably. The ole' Democrat way. Throw it on a future Congress after we 80yr old congressmen have died off.

Ryan and the rest of the Teapublican dogs don't give a rats behind about what their actions or in-actions have cost this country. They are not interested in doing anything to help the economy, put anyone to work. They are laser focused on destroying President Obama. The entire Teapublican party did conference calls with each other to get their game plan together. How else can they explain how every last one of them repeats the same line, over and over.

RBUrns _— You keep repeating your ignorance and give no specifcs to back up his supposed positions.

JBurns:

Why don't you stop whining like a little bytch and post some links or prove your points. You are making accusations to which are amounting to a frikken personal opinion.

The opposition wasn't laser focusing on destroying Bush? Ohhhh they just wasn't any good at it.

Is Exxon on the Teapublican's list of small business job creators?

that's the funny thing, they reject tax revenues being collected from corporations like big oil and gas because these companies are the "Job Creators", then in the next sentence in almost the same breath they say that small business and entrepreneurs create the most jobs in America. Which is it Mr. Cantor/Boehner/Ryan/McConnell, which is it?

Robert, my theory is that the cry baby and friends want us to believe there are others out there who are the entrepreneurs and small businesses owners who will be creating all these jobs. You know, the ones that have been established over the past 10 years thanks to the every increasing tax breaks given to the wealthy.

The true small businesses aren't getting anymore assistance than the 99%. The banks are strangling them and not allowing credit for expansion or even helping them stay afloat in this horrid economy.

No matter when they open their mouths nothing but BS comes out.

JBURNS-1894015
Is Exxon on the Teapublican's list of small business job creators?

Not that I've ever seen. The list of small business job creators would be places like

Rachel's - a new diner that opened up near my house. (wait, they shut down permanently last week. So they added to the unemployment rolls)

The small machine shops - (oh wait, in Californai many are being forced to close by the high cost of electricity and the environmental regulations

The knife making places - (Unless you are a company like Buck Knives and were forced to leave California due to the regulations that make it too expensive to employ anyone.)

Exxon would not be considered a "job creator" by any economist or most of the people I know. They do put a lot of money into lobbying and into the campaign funds of just about every congresscritter (D and R) Exxon does that to ensure that no new small businesses can form to compete. Exxon actually WANTS to see increased regulation and start up costs, because it means that there will be no small businesses to challenge them.

But both parties just pay lip service into fixing this. The pacyderms claim they want to help small business while they delay on actually making any real changes while the donks claim they are helping the working man while they add more layers of regulation which only enshrine the inequalities in the economy behind opaque crystal walls.

Sadly, too many liberal fools actually believe that the new regulations are supposed to reduce the inequality. That is one thing that no congresscritter will ever support happening. For the pacyderms it would mean a reduction in campaign funds, for hte donks, they'd lose their pools of ready victims they can trot out before each election for the pagentry of grief and woe. If only both parties could be stopped.

Couldn't agree more.

Ah, but exercising virtue isn't something that can be forced by government.

Once again we see another wonderful liberal blind spot. They love to preach about how the Roman Catholic church with its preaching about morality and no sex before marriage is shouting into a storm that they can never defeat. Liberals scoff at those who counsel teens to think before jumping into sexual relationships and in many cases are openly hostile to Christian beliefs.

but exchange the church for government and 99.999% of liberals bow almost slavishly, always swearing that the government only has to pass an edict or law and all citizens will obey it. Government growing bigger and larger is the cure for all ills.

But when you consider historical fact, organized religion is a government. At one time the Popes of the Roman Catholic church actually more secular power than any local king. Over time the overreach of several popes and a refusal to share power wisely resulted in a fall from favor and the rise of the many Protestant religions (which rose to protest the excesses of the Roman Catholic church - hence the name.)

I've found that hte average liberal almost worships government. They seem to hate Christians because to them a Christian is someone who has 2 masters, one religious, one secular, while a liberal has one, government. This would go far to explain why most liberals have a huge blind spot when it comse to the hostility Islam has for most of the freedoms they claim to cover. Islam is a religion and a government model combined. I imagine most liberals believe that it is a model for what they want the whole world to be, if only without the honor killings ande hatred of learning and women.,

As for how to fix the social contract? I am increasingly dubious that government can solve the situation. I actually think that government became the problem thanks to well-intentioned, but poorly considered meddling. Originally the social contract between consumers and businesses was based on mutual respect and knowledge. "Let the buyer beware" was the caution, but it was also the mantra for all consumers. They knew that their part of the social contract between them and business was that they were to look for and offer their patronage to honest businesses. Consumers were supposed to take the time to investigate a product before buying it. And businesses promised to make the product of a quality that justified the purchase.

But good intentions led to business regulation which made what was a cautious if friendly relationship down a much less cooperative path. Now the government performs many of the tests and checks that once were part of purchasing a product. But they don't do the full spectrum. Many consumers however stopped researching because the assumption was now that government was doing the work for everyone. And if it failed, you'd just drag the company into court and demand satisfaction.

The whole dynamic no longer worked, and the contract broke down. Some are demanding that business that hold up their traditional end of hte social contract, but refuse to honor their portion. Unless both sides agree, there is no contract. And that is the problem. We added in government, and until we remove government, business will play the same game and use the same regulations to try to twist the contract in their favor.

Unfortunately, I see this the other way around. I see McCane and Lieberman hanging this around the Democrats' heads. "See the Democrats would rather SLASH defense than cut entitlements and are insisting of tax increases that they know cannot pass even their own caucus. Prove me wrong I hope, but the messaging is so much easier on the GOP side. Just look now at Lieberman and 10 GOP Senators demanding hearings on Iraq. (Like we haven't had hearings ad nauseum.)

It's so simple. Just raise revenues. Why doesn't the Radical Right understand simple math.

Truthteller

Please forgive me for being dense; but, your post is a joke, right?