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Even before voters finished casting ballots in House races across the country, the Republican leadership in the chamber began girding for a major battle over taxes and spending in the weeks after the election.
Confident that Republicans would retain their majority in the House, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told POLITICO that GOP lawmakers would reject any new taxes on households in the highest income tax bracket.
"We’re not raising taxes on small-business people," Boehner said. "Our majority is going to get re-elected ... We’ll have as much of a mandate as he will — if that happens — to not raise taxes."
Al Behrman / AP
Speaker John Boehner talks with reporters outside Ronald Reagan Lodge after voting, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in West Chester, Ohio.
Consider Boehner's comments the first public salvo in a coming battle over how to best address the so-called "fiscal cliff," the mixture of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect at the beginning of 2013.
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The fiscal cliff involves the expiration of the 2001 Bush tax cuts for all tax brackets and a two-year payroll tax cut, both of which are scheduled to sunset at the end of this year, barring action by Congress. Also set to take effect are the automatic spending cuts set forth in the 2011 debt ceiling deal, which were designed to be so distasteful that lawmakers would reach a compromise on how to best address mounting U.S. debt.
A standoff between the Obama administration, a Democratic Senate and a conservative Republican House of Representatives yielded no deal, leaving the fiscal cliff in its stead. Economists have warned that, if nothing happens to change those deadlines, any economic recovery would be imperiled. Moreover, the cuts fall heavily upon the defense budget, a cut which military leaders have warned could endanger American security.
GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan votes at the Hedberg Public Library in Janesville, Wisconsin.
This gridlock might dissipate if voters elect Romney as president on Tuesday. But if Obama wins a second term and the Senate stays in Democratic hands, the stalemate that helped produce so much disillusionment and nastiness this election could rear its head again in the coming weeks.
"You have to do something, and the best way to do it is by growing the economy," California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Republicans' whip in the House, said Tuesday on MSNBC. "Now, we are going to have a fiscal cliff between now and the end of the year -- from the debt limit to the looming tax increases to sequestration. But all those ideas have been passed by the House to solve those. It's the Senate that has not acted."
That rhetoric might sound familiar to any reader who has tracked the incessant bickering between the Obama administration and Congress over the past two years.
But amid the bluster that has begun to emerge from Capitol Hill, President Barack Obama's team seemed more upbeat.
Before the president made his way home to Chicago, he made one final campaign stop where his journey to the Oval Office began – in Iowa. Obama Senior Adviser Robert Gibbs discusses.
"This election, when the president's re-elected, should break this fever of Washington gridlock," Obama adviser Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary, said on MSNBC. "It's time that Republicans come to the table and understand that we've got to get something done on the big pressing issues of our time."
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Wonderful. The voting has not even stopped yet and the Republican leader has already reinvigorated the policy of non-cooperation. How can anyone in their right mind vote for a Republican? Their attitude is disgusting. They have essentially given themselves another four years of do nothing and get paid for it.
Republicans can't work with the rest of the country. They are devisive and do not negotiate in good faith or compromise for the good of all. They pledge their loyalty to a private entity and work for America's defeat, economically and it seems they will stand by and see our military defeated as well.
Traitors.
Do you see a pattern starting to emerge here? Boner and his fellow "Boner suckers" are already lining up to protect their wealthy, Fascist. Plutocratic owners from the BAD black man who's going to make them pay their taxes.
Once again, the party of NO shows the whole country how much they BLOW! The best thing you can do at the polls is just say NO!
And Boner's a HO...
Obama re-elected and Boehner Loses Step 1 complete. Step 2 get rid of Boehner and his Cronies. I don't care if they are Replaced with Republicans or what Party. I want responsible people in these positions.
To Boehner and his Cronies, I will be doing everythimg I can to get rid of you NWO members in politics. You can take the easy way out and resign or I will get you out kicking and screaming. It make no difference to me but your days are numbered.
I understand the need for controlled spending. I understand the need to raise taxes. I DO NOT understand the need to be obstructionists... the GOP... the party of NO!!
Get with the program GOP or you will lose another election in 2016.
Democrats and Independents represent their constituencies. Republicans take orders directly from Grover Norquist. That is the difference between democracy and a dictatorship.
Sounds like the proper solution is to vote the Party of No out of office.
Not all Republicans are bad and not all Democrats are good either. The problem is with people and their view of standing strong is voting for their party across the board, by doing this they are not voting in their best interest or the interest of their country. My view is simply this, we have the freedom to vote for who we want but if you staunchly vote Party Lines than you are being led buy the Party and not voting freely. You really need to exercise your right to vote freely.
Oh and by the way. For a politician, who is a duly elected representative of the people...to swear an oath to an individual or an organization, which is a conflict of interest against his constituents, is defined in our constitution as an act of TREASON and punishable by DEATH!
Bush committed an act of treason and Socialism when he denied government funding for Solyndra but granted his Big Oil buddies millions in tax breaks.
When Bush denied Federal Funding for Solyndra he invoked Socialism on America because he would not allow the creation of an energy source, solar power, that would provide Americans with jobs and the freedom of choice to choose which form of energy they would want to use to power their homes.
Not only is such an act unconstitutional because it denies Americans the freedom and liberties associated with the Constitution of the United States to make an unbiased choice based on their own individual liberty and freedoms but it also makes him a tyrant and the GOP dictators in denying any choice in the source of energy except for that which would provide the GOP with money to continue to buy their way into Washington D.C. to create laws that say that Americans can only choose forms of energy that the GOP puts on the table for them to choose from.
The GOP are not about creating new jobs. The GOP is about maintaining energy sources that keep them in power and are not interested in creating jobs such as solar power, tidal power or thermal power that would create new jobs. Jobs would carry such forms of new energy to countries like Africa that so desperately need a lift from the savage world that they live in. Jobs that will further spread the goal of Democracy, the policy of freedom and choice not the barbaric and Socialist and Communist, Fascist mentality that is the GOP.
Boehner talks about taxes?
The tax increase was a result of the War In the Middle East that the GOP purposely kept going for eight years by NOT killing Bin Laden when they had the chance to thus keeping taxes high in order to effect the economy so that the next president, President Obama would have a hell of a time getting things back on track. Now that President Obama has killed the enemy and brought the troops home and the economy is recovering they want to pin the blame on Obama.
Obama didn't raise the taxes and gas prices that have effected the economy. Those increases occured during the Bush/Cheney administration and not during the Obama/Biden administration.
Sure they will say the economy is Obama's fault. That the taxes are Obama's fault but Obama inherited a situation created by the GOP to keep them in office.
Obama didn't waste 8 years and trillions of tax dollars and over 12,000 American lives finding Bin Laden like Boehners masters did when the GOP has several oppurtunities to kill Bin Laden but chose not to.
The GOP created the economic problem so they could remain in power and now blame Obama for all of the woes that they have caused citing that they are the only ones that can cure the problem that they created.
The economy is on the mend not because of the GOP but because Obama killed Bin Laden and brought the troops home. Gas prices are going down and the economy is mending because resources spent on the war are now being redirected back into the economy. This is what happens during a war....the GOP won't tell you this though but will only blame others for their not getting everything that they want.
Count Up To The White House Or The Dog House!
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*Special Note:
Those Two Republican Rape Guys Are Being Raped ( God Works In Some Not So Mysterious Ways --????? )
----- Maybe Your False God "Romney" Can Work Some Black Magic For You !!!!!!!!!!
Hum Dee Dum!
NO COMPROMISE WITH THE LIBTARDS!
Let the automatic spending cuts and deficit reduction and Bush tax cuts FOR EVERYONE expire... and let the stupid Libtards learn what it means to live within your means. This is gonna be a lot of fun.... and there is nothing the Libtards can do about it. The welfare is ending.
SayIt
My God you're stupid. Our nation faces a tough road ahead no matter who wins and you think stonewalling in congress is going to be fun? You're a real Jacka**. AND IT"S OVER IDIOT!!! QBAMA WINS!!!!!!! CHOKE ON IT!
Resolved: that American return to the tax policies in place when we last ran a balanced budget.
Let's see if Republicans vote against this.
Count Up To The "W"hite House Or The "D"og House! UPDATE!
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*Special Notes:
1) Those Two Republican Rape Guys Are Being Raped ( God Works In Some Not So Mysterious Ways --????? )
----- Maybe Your False God "Romney" Can Work Some Black Magic For You !!!!!!!!!!
2) Two Guys In The House Named "Grid" & "Lock" Continue To Grid & Lock For Now On Cuts & Taxes!
They Call It Reaching Across The Aisles! YAW -- Right!
3) Warren (D) In Mass. Is Talking The Talk! + Kaine In Virginia (D) -- 2 Senate Wins!
Hum Dee Dum!
Count Up To The "W"hite House Or The "D"og House! UPDATE --UPDATE! BYE BYE MITTIN !!!!!!
"You Lie You Die" -- Bye Bye -- The Dog House Is Waiting For You!
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*Special Notes: You Lie You Die -- Bye Bye!
1) Those Two Republican Rape Guys Are Being Raped ( God Works In Some Not So Mysterious Ways --????? )
----- Maybe Your False God "Romney" Can Work Some Black Magic For You !!!!!!!!!!
2) Two Guys In The House Named "Grid" & "Lock" Continue To Grid & Lock For Now On Cuts & Taxes!
They Call It Reaching Across The Aisles! YAW -- Right!
3) Warren (D) In Mass. Is Talking The Talk! + Kaine In Virginia (D) -- 2 Senate Wins!
4) Tammy (D) A US Vet Won --Hoo Rah Tammy From Us USN Squids!
Hum Dee Dum!
OBAMA/BIDEN 4 MORE!!!!!
TIME FOR A LOT OF DIE HARD REPUKELICANS TO TASTE THE BIRD?....IT"S CROW FOLKS HOW DOES IT TASTE?
Let the whining begin GOP that's what you're good at!
Every America Won Tonight!
Let's Get Back To Re-Building The USA To Even Greater Heights!
We Are All Red -- White -- & -- Blue!
The Republicans in the House are already publically telling Americans that they will not raise taxes on the wealthy!
These people are showing their desperate plight! They aren't wearing any clothes!!!!
Looking at the two parties on the TV....I can't see anything but white people at the Boston one, and no one is smiling?
How much nicer the mix at the Chicago party looks.
John Boner FTMC struggles to maintain his fantasies, even as Myth has just called Mr. Obama to concede the race!
HAH.
If the stalemate in congress is to be broken, it's going to have to be done working together. There are a couple of plans out there by bi-partisan teams working together to tackle entitlement spending, defense spending (we currently spend more on defense that the next 15 top spending countries all added together) and tax reform that make sense to most of America and can be done without anyone commiting political suicide. It will take a combination of eliminating some tax loopholes, cutting waste and duplication in defense spending, and cutting waste in medical care (we spend the most of any of the large countries in the world, but get results that put us in 15-30th place, depending on who you read.) America can be strong again. But, if we don't get the spending and deficit under control, China will own more and more of our debt and use our dollars to buy more and more of the limited natural resources we're going to need in the future. For my wife and I, we were lucky to see political arguements in Australia and New Zealand where there was lots of discussion, plenty of disagreement but none of the name calling and insulting comments made by writers in these comments. They were respectfullyl trying to find solutions, even though they disagreed. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and those who are stuck in a state of perpetual puberty will go write their nasty words on the walls of their own bathrooms at home.
Congratulations to President Obama and all his supporters
We look forward to the next 4 years of jobs, economic growth, debt reduction and most of all the unifying of our people
!
I'm so tried of "we tried" no you haven't, your actions as recorded in this article are proof.
Is there no legal recourse?
impeach or treason charges we can bring against these idiots?
When did we as a nation let this obstructionism be ok!? Can we at least get reporters in each and every one of these idiots faces and tailing them as they're obstructing in the line of their interests?...don't let their dirty deeds be hidden!
Sure there's recourse!!!!
Place a 12 foot tall chain-link fence (w/ razor wire on top) around the Red State of your choice (say Mississippi for example) and turn it into a "FREAK ZOO"; Round up all of the Right-wing Extremist Tea-bagger IDIOTS in Congress and ship them to the aforementioned "FREAK ZOO" to interbreed with each other, pick and eat each other's nits; and fling their own feces at each other. Then charge normal folks an admission fee (to be applied to our National Debt) for the pleasure of pointing and laughing at the entertaining Congressional "FREAKS".
Problem solved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if only we could, thanks for the laugh...
FOUR MORE YEARS ....and then Hillary Clinton for EIGHT MORE YEARS!
Job #1 in America now is to find a way to transplant conservatives into some other region of this planet! They are not Americans and they must leave....NOW!
I would love it if we divided this country into two separate nations. One capitalist, one socialist. The Confederates were right. (about two countries that is).
Markets in free fall as a reaction to Obama's victory. Bankruptcy of the U.S. is now inevitable. Good job, America!
I guess the Republicans new credo is if you lose double down and say it louder. Or maybe Boehner and McConnell are trying to avoid irrelevance. Hang on to the tea party because without them you can't win your primaries. With them you may not win the general. I feel you pain - oh wait, no I don't. This is a self-dug hole and someone handed them a shovel.
I'm sure they will continue to try to block everything. But the first win for Obama could have been an anti-Bush sentiment and I'm sure thought they could pick him off by keeping him from accomplishing anything. Well, except for health care reform, pulling us out of financial collapse, getting bin Laden and out of Iraq, hardly anything thanks to Republicans. With four years experience and if he wins Florida, an electoral college blowout, stand back boys, you ain't seen nothin' yet.