Michael Tomasky at The Daily Beast:
This is the lowest moment of Obama’s presidency. It makes Bill Clinton signing of the welfare reform bill of 1996 look like the founding of the Peace Corps. Even the things he supposedly got out of this deal could vaporize. Defense cuts on par with domestic cuts? After the military contractors’ lobbyists get to work? I’ll believe that when I see it. Of course Obama did get one concession: no second debt-ceiling vote until 2013. By which time, if he doesn’t fundamentally change his way of doing business, he may very well be in retirement.
My response:
David Swindle is the associate editor of PJ Media. He writes and edits articles and blog posts on politics, news, culture, and entertainment. He edits the PJ Lifestyle section and blogs about political culture at PJ Tatler. Contact him at DaveSwindlePJM @ Gmail.com.
He has worked full-time as a writer, editor, blogger, and New Media troublemaker since 2009. He graduated with a degree in English (creative writing emphasis) and political science from Ball State University in 2006. Previously he's also worked as a freelance writer for The Indianapolis Star and the film critic for WTHR.com. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their Siberian Husky puppy Maura.
the faux hysteria and crocodile tears of the “uber-left” are a “riff” on obama’s misguided marching orders– “dont call my bluff…”
by appearing distraught and defeated the myth of the “tea-party” victory grows into the alternate reality being spun by most media outlets (including fox)
what did the tea party achieve? spending cuts that will never happen and/or are achieved by the gimmicky “new math/science” of baseline budgeting where instead of spending 3 trillion, for example, but just spending 2 trillion gets trumpeted as $1 trillion in cuts and the establishment of another friggin’ committee where only 1 republican has “to cave” in order for the whole mechanism to backfire
the “tea party,” aka “america” didnt get squat– the spinsters suggest that “the dialogue about spending has begun; definitely a victory for tea partiers…”
well, if the house had some gumption and some oratory skills, if their initial proposals been much stronger (knowing whatever went into the senate would be demagogued and ridiculed) and the fundamental debate between capitalism and collectivism could get more national exposure then- YES- it might have been a movement in the right direction but as it stands we are left with the same emparedado de mierda which every american must take a bite into to the tune of thousands of dollars each
the gop can take this “victory” and sit on it
You sir, are an idiot.
If the Republicans had followed your proposed course of action the Senate would have voted down every single bill the House sent up. Meanwhile the President would be able to position himself above it all by appealing for compromise. When Geithner finally ran out of accounting gimmicks $400 billion in expenditures would be cut. The resulting disruption would allow Obama to hang all of our economic troubles around the GOP’s neck.
Saying this is a failure is like saying D-day was a failure because the pathfinders didn’t liberate Paris.
you,sir, cant see the forest for the trees
of course the senate and obama would vote down everything– you want them to–
the libs and rinos need to stand up and be counted once and for all
of course the house wouldnt get anything serious done in the grand scheme of things; but the house does control the purse strings and operating from a proactive position- even on defense or in the minority- is more effective than not doing anything because “nothing will get passed…”
conservatism/libertarian economic principles are “our” trump card and getting the message out is the path to regaining our lost economic freedom– failure to do this has been the consistent failure of the republican party for 100 years
clearly and coherently explaining how government agencies and excessive regulation contribute to the stifling of our economy; bringing the principles of free-market capitalism versus the spectre and historically documented epic fail of collectivism into the spotlight; how government “spending cuts” actually work; how the government exists beyond the limits of constitutional boundaries–etc. is what will drive the impetus behind “real” change in washington not some lame committee and a few billion in phony cuts
You aren’t going to get your message out. What is going to go out is the message the liberals in the media want to get out. The plot won’t be “Spending addicted Democrats once again push the country down the path to destruction” it will be “Courageous Democrats stand firm to protect Grandma from Tea Party terrorists”. You cannot win Middle America in a media war. It is attacking the enemy at his strength, something you never do when you’re outnumbered.
It took progressives more than a century to get us here. Sometimes they made big advances: New Deal, Great Society, Obamacare. But not when they were in the minority. When they were weak they took what they could get and prepared for the next election. If you think all that’s going to be turned around in one election you’re dumber than I thought.
“You aren’t going to get your message out”
what the hell was november 2010 then?
the message is already out no thanks to republican leadership– the leaders of the gop (big government/ruling class junior varsity) would ultimately suffer if we moved just the dial but a little in the direction of capitalism thus reducing the concentration of power in washington – this is why nothing happens– all dems and most repubs in congress are big government ticks
Please explain why the choice is between “free market capitalism” and collectivism? Is there nothing in between that might allow a strong economy without allowing dangerous activities like unsafe mining practices, selling unsafe food, etc.? I think I feel that the devil is in the extremes.
Between the choices of being too stupid to breathe or being quite smart, you want us to pick half-stupid. Why?
“of course the senate and obama would vote down everything– you want them to–
the libs and rinos need to stand up and be counted once and for all”
We already have a good enough idea who they are from their voting record–you think we need to buy info we already have by losing our AAA rating? That’s really stupid, no other words for it.
“the gop can take this “victory” and sit on it”
‘Til 2012 when they can do more, yes.
Cheer up, even odds the 0 finds a way to even blow past this debt limit, and we still get to make political hay when he comes begging for more.
“what the hell was november 2010 then?”
Not winning the Senate, or even coming close. That’s what it would have taken to do much more than was done.
yes they would have voted it down …no problem had the debt ceiling not been raised the the f@#ing recover could have started Aug 02 2011
…instead the hole is now going to be dug even deeper and when obama is finished there will be no jobs and no ability to recover.
Right, we can pull $1.5 trillion dollars out of the economy with zero harmful effects. In fact it will be beneficial because all that money sitting on the sidelines will come pouring in, even though the regulatory system scaring capital out of the markets is completely untouched.
Dumbass.
(apologies to Mr. Green)
…too bad you aren’t advising Greece, then their problems would be solved..
if the country defaulted it would be because obama chose to.
…and it will be a lot easier to to pull 3 trillion out of the econoemy in 2013
I will not resport to calling you names. it doesn’t add anything to the discussion …I hear enough of that from democrats.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/08/we_the_stupid.html
Try the link, you may learn something.
A.J.
Why is current regulation scaring businesses now while we have had booming economies in the past that existed under the same regulation.
I don’t understand how raising the debt ceiling stalls the economy.
Because current regulation IS NOT the same, and what is the same is not being enforced in an even handed fashion.
Raising the debt would not immediately stall the economy, but is a step towards eventual downrating without default–not a good thing. It would have been better if spending growth could have been held constant-consistent with the economy’s growth, which is zero. It would have been better if the gov spending had actually contracted to the level taxation could currently support, a level which can more easily support growth.
“This is the lowest moment of Obama’s presidency. It makes Bill Clinton signing of the welfare reform bill of 1996 look like the founding of the Peace Corps.”
This statement right here is what is wrong with the left. The low point of a Democrat’s term is a political loss to the other party, no matter how beneficial to the country as a whole that “loss” may be. I mean really, Clinton’s low point wasn’t somewhere between wagging a finger and surviving impeachment, but was signing a Republican initiative?
Tehy don’t care if it works, they just want to wield the power in ways that retains or enhances it.
I figured that after the CC&B act was passed by the house, Boehner should have just told the White House and the Senate that they did their job and it was up to the Senate to pass something and go to a reconciliation conference.
I think Rush pegged when he said on Friday that the GOP is soooo used to being the losers, they don’t recognize when they are winning.
And frankly, Rush wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, as long as Republicans are good little losers, you’ll turn into his show, buy Carbonite and LifeLock, and get some good old “media bias” comfort food from Rush.
Oh, the GOP, the Tea Partiers, and their media did a stunning job of making sure the American people knew that the debt ceiling and trimming the budget were linked.
Wow. I started reading your comment and just couldn’t look away. It is a magnificent train wreck of stupidity, the like of which I haven’t seen since the last time I read one of your comments.
Like it or not, the deal (assuming all parties vote for it, and Obama signs it) is the best the GOP could get. Let’s face it: Until Obama is gone, and the GOP captures the Senate, there is no way ANY meaningful reform can be accomplished. This was kabuki theater, with both sides wrangling to set themselves up the best they could for the 2012 elections. Otherwise, the numbers were absolutely meaningless, in scale with the enormity of the debt and spending.
In January 2013, if all goes well, we should see a Republican president signing a repeal of Obamacare passed by both houses of Congress, and that will only be the start of what we all really want and need to see. Until then, it’s gonna be face paint and fans, the closer we get to 2012. =’[.]‘=
Well put.
what happened to the party of “HELL NO”
the debt ceiling should not have been passed. PERIOD.
make a stand …if not now WHEN. this is a very bad deal and may get obama elected again.
No, this prevents Obama’s re-election. The Left is hugely angry at him. They are seriously talking about a primary challenge. The Right, meanwhile, got what they wanted, even if not enough of it. If I see a couple hundred billion in real cuts over the next couple years, I will be thrilled. It would be the first real steps in the right direction. Baby steps. Gotta learn how to walk.
Shutting down the government would do some things, but Obama would get to determine what gets cut, and he would make the most of it to position himself to get re-elected. He would do a lot of damage… and could possibly succeed, by creating sympathy for himself. People tend to rally behind their beset President.
Real reform won’t happen until 2013. We just need to buy a little time.
that is wishful thinking. deferred principals are non-existent principals.
this will end badly. the left are just pretending to be angry because they need this deal to pass.
the debt increase is a deferred tax hike. and the bill presents a huge amount of money that obama now has to spend.
“that is wishful thinking. deferred principals are non-existent principals.”
I suppose prudence is no principle for you. This distinguishes you from the Founders in a bad way.
“this will end badly. the left are just pretending to be angry because they need this deal to pass.”
No, they really are angry, they not only didn’t get their tax increase, they are seeing big cuts to the spending increases they had planned on making permanent.
“the debt increase is a deferred tax hike. and the bill presents a huge amount of money that obama now has to spend.”
Or it’s a deferred spending cut, it’s as much that as the other. The O has a lot less money to spend than he’d planned on. The debt ceiling can always be lowered later if things improve drastically for the GOP before 2012.
Quit bitching and moaning, and try to see to it things so improve.
The GOP weakly holds one house, what were you expecting?
Tomasky writes that he knows that the entitlement programs need reform but tries to scare his readers about the terrible things that the Republicans might do if they reform them. It seems not to have occurred to him that if the programs need reform and you do not want the other side to reform them, you should present a plan of your own. Where was Obama’s plan? Where was any Democratic plan to reform entitlements? They do not offer any plan because they want to campaign against anything the Republicans offer. If people like Tomasky could get out the role of partisan flack for a just few hours, maybe they could write something that actually made sense.
it is a sham. the democrats know they whipped the republicans.
they cry foul so that this monstrosity gets passed. why there isn’t a backbone in the republicans is what I have issue with.
it is unlikely that the bill is not passed since this time most dems will vote for it. then you will see their hypocrisy ..again.
I agree with those who observe that this is the best deal the GOP could get. On the other hand I am getting real tired of appeals to “realpolitik” when we are in the awful hole that we now find ourselves in.
The Republicans have to find it within themselves to begin campaigning with a revivalist fervor that NOTHING matters to this nations future except debt reduction and entitlement reform. There simply is no other issue and every GOP candidate should be pounding away at this like a SWAT team battering ram.
No, you are wrong. “It’s the economy, stupid.” The debt and spending and business-as-usual are the problems, but you cannot solve them unless you win the next election. They key to that is the economy. Biden’s 3-letter word: JOBS. We do not want to be discussing anything else during the campaign next year. The Left can defend themselves somewhat on debt/spending. They cannot defend themselves on the economy/jobs.
Some very prudent, thoughtful comments. Thank you.
David ….you obviously think this is good.
how do you square giving that amount of money to obama to spend as something good for the USA. unless you are a big government republican (which is very close to democrat)
without a debt limit raise then the recovery could finally begin. you seem to think that everything will stay the same until 2012 elections. you think there will be any jobs left ..obama isn’t done.
http://heraldsun.com/view/full_story/14847468/article-Debt-ceiling-vote-symbolic-for-patriots