With no fiscal cliff deal yet and mere hours away from the Jan. 1 deadline, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced early Sunday evening that the upper chamber will reconvene at 11 a.m. tomorrow.
“Roll call votes are possible tomorrow,” the majority leader’s office said in its schedule.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on the Hill this afternoon that Republicans advanced a proposal last night and “there was an indication that we would have received that by ten o’clock this morning” — but it hadn’t been received.
But Thune indicated that the ever-obstinate Reid may not be as much of a factor in talks by this point.
“Senator [Mitch] McConnell and Vice President Biden are continuing to discuss this and we think there perhaps still could be a path forward,” Thune said of the minority leader.
One sticking point appeared to be a chained consumer price index (CPI), an alternative measure of inflation. Democrats contend that will hit Social Security recipients.
“Chained CPI to us is not just about replacing the sequester today,” Thune said. “It’s putting in place a policy that will help save and protect Social Security in the long-term. But that being said, if Democrats don’t accept that as an offset, then come up with something else.”
Snippets floated out about the dollar figures on the table for the extension of Bush-era tax cuts. Reid was reportedly willing to make the threshold as high as $360,000 for individuals, and the GOP countered with an offer of $450,000 as the cutoff for tax hikes.
“The latest unacceptable Republican offer would mean more pain for the middle class, poor & seniors – and more giveaways to the wealthiest,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) tweeted.
“What [Reid] will more than likely do, if history is any guide in this, is take a bill and fill the amendment tree and prevent Republicans from having an opportunity to offer amendments,” Thune said. “I think we would welcome the opportunity to have an open debate on the floor of the United States Senate that the American people could observe and be a part of.”
Republican reactions with the Senate adjournment were anywhere from guarded to pessimistic.
“I’m incredibly disappointed we cannot seem to find common ground. I think we’re going over the cliff,” tweeted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “CPI has been taken off the table for the fiscal cliff negotiations. Should be part of entitlement reform package.”
Republicans admitted that they didn’t expect the chained CPI to be part of the deal but wanted to “start big,” in the words of Lone Star State Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), going into last-minute negotiations.
Graham said the Democrats put forth a proposal that increased spending by $600 billion. “Revenues generated from higher taxes were spent and not one penny went toward deficit reduction,” Graham said.
veep veep … whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
/whattcha wanna bet Biden has an “Acme” tattoo on his forehead?
Guess what? The One never had any intention of solving the ‘crisis’, simply because he needs it to go off the cliff!!
And a POTUS who deconstructs the economy during his first term – unlike any other Prez before him – will not let his efforts go to waste. Therefore, whatever ‘deal’ does come about, at the 11th hr, will do nothing to ameliorate the issues. It will be a smoke and mirrors show, and the citizens will pay dearly – for generations.
The game is fixed -http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/12/27/dhs-americas-planned-deconstruction-via-valerie-jarrett-domestically-foreign-policy-wise-addendum-to-barack-hussein-obamas-deconstruction-plans-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
It is a very difficult situation. According here, Obama wants “more” taxes in order to spend more, a traditional political stance. But then there’s the Republicans like Lindsay Graham, who is saying this:
“Why would I raise the debt ceiling again unless we address what put us in debt to begin with?”
The Republican establishment moved out of “conservatism” into economic crankdom with Bushonomics. The government has been raiding “entitlement” revenue for discretionary spending for decades. Yet, to maintain the quasi-religious belief that the Bush tax cuts will pay for themselves, these economic nuts blame “entitlements.” The reality is, the money paid out of “entitlements” is the least likely government expenditures to be returned to politicians in any percentage, whether as campaign contributions, or “back end” payments after office.
I don’t know if the top negotiators realize that the obsession with attacking entitlements here has more with an emotional need to not confront the failure of the Bushonomics belief system.
I think the best outcome is for another delay, putting it off for another day, like last time. Then the credit downgrades will come, CNN, MSNBC will show shock that King Obama’s deal didn’t work, and maybe some of the crazies will start accepting that deficits “do” matter, and so does the strength of the dollar. But more likely, the media will go on a scream campaign blaming the “tea party” for a policy the “tea party” is totally opposed to. Happened last time.
Never mind the actual evidence, such as this chart, that “Bushonomics” worked just fine in increasing growth and reducing the deficit along with low unemployment…. until the Commiecrats took over the Congress (you know, the part of the government that’s supposed to budget and spend the money) in 2007. Businesses can tell when they are about to be screwed, and take steps accordingly.
Bushonomics was very useful in finding at what level the world decided our debt triggers credit downgrades…about $15 trillion. Bushonomics chart readings are about as sensical as climate science.
The “obsession” with entitlements is due to the fact that they are the vast majority of government spending, and projected to grow further out of control as time goes on.
No, entitlement obsession comes from fearful bushonomics believers wanting to point at something other than themselves. They dont feel “responsible” for social security and medicare, so they point at those. It does not matter how “big” entitlements are if they have a separate revenue stream that pays for them. That revenue stream is generally in the black and funds the discretionary budgets. The theoretical ideas against social security, etc. are irrelevant when talking about stealing more for them to pay for bloated government.
Bushies just cannot take responsibility for their beliefs. Sometimes they believe tax cuts will trigger spending cuts in some kind of magical way.
I am unaware of any similar so-called “conservative” belief in Magical Bushonomic tax-cuts for the rich in any other country. Canada certainly does not play the deficit game. Part of the big world bailout that GEORGE W. BUSH acceded to in 2008 was due to world presssures, those peeps who funded Bushomonics.
Bushonomics can only work with the world’s standard currency, the US Dollar, And GEORGE W. BUSH
…and Barack Obama. I think we need more credit downgrades before the Bushie lunatics take responsibility and change their baby-boomerish world belongs to me beliefs.
blah blah blah
But at least the little stinker Harry Reid has been dismissed.
If Joe Biden is involved, I expect we will see a tiny clown car pull up to the Capitol, and a hundred examples of wasteful spending—”green energy,” union payoffs, high-speed rail boondoggles, plans to underwrite anti-bullying initiatives for transgendered hamsters, regulatory monstrosities, etc., etc., come piling out in slap shoes, honking red noses, and brandishing seltzer bottles.
“… a tiny clown car …”
Tying that in with (*gasp*) Joe Biden (*spew*) is an (*argh*) insult to every wonderful clown who ever played in the Ringling Bros/Barnum & Bailey circuses.
Your penance is to not be able to tell a pun for 3 milliseconds.
Maybe I shouldn’t mention the “Cash for Clown-Cars” initiative…
[CUE HARPO MARX HORN]
This is just great. McConnell is no longer negotiating with the dingy, meally mouthed lying old crank. Now he’s negotiating with the Village Idiot!
They are not negotiating; Biden is talking, and McConnel is desperately trying to capitulate. Biden doesn’t care what McConnel says, ‘cuz he’s talking….and talking…..and talking…
The mistake the leadership of the GOP is making, and continues to make, and will continue to make is they are trying to ‘work with’ the democrats.
For the next four years, the only thing the GOP should do, is sit there with arms crossed, and just say ‘no’, to everything. No budget, no continuing resolution, no new legislation, no spending, no appointments, no deal, no compromise, no photo ops, no meeting, no …no …no….no…and when the media, the democrats, and the president say the GOP is obstructing progress, just say yes, we are doing exactly that because this president MUST BE STOPPED.
I like the way you think.
Me too. The MSM is going to hang the GOP with the blame if we go off the cliff. If we suddenly learn to fly (solve the problems) and avoid the mythical ‘fiscal cliff’ the Democrats will receive high praise. I’m not optimistic for the GOP to come out on top. Doing nothing seems like a really good idea at this point.
And in any version of the news they’ll play on how ‘reasonable’ Feckless Won was – and how good it was to have him come back from his vacation to try to save the day – even though he more or less did nothing – letting his proxies do all the negotiating. Feckless Won will likely be in a very surly mood for some time just because he was pulled away from golf and swimming because of this little inconvenience.
If they can’t do anything substantively useful, at least they should provide some entertainment. The old Let’s Make a Deal format should be revived and used. If that doesn’t work, the Gong Show format could somehow be added to the mix.
– Biden can plagiarize something.
Regardless of the deal that is struck, I know that my taxes, my cost of living, will rise. If the ‘rich’ are taxed at a higher rate, they will simply recover their losses by raising the price of the goods and services they offer, just as the auto industry passes union dues down to the consumer. We all know this – the class of citizens that keep the country going will continue to shoulder the burden, the rich will stay rich, the government will continue to throw money around like a drunken lottery winner, and, most important, ‘things’ will not get better.
It’s the same ol’ same ol’. Government can never be satisfied; it is an insatiable beast, mindless, hell-bent and destructive of individual rights and responsibilities. Individualism is the antithesis of big government, so it must be destroyed.
We as a nation need to decide whether we wish our Federal legislatures to be deliberative ones, with discussions between representatives of over 400 different regions and states, or if they are just going to be no-man’s land as two factions slug it out, World War I trench-warfare wise, seeking to gain whatever adantage they could. The powers of Speaker and Senate Majority leader to block things from being legislatively discussed needs to end. If my representative cannot bring an item up for effective action because it goes against what one man thinks is best for his party, then do I have full representation? And, considering this current issue–if I have no full representation, no way for my views (of accord with those of my district) to be acted upon by other members of the national community, simply because they go against what some faction thinks it needs for the next election, then has any tax that will have been passed be truly a tax voted in accord with America’s founding principle of no taxation without representation?
Harry Reid is an embarrassment to the U.S. govt! Time to retire, Harry and the sooner the better (take Pelosi with ya!)
Politicians have no intention of doing anything to solve the fiscal issues, they have little or no skin in the game and they view this problem as one for the masses to deal with, not them. Politicians exempt themselves from following laws they stick us with like Obama care, here is a petition to include them in the messes they made. If you agree, please sign it and pass it anyone else who does.
http://wh.gov/QeX9
Democrats, you own this… definitely ain’t Bush’s fault.
Sounds like the old coot Harry is giving the GOP a refresher lesson on how to just SAY NO. Oh wait! The GOP has been just saying NO to most everything already. Thats why we have the fiscal cliff, the economic cliff, the unemployment cliff and an eleventh hour idocy of the national playoffs of just say NO. I’m betting more than 53% of the popular voters knows who will win the “just say NO” championship game. Rather shameful that the radical far right movement of the GOP can’t grasp reality and have no other cards or strategies but just say no. I thought they were advocating themselves as the intellects of the party!
Election is over Genius and those in power aren’t going anywhere for 2 more years. If the R party wants to go Rogue I say DO IT. Do you really think Bozo and Friends have any plan for anything for the next two years besides mucking up things even more?Not likely,but Golf looks like fun.
Thanks Rich, for letting me know the elections have concluded.
Now, as for “bozo and Friends” they, like all presidents, cabinet members and the congress’ rely heavily, if not exclusively these days, upon the philosophical ‘intellectual’ think tank idiots and other private sector leaders for consultation and direction. If you’ve spent much time around the philosophical intellectual elite experts and history books, you would know two things about them. 1) They can rarely see things conceptually much less finitely beyond their eyebrows. 2) When governments and national leaders call in the intellectual philosophical elite experts, history shows that they eventually fall or otherwise fail around those things for which such elites were summond for.
So, while it is a popular thing to do these days, too assign political blame to one party or another — an individual or another, all that is nothing more than self serving idiocy. The blame should be directed rightfully and justifiably, towards those philosophical intellectual elites; partisans and non partisans alike, for the mess this nation finds itself. And we didn’t even get to all the peoples private sector special interest groups and their intellectual lobbyist lawyers!
I agree with prior writers who suggest GOP fold arms, smile softly, and utter “no” periodically while shaking head from left to right, then right to left. The demos don’t negotiate: the demand, lie, distort the process, cheat, and – when they get the taxes they want – steal and give tax dollars to their buddies . . . Repubs aren’t much better, but there is some differece.
Seems to me that the constitutions doesn’t refer to any childrens games as being the decorum of congress. I think when they wrote the constitution they had in mind, a decorum similar to what was used by all the founders in forming the constitution. That said, they did recognize that one body of congress would be the more immature and less experienced thus, they formed a second body, the seante, who was to be comprised of the more mature and wise. That old checks and balances thing the founders were so fond of implementing throughout all of goverments structure.
If you’re a parent, I wonder how well you responded to your childrens repeated NO! That said, today, lots of families in these times, it is found that the children are the controlling adults and the adults — the children.
The founders intent for the many who comprise the congress’ body’s come together and debate the issues and come to some majority consensus through compromise.
The loser of childish games in congress, is the nations pending business and the people at large!
I just read a description of the Nazi attitude and actions prior to WWII and there seems to be a lot in common with the Obama administration.
Interesting. So the republs want to decrease the CPI so the government will not have to pay out more money to SS recipients? And of course they once again call it an ‘entitlement’. This chaps my hide like little else I hear from the lips of a politician (other than I WON!). I’m on SS and MediCare. For over 40 years I paid into that Ponzi Scheme. For nearly 40 years I’ve heard it called many things – but until recently I never heard SS called an ‘entitlement’. No you idiots – YOUR pay – YOUR retirement – medical etc is an entitlement. You didn’t pay for that – I DID!
And maybe the slogan that can be used against these idiots is “You didn’t pay for that”!
The ROI for arrogant stupidity, will come home to roost, a few years down the road, for todays younger generations and will be costly, I’m afraid, for the generations that follow them. They’ve benefited from all the IOU’s in the ‘old and usless’ peoples retirement and health care account and seemingly don’t have any moral fabric in them to pay it back. Even more sad is that fact, that with all their superior intellect they can’t seem to even figure out that they’ve benefitted from those IOU’s — much less how.
“With all their superior intellect”? I do hope you’re being sarcastic. Someone with a suprerior intellect should have the ability to understand cold hard facts when he sees them and he should also have the ability of analytical thought. I’m a bit more cynical. I think they understand, they just don’t care. As long as the government is willing to dole out free stuff, they will continue to take it. That is how the last election was bought after all.