Posted on 01/05/2011 12:53:54 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Recess is over, and now the incoming Republican class of the 112th Congress must pivot from talking tough to making tough choices.
Among their first decisions: How will they work with a Republican leadership team that is steeped in the ways of Washington?
SNIP SNIP
The newcomers also may be forced to pick among their political patrons. Many of the Republican freshmen won their seats with help from tea party activism and Washington-based independent groups, fueled with millions in corporate cash.
Last year’s lame-duck Congress already exposed cracks in the coalition that proved potent for Republicans during the 2010 midterm elections.
The tax compromise negotiated by President Barack Obama and Republican leaders won plaudits from business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and The Financial Services Roundtable.
But the deal provoked outrage from the Tea Party Patriots, prompting co-founders Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler to ask in a POLITICO op-ed last month: “So what will the freshmen do? They have a mandate from the people to step up and lead. Will they lead by principle? Or will they go along with Speaker-elect John Boehner (R-Ohio), like so many sheep to the slaughter?”
Those fissures could be on display again in a few short months with a vote to raise the government’s debt limit. If the measure fails, the government will not be able to borrow enough money to keep operating, which could disrupt the bond market and shut down some government offices. But many freshman Republican members campaigned on promises to reduce — rather than increase — government debt.
Boehner has said lifting the debt ceiling may be inevitable and that he wants to avoid a government shutdown fight similar to the one that tarnished the 1994 Republican majority and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).
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Let the MSM BULLSHIT begin! F*CK You “Politico”!
What’s wrong with a government shutdown? If the GOP is not serious about holding the line on our national debt, it might as well resign and go home.
If the debt limit is raised, it should only be raised for three months. At the end of the three months, Congress should come back and explain why they need it raised again.
“You dance with the one who brung you.” That’s all these freshmen need to know. If they got elected on a wave generated by the Tea Party, then they should stick to Tea Party principles regardless of what it means to their relationships with their Congressional colleagues. At least, that is what true leaders would do.
The definition of a liberal pilot is one that wants to pull the stick back even further when the aircraft is in a full stall.
Stupidity knows no bounds - except to the MSM and democrats.
Boehner is right to avoid a shut down battle, they won’t win it.
A good fight is one you win!
The worst thing they could do would be to pass enough money to fund this bloated bureaucracy. And as was experienced by Newt, shutting down the government will create preception problems.
>> A good fight is one you win!
Catchy little slogan, but it’s wrong.
A good fight is any fight that *needs* to be fought.
Shut ‘em down. Without a tough stance NO progress will be made.
A good fight is any fight that *needs* to be fought.
Shut ‘em down. Without a tough stance NO progress will be made.’
No, without a Republican Senate and a conservative President to lead them no progress will be made.
The Republicans should spend the next 18 months or so making sure Obama gets full credit for unemployment and that lousy healthcare law.
Trust me, winning works better than fighting.
This isn’t just a cute little political game.
REAL DAMAGE is being done daily by overspending.
To hell with playing nice and getting along! That way has been PROVEN not to work.
And — because ALL spending MUST be authorized by the House, the HOUSE ALONE CAN make progress by themselves. The Senate and Bambi can’t FORCE them to spend money.
DO NOT pass a debt ceiling increase! START NOW to bring this country back to fiscal sanity!
>> Trust me, winning works better than fighting.
Not when “winning” means “rolling over with your butt in the air for the ‘rats to have their way with you”.
And that’s exactly what you’re advocating.
No thanks!
Shut it down. Don’t believe the media hype.
Doesn’t scare me one bit. Just like I wasn’t afraid of letting the banks fail, the car companies fail or global warming coming to kill me.
Do I have a death wish or am I just sane?
Class is now in session for the 112th Congress.
We will soon know if they learned the lesson of the Nov. election or not. Some have the mistaken idea that the people voted for bi-partisanship and compromise. Others understand it was about a return to common-sense, conservative principles and the Constitution.
I’m sure remedial lessons will be needed for the slow learners in the class, starting in the fall of 2012. But we should also know who the star pupils are because the first pop quiz will be coming up next week.
I say shut the damn government down. Permanently.
Or better. Propose a 10% consumption tax to replace the income tax and eliminate the IRS.
If they agree then we turn the water back on for a very limited period of time (maybe 6 months).
Then the economy will soar and there will only be a need for spending cuts. The government must learn to live within its means, spend on only Constitutionally enumerated powers, and cut everything else.
That is the only way for freedom to last IMHO.
I need some help. Seriously. The talking heads speak of a failure to raise the debt limit as though it’s some sort of kiss of death for America and its ability to keep going or to raise money. I know of lot of people confuse the debt limit increase with the continuing resolution but I am not one of them.
I am deeply in debt personally. My wife and I are extended to the very limit, some months a bit more. We have reached our debt limit, both because the Mrs. says “no more” and most anyone who runs a credit check on us doesn’t even bother to call us back.
We are in our personal life about where the US is in it’s financial life. Our debt limit has been reached and we can’t borrow any more money to help us stay afloat. And that’s where America will be without an increase in the debt limit. But this does not mean that we are suddenly bankrupt, unable to keep going from payday to payday. Instead it means we have to be very careful how we spend the income we have. We prioritize our obligations and pay them accordingly. Everyone gets paid, some a bit late, but just because we’ve reached out debt limit doesn’t mean that we don’t pay anyone anything.
Why is it not the same for the US. It’s not like there are no revenues. Just not enough to support the profligate spending habits of an out of control government. If we reach the debt limit it means we have to get by on what is coming in. Pay something off, and you can borrow that again if need be.
What am I missing? Bill Bennett this morning was acting like a failure to raise the debt limit was the same thing as not passing a budget or continuing resolution. Not so, IMHO. My wife and I having reached out debt limit is not nearly the same as both of us losing our jobs or income.
It really sounds to me like all the jawboning about the disaster that failing to raise the debt limit is just so much BS. Raising the debt limit is nothing more than kicking the can down the road. It’s time to deal with the can, and will certainly be easier now than six months or another half-a-trillion dollars from now.
Someone? Anyone? Set me straight. Thanks!
I know appropriations start in the house, so what? We can't win that fight, we have to wait until Obama makes a mistake and gives us an opening. Give him time, he will.
You don't want to play a game? Great, then get used to disappointment because politics is always a game and you have to play it to win.
I like the idea of a consumption tax, but we have to make sure they get rid of the income tax while doing it.
>> I know appropriations start in the house, so what? We can’t win that fight
Why not? Don’t just say it like it’s a fact, because it ISN’T. Now answer me: WHY can’t we shut down spending in the house? WHAT force will prevent it if the (R)s hold together and insist on it?
>> I know that real damage is being done everyday, that’s an argument for making sure Obama’s last day is January 20, 2013 and not 01/20/17.
Total bullshit. We CANNOT wait two years! We CANNOT spend one trillion dollars per year that we do not have for two more years in the vain hope that we’ll then be able to dump Obama in 2012! This is idiocy.
The (R)s were elected because the (D)s spend too damn much money. Now you tell me... if the (R)s “go along to get along” and spend JUST AS MUCH MONEY, how the HELL will they distinguish themselves from the other side? The very idea is disgusting.
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