Posted on 01/07/2013 8:36:44 AM PST by IbJensen
Apparently Republican career politicians inside the Beltway have a collective death wish. Faced with what they believed to be political impasse, they opted to completely abandon their conservative base and give their full support to the abhorrent and fiscally reckless policies of Barack Obama and the Democrats. Of course Republicans would argue that since Obama won reelection in November, they must acquiesce to his uncontested leadership. Sadly, they give no thought to the possibility that perhaps it is their constant inexcusable capitulation to the liberal establishment which has, more than any other factor, empowered the left as the dominant political force in Washington.
The grim reality of the nation’s current financial debacle is that each and every year the government spends in excess of a trillion dollars more than it can afford. And while deficits have been a fact of life since the nation’s founding, the current levels are unsustainable, and portend an eventual economic implosion if the situation is not shortly corrected. But rather than addressing the real needs of the nation, and weighing them against its inability to continue operating on the current basis, liberal politicians see an opportunity to bolster their dominance in Washington by promising even larger handouts to favored constituencies.
Such reprehensible behavior by Democrats reveals a complete abandonment of their constitutional responsibilities, and should result in thorough censure from the right. To the ongoing shock and dismay of the conservative grassroots, nobody in the Republican “leadership” appears willing to carry that torch. Hence, liberals continue their devastation of the nation’s finances with total impunity for their corrupt actions. In fact they publicly laud themselves as the saviors of Middle America while they systematically plunder it.
Such blatant and shameless liberal propagandizing, makes it difficult to comprehend the actuality of the “fiscal cliff” situation. Yet for that very reason, the present degree of distortion and misrepresentation needs to be addressed by recalling the original premise of this whole debate, and holding to account everyone on both sides of the aisle who have allowed it to be so flagrantly distorted.
Throughout 2009 and 2010, as Americans grew increasingly concerned with the profligate squandering of the nation’s resources by the Obama Administration, the people demanded that his reins be tightened before he was able to completely bankrupt the country. In 2011, with the nation approaching its $14.3 trillion debt limit, mechanisms were ostensibly put in place to ensure that the criminally irresponsible spending spree would be brought into line. The imaginary “fix” to which Republicans agreed mandated federal spending cuts in exchange for Republican relaxation of the debt limit. This was the essence of naive GOP expectations for good faith Democrat reciprocation when Republicans caved on that occasion.
Now, with the arrival of that deadline, congressional Republicans are amazed to find themselves once again on the defensive, facing an intransigent Obama White House and blind partisanship in the Democrat controlled Senate. Instead of sincerely addressing the raging excesses of government spending, Obama continually upped the ante, imposing tax hikes that will punish the so-called “rich” (his most disfavored constituency) while bolstering his redistributionist schemes for those who worship at the altar of “the state.”
In his latest exhibition of brazen fraud, Obama advances a statist ploy as his “fix,” while challenging his critics to “do the math.” However, even a cursory examination of the numbers inarguably proves that he and his cabal of political supporters are in no way interested in factual accounting. The advancement of their anti-capitalist agenda is simply too important to be bothered with the inconveniences of reality.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bogusly named “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012” contains $600 billion in tax increases, while conceding a mere $15 billion in “cuts.” Even if these figures were genuine, they would represent a fiscal atrocity. Yet even the occasional mention of reducing expenditures is once again only a cruel mirage. Liberals regularly “cut” their financial outlays by initially proposing deliberately inflated numbers, and then claiming to do some token “trimming” of those amounts.
With deficits projected to exceed four trillion dollars in the next ten years (a number that will be vastly exceeded), absolutely no effort to reduce the depredation of America’s pocketbooks will be attempted. In short, from both sides of the aisle, Washington disclosed an intention to continue its rapacious spending, with no end in sight.
Not surprisingly, House and Senate Democrats jubilantly supported Obama’s sinister plan, exhibiting callous indifference to the collateral damage it inflicts on our once-great nation. Just as abhorrently however, the Republican acquiescence and compliance that ultimately made it a reality constitutes a wholesale betrayal of the American people. The seditious strategy of the Obama Administration and its leftist collaborators is based on the perpetual expansion of the government and a relentless encroachment on the private citizenry. Yet Republicans abetted this effort. No longer is either side of the political aisle concerned with steering the nation away from the true fiscal pitfall that it faces on account of its inexorable lurch into socialism.
Many among the conservative punditry claim that Obama will enjoy a significant political windfall from this debacle since the Republicans, by abandoning their core principle of opposing tax increases, are once again alienating their conservative base. However, to any who have observed flailing attempts by the philosophically bankrupt GOP Establishment to posture and pander its way into a position of leadership, this latest treachery comes as no surprise. With the exception of a few conservative stalwarts in its midst (many of whom Speaker Boehner vindictively purged from leading positions) the core of the Republican Party inside Washington is made up of morally and ethically rudderless political players.
Real conservatism has too often been squandered, even after such significant grassroots victories as the 2010 mid-term elections, because its key players were persuaded to align themselves with those they believed kindred in the GOP. In the wake of the “fiscal cliff” fiasco, and the needless and cowardly Republican acquiescence to Barack Obama, it has become painfully clear that conservatism must be unabashedly established and advanced as its own force for societal change if it is ever again to be taken seriously in the political world.
The primary stronghold of liberalism lies within the modern Republican Party. Until it is dismantled, attempting to turn the tide on the leftist onslaught will prove an exercise in futility.
The other way to look at it is, the taxes on income over $400K went up automatically per the extension law passed in late 2010, so this bill did not raise them as it left them as if it was never passed. It did nothing to those rates.
I agree that there is no practical off switch to tyranny. However, I think that we can sill learn from our mistakes with respect to stifling tyranny.
First of all keep at at top of your thinking....WE LOST THE ELECTION. Elections have consequences. GOP numbers went DOWN not up. If all GOP members walked out on the FC bill as you want....guess what happens? WE ALL GO UP TO CLINTON TAX RATES. The Bush tax cuts had an EXPIRATION DATE built in. Why is that so difficult for you to understand?
Of course I know no law is permanent. But can you comprehend the simple concept that a tax cut law which has an EXPIRATION date is much easier to get rid of than a tax cut law which has NO EXPIRATION dates as stipulated in the FC bill? If you can’t grasp that simple fact I am afraid there is nothing I can say to you.
It was a status quo election. The GOP retained control of the House. Obama won with just 51% of the vote--less than he received in 2008 in terms of both votes and percentage. Romney received more votes than McCain. It was certainly not a mandate for Obama's policies.
If the GOP thinks they lost, then they behave like losers. I can remember when the Reps controlled Congress and the WH. The Dems still acted like they were the majority party. If the GOP is afraid to exercise the power it does have, then what does it matter if we control the House?
WE ALL GO UP TO CLINTON TAX RATES. The Bush tax cuts had an EXPIRATION DATE built in. Why is that so difficult for you to understand?
What is hard to understand is why the GOP agreed in 2001 and 2003 to include a sunset provision in the bill. No doubt the Dems influenced that decision by playing hardball even though they were the minority party.
And cut the smarmy, condescending crap. I understand that the law contained a sunset provision--another GOP mistake. The GOP should have just let the taxes go up on everyone. It could have been a teachable momement for the nation, which would have more skin in the game as to why our spending is out of control. When almost 50% of Americans pay no income tax and the top 1% pay 38%, there is an issue of fairness and the inability to make a small segment of our population carry the costs of the welfare state, which is unsustainable.
Right now, the majority of the American people want the rich to pay more if you believe the polls. And Obama is just getting started on increasing taxes on the rich. We are going to have this fight and the sooner the better. If the Clinton tax rates were so great and contributed to increased prosperity, then let's return to them for everyone not just the 1%.
Plan B had absolutely no chance of passing the Senate. Reid said he wouldn’t even schedule it for a vote. It was DOA. The House had already passed bills covering the extension of the Bush era tax rates and an alternative to sequestration. The Senate just ignored them.
Not going up is not the same as going down. Circular logic is no logic at all.
You are beginning to sound like a paid shill for Boehner.
The tax bill lowered 99% from the higher Clinton rates to the lower Bush rates. The 1% stayed the same which is why Rush is livid that Bohner didnt make sure all our taxes stayed at the higher Clinton rates, livid because he didnt get the Bush tax cut this time round.
Who-ever programs you forgot to tell you they all went up Jan 1 with no bill signed into law and this cut them Jan 2.
It sounds like you believe everything Rush says even if it makes no sense at all, here is some of his past wisdom predicting that Mccain then Romney would easily beat O.
Talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh says that Sen. John McCain will score a stunning upset over Sen. Barack Obama and win the presidency on Nov. 4
[Rush] Limbaugh Predicts McCain Victory (NewsMax ^ | October 31, 2008 | David A. Patten, FR thread link )
I almost forgot this one :
We Could See a McCain Landslide (Rushlimbaugh.com, August 12, 2008)
“The enthusiasm that got people out in 2010, I'm seeing at every Mitt Romney rally. Romney's drawing crowds of 20,000, 25,000, 30,000, 15,000. “The enthusiasm that we all saw in 2010 is there. The same issues that existed in 2010 exist today. There hasn't been anything that's gotten better.”
Rush: Everything But Polls Say Romney Landslide (Newmake Monday, 05 Nov 2012)
‘Don't Doubt me’ LOL
Reid opposed it, Pelosi opposed it and Obama opposed it but more important those on the R side who objects to this final not as good Senate bill opposed it too.
Bohner was smart to bring that bill out, he smoked out those on the R side (the ‘don't pass nuthin into law caucus’) who only wanted all the taxes to go back the Clinton rates because they couldnt get 100% and would later claim it was the additional spending not in plan B, etc, was why the final bill was bad.
It was amazing, they opposed a 99% tax cut and demanded that Bohner hold out for 0% tax cut instead, which of course no Speaker would do.
The repeals of O-care went no where but these same folks voted for 33 of them, its make transparent excuses time with that one too.
Boehner is incompetent. He squandered his negotiating position after the historic 2010 mid terms and allowed the extension of the Bush tax cuts for just two years instead of making them permanent. And the agreement with the WH on the sequestration bill was just another example of being outsmarted by the WH.
Obama pushed on the raising of the rates on the rich as a means to divide and destroy the GOP. He was successful. What came out of the senate and passed by the House had more Dem votes than Reps. In the House, almost twice as many Reps voted against it as for it.
It was amazing, they opposed a 99% tax cut and demanded that Bohner hold out for 0% tax cut instead, which of course no Speaker would do.
No speaker would bring a bill up for a vote when the overwhelming majority of his party was against it. This 156 page monstrosity filled with pork is just another example of Reps surrendering when the rubber hits the road. It was a bad bill that could wind up costing hundreds of thousands of jobs and it will add to our debt and deficit.
Oh, and by the way, 77 million Americans will see their tax bills go up as the payroll tax holiday was ended after two years. Since 80% of Americans pay more in payroll taxes than they do in income taxes, this is significant, and the Reps will be blamed.
Next up are the battles over the debt ceiling, sequestration, and the CR. The Reps will lose everyone and they will be blamed by Obama and the Dems for trying to cut SS and Medicare benefits. This will set the stage for the 2014 midterms with the Reps having voting for increased taxes, cutting the military, and surrendering on the CR so as not to shut down the government. And the GOP base will question why it is even desireable to have the Reps in control of the House. I can assure you that the Tea Party has noted who voted for the fiscal cliff monstrosity and will go after them in the primaries. We have failed to cut spending by one cent and instead, have increased spending.
The repeals of O-care went no where but these same folks voted for 33 of them, its make transparent excuses time with that one too.
What is wrong with getting your opponents on record on Obamacare? The majority of voters are still against it and now that the taxes and penalties are kicking in, some of the pain will now be felt. And the costs of Obamacare will soar as the Dems passed the Doc fix again in the fiscal cliff bill. The so-called savings of $716 billion in Medicare will never happen, which means that they will not be able to offset the trillion plus costs of Obamacare.
So when do you want the GOP to fight against Obama and his trillion dollar a year annual deficits that will bankrupt and destroy this country? We have been told it was useless to fight the fiscal cliff deal since the GOP would be blamed for raising taxes. We are now told that fighting against the increase in the debt ceiling is the wrong fight and will hurt the country with disastrous consequences. Will the Reps come up with a deal on sequestration to avoid military cuts that includes increased taxes/revenue? And will the GOP risk shutting down the government by not passing a CR?
On that I have no argument. GOP needs to play more hardball, that is for sure. But can't go back and change history. I am surprised the democrats did not just let the Bush tax cuts expire. Because the MSM would not have held them accountable for the resulting tax increases in any shape or form.
I still think the FC deal was as good as could be negotiated at this time. The GOP had no leverage to extract any more. It is a big f...ing deal for investors and savers to get the 15% tax rate good until changed by congress, for all middle class and upper middle class. The rich got screwed but as you said, that is what is polling as popular.
On the issue of tax increases on rich, I am firmly convinced any tax increase on any one is never good for the economy. Now if only we can convince the under-informed voters... On a final note, no offense of any kind intended. We are fighting for the same cause. My hope is our next nominee in 2016 will be the best communicator there is, because by golly we need one.
Bohner is weak no doubt but I couldnt help notice that none of fwightened Wabbits in the ‘nont pass nuthin crowd’ would stand up and run against him. For weeks before the vote I challenged freepers to call their favorite fwightened wabbit and plead with him to run
The idea that Obama was going to give in and get Reid to extend all the tax cuts, when he ran against that and won, and he knew Bohner would get the blame for everyones taxes going up , is ridiculus. This is why none of the fwightened wabbits who opposed plan B ran for Speaker.
The path you demanded he take was a GOP death wish, raising everyones taxes just out of spite because a few were going up.
That was a direct result of rejecting plan B which had no such pork. And plan B showed it was not about the pork, the fwightened wabbit caucus was against a partial extension of our tax cuts even with no pork, they were told to hold out till all taxes go up.
Who could be so delusional to believe that Bohner was just going to walk away after plan B and let himself be bplamed for all taxes going up??
Bohner is weak for sure.
Pelosi would have called in the fwightened wabbits one by one and told them they work for her and better get on ‘the team’ (against Rs) or they would be using crutches.
That is how she got bills through. Sheer terror.
Bohner is weak, he wants to be Mr Nice guy and you see how that pays off.
Pelosi is a real fighter and is there for one purpose, to win and beat Rs and she doesnt tolerate personal agendas that help the other side beat her, as Bohner does.
But as I said, the fwightened wabbit caucus wouldnt run against him to be speaker themselves, they vote their symbolic Nos and then go on FNC and brag about their meaningless votes.
Sometimes no deal is better than a bad deal. That was the case in this instance. The bill will increase our debt and deficit and lose jobs. The Reps signaled from the very beginning that it did not want to jump off the fiscal cliff. It was their bottomline.
On the other hand, Obama gave every indication he would if he did not get what he wanted, i.e., increased taxes on the "rich." The objective was not increased revenue, but rather to humiliate and divide the GOP base. Obama was successful and it will pay dividends in 2014.
If the Reps had been true to its principles and committed to the long term fiscal well-being of the country, it should have gone off the cliff or at least expressed a willingness to do so if they got a bad deal. They chose the 156 page bad deal that will damage this nation even further while increasing spending and rewarding with pork Obama's allies whether it was in Hollywood or in the corporate world.
My hope is our next nominee in 2016 will be the best communicator there is, because by golly we need one.
The GOP is deluded if they think the problem was a failure to communicate our message. The majority of voters just isn't buying the message. The fact is that we have reached a tipping point demographically and politically. The Dems proved in 2012 election with the reelection of a failed President that the laws of normal political gravity no longer work. A culture of dependency and a growing minority vote guarantees that the Dems will keep the WH in 2016, no doubt with Hillary who will be our first woman President in another "historic" election. Demography is destiny.
No one had that idea that I am aware of. The problem was that Boehner indicated from the very start that his primary and virtually sole objective was not to go over the fiscal cliff. Obama, on the other hand, had no such compunction or limitation. Anyone who negotiates like Boehner is sure to lose. The Reps should have said that they would go over the fiscal cliff if they were offered a bad deal that increased taxes and the deficit and hurt the economy.
Going over the cliff was not an option for Boehner because he was afraid that the GOP would be blamed. He should have used it as an opportunity to start a national dialogue on our long term fiscal problems. With the Clinton tax rates reinstalled for everyone, the public's attention would be more focussed. Instead, we have a 156 page monstrosity that makes our fiscal problems worse and still damages the GOP who will be blamed for allowing the payroll tax holiday to lapse and for seeking cuts to SS and Medicare.
The path you demanded he take was a GOP death wish, raising everyones taxes just out of spite because a few were going up.
Out of spite? First taxes went up on virtually everyone with the end of the payroll tax holiday. Yes there were cuts in taxes for Hollywood, wind energy producers, algae growers, etc., but this was a bad deal that will hurt the economy, increase the debt and deficit, and lose jobs.
Two out of every three Reps in the House voted AGAINST this bill. It was a bad deal for anyone who understands what was in this pork laden 156 page bill. It will be an albatross around the necks of the Reps in 2014.
"Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi issued a projection that the tax burden will cut GDP growth by three-quarters of 1 percent, causing the creation of 600,000 fewer jobs in 2013. But the general consensus among economists is that the impact will be much worse – about a 1.5 percent loss of GDP growth. Such a serious dip could push an already lackluster economy close to the brink of actual contraction.
Question: Why do continuously misspell Boehner's name? Is it on purpose?
Are you joking using this as an example?
You actually wanted Boner (Is that better?) to extend the FICA/SS tax cut or make it forever?
Dec 2010/Feb 2011 House Rs were forced to extend it an additional year by O demanding they do it on TV, now you argue now NOT doing the same was a Bohner cave?
So why did the Reps agree to it in the first place?
You are positing a false choice. There is no way that any tax cut can be made "forever," including the Bush tax cuts, which are now the Obama tax cuts. Supposedly, the rationale of implementing and extending both the Bush tax cuts and the payroll tax holiday was to not increase taxes during a period of economic weakness.
So do you favor extending the payroll tax holiday for another year or ending it?
Dec 2010/Feb 2011 House Rs were forced to extend it an additional year by O demanding they do it on TV, now you argue now NOT doing the same was a Bohner cave?
Most Reps were on-board with the payroll tax holiday, which was just another stimulus using SS as a vehicle. It costs over $130 billion a year. I was against it then and against it now. And yes, Boehner caved on both SS and extending unemployment benefits. The FC deal also extended unemployment benefits again.
The GOP would be well advised not to kick its base in the teeth and help the Dems pass their bills in House, which is on paper controlled by the Reps. It will be a disaster for the Reps in 2014.
Dec 2011 House Rs tried to hold out and not pass it, Reid sent the Senate Home and O got on TV accusing Rs of being for increasing middle class taxes (sound familiar.)
First House Rs (the ones that opposed plan B) claimed they would stay for Christmas till the Senate came back and agreed to some budget cuts to 'pay for it' (ironic since Rush says that talk is Marxist) then they realized it was hopeless.
Republicans gave in for the same reason they always give in, public opinion was against them.
In this case O didnt demand it anymore so it just went away by itself.
You shouldn't be using stuff Bohner did that you support like not extending this tax ‘holiday’ against him.
If you want this to go up dont list it in you grievances when Bohner wins one for you/.
Which is one reason why the GOP is well on its way to being the permanent minority party. It is willing to compromise its basic principles in a futile and misguided attempt to curry public favor.
You shouldn't be using stuff Bohner did that you support like not extending this tax ‘holiday’ against him. If you want this to go up dont list it in you grievances when Bohner wins one for you/.
Boehner didn't win anything for me. Both parties didn't want to extend the payroll tax holiday. They understand what the real fiscal condition of SS is and how the tax holiday didn't do anything except increase the deficit and debt. The payroll tax holiday increased the deficit by twice the amount of the revenue raised by taxing the rich.
If Boehner had any smarts, he could have used the extension of the payroll tax against Obama and the Dems.
"Anyone still need a reason to abandon "grand bargains" and deals negotiated between this President and GOP Congressional leaders? Here it is: The revival of two dormant provisions of the tax code means the much ballyhooed $450,000 income threshold for the highest tax rate is largely fake.
The two provisions are the infamous PEP and Pease, which aficionados of stealth tax increases will recognize immediately as relics of the 1990 tax increase. Those measures, which limit deductions and exemptions for higher-income taxpayers, expired in 2010. The Obama tax bill revived them this week. It isn't going to be pretty.
Under the new law, some of the steepest tax increases may fall on upper-middle class earners with incomes just above $250,000. Here's why:
During the negotiations, the White House won a concession from Republicans to allow phaseouts for personal exemptions and limitations on itemized deductions, starting at an income of $250,000 for individuals and $300,000 for joint filers.
The Senate Finance Committee informs us that in effect the loss of the personal exemptions, currently $3,800 per family member, can mean a 4.4 percentage point rise in the marginal tax rate for a married couple with two kids and incomes above $250,000. A family with four kids in that income range faces about a six percentage point marginal rate hike. The restored limitations on itemized deductions can raise the tax rate by another one percentage point.
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