[SkyPilot]

From a similar article:

Spending Cuts Including to Defense Seen to Start in March

"Also, Republicans on Jan. 1 passed legislation that included income-tax rate increases for top earners. That contrasts with the deal on the table in 2011 before deficit-reduction talks between Obama and Boehner fell apart. Obama had tentatively agreed only to revenue increases by targeting exemptions and credits instead of tax rates. He was considering $250 billion in cuts to Medicare and changing the formula for Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, for about $125 billion more in savings. “Republicans should have struck a deal at that point,” said Alan Viard, a former economic adviser to Bush and a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “That’s the gamble you always take if you don’t take a deal at a particular time.”

I am disgusted by our Republican "leadership." They have decided to abandon what is best about America, and I in turn will abandon them.

Time and time again, they make the wrong decisions. They never should have agreed to this Faustian "bargain" of sacrificing our military while exempting Food Stamps, Medicaid, TANF, and "free" checks to people for 99 weeks. But they did.

They could have acted during the Fiscal Cliff negotiation and ended the Sequester. Instead, they caved on taxes, raised them, and then spent that entire tax increase on ONE bill - the pork laden Hurricane Sandy "relief" bill.

The could have tied to the Sequester to the debt ceiling, but they abandoned Defense....again.

Now, they are cheerleaders for massive cuts that hit our military, and leave illegals, takers, abortionists, and lawyers unscathed.

There is one institution this nation (Constitutional by the way) that does not deserve to be gutted like this. And it is the one institution that is about to get royally screwed, and Boehner and Ryan clap their hands.

I am done with these useless, feckless so-called "Conservatives." They could have shown courage in 2011 and shut the government down. They were so deathly afraid of someone not getting their Social Security check on time that they agreed to this horrible "Budget Control Act" that exempted ALL entitlements from future cuts.

The GOP has been walking around like a blind beggar since them, pleading with Obama and the Democrats so reform entitlements, but they lost their chance.

Now, they are torturing and holding Defense hostage, and have decided to let the hostage get shot to prove their point.

Let the GOP feed and protect the welfare state. That is all they have agreed to protect, and that is all they are good for.

[circlecity]

These days, on both sides of the aisle, politics isn’t about governing anymore - it’s exclusively about winning elections and enjoying the trappings of power. Absolute corruption is what absolute political power brings. Every time.

[Uncle Chip]

What is it? Sequestration is broad, automatic, across-the-board cuts to most categories of government spending.

Sounds good to me --

[sickoflibs]

Never take a hostage unless you are willing to shoot him, and more importantly the other side you want concessions from believes you will really do it.

Republicans were not willing the default on the spending that was already in law (by holding out on debt limit to the end), and they were not willing to raise everyone’s taxes Jan 1 because taxes on some income (upper) was going up and they didnt have the power to stop it.

They were not willing to take the blame for blowing the economy up. They were not willing to shoot the hostages.
So using those as hostages was not effective.

Now we have the sequester...DA_DA_DA

I like the Paul Ryan dopey pictures above, seems just like yesterday he was considered the next Reagan by many here.

[Tublecane]

Stoically legless marines? Are you serious? “Defense,” which actually has little to do with defense whatsoever, may not be the worst Big Government offender. But the idea that it can’t stand 50 billion or so fewer dollars, even if they come in meat clever cuts is a killer to our movement. It makes us welfare for thee but not for me hypocrites.

[Tublecane]

Stoically legless marines? Are you serious? “Defense,” which actually has little to do with defense whatsoever, may not be the worst Big Government offender. But the idea that it can’t stand 50 billion or so fewer dollars, even if they come in meat clever cuts is a killer to our movement. It makes us welfare for me but not for thee hypocrites.

[what's up]

Don't be so negative. Slate is saying NO CUTS should happen at all. Ridiculous.

Obama and the Dems are going to be twisting in the wind over where their cuts will come from. Defense hawks are already at work making sure the cuts don't impact vital defense programs; the libs will scream and squeal until it's too late to come up with a smooth transition; their base will be on them for the mess they end up having to resort to on the domestic side.

Also, yes the top 1% got a tax hike because we are never going to get 100% of what we want...naive to think that will happen. Meanwhile 99% of Americans got PERMANENT tax cuts extended. Plus a PERMANENT AMT fix which was a constant problem for years. These are things that the Dems never wanted. Their dreaded Bush tax cuts are now law for the vast number of Americans.