Shutdown concerns.. from the GOP.

[zsdersw]

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/...-cant-win-the-war-over-a-government-shutdown/

My heart sank when I read it, but look at it this way: Is this really the hill you want to die on? The GOP’s proposed budget cuts, while steep by normal standards, are nothing more than a token to please the base. Whether we end up cutting $100 billion or $60 billion or $10 billion doesn’t matter; it’s chump change if you’re focused on a long-term fix for the budget. The real money is in entitlements, so the idea (I hope) is to use these early budget fights to cultivate an image of “reasonable, responsible” fiscal solutions and then use that cred later to sell Social Security and Medicare reform as both reasonable and responsible. Hence the need to avoid a shutdown, which might — might — generate a lasting backlash.

Or am I rationalizing?

Fully 65 percent of Republicans say it’s not in their interest to play this game of chicken. Can you feel the despair?

“The Republicans look awful if there’s a government shutdown and they are seen to have caused it,” said one GOP Insider. “I remember how the last shutdown went and find it impossible to believe this one could go any better,” said another.

Indeed, several recalled how a new Republican House Speaker empowered by a huge victory in the midterm elections was outmaneuvered by a first term Democratic President. “As Bill Clinton proved, the president has the bully pulpit in these situations, something Newt Gingrich never recovered from,” recalled a GOP Insider. Another cautioned of the possible shutdown: “We always think it’s a good idea until we do it and get our butt kicked when real people start suffering for it.”

So there’s your new rule of fiscal conservatism: No budget-balancing if real people will suffer from it. If you guys need me, I’ll be over here in the corner curled up in the fetal position.

But wait. Perhaps there’s hope yet:

A clear majority of independents don’t think the Democrats’ cuts go far enough and a plurality of independents don’t think the GOP’s cuts go far enough. Maybe that explains the news tonight that Democrats are preparing a new budget for the rest of the year that involves some cuts of their own. Supposedly they’ll agree to eliminate more than $8 billion in earmarks and speed up some of the $24 billion in cuts that Obama proposed for next year’s budget. Good enough? If not, prepare to be clubbed over the head in the media with the new Goldman Sachs analysis claiming that the GOP’s proposal could shave off as much as two percent from GDP growth this year. Exit quotation from Eric Cantor’s dopey Harvard hecklers tonight: “Budget Cuts Kill!”

Not good news at all...

 

[BoberFett]

In other words, politics as usual?

This country is going down in flames, it's only a matter of how long we deny reality.

 

[Anarchist420]

The Republicans are pussies for not being willing to shut the government down if that's what it takes to balance the budget.

 

[Genx87]

So there’s your new rule of fiscal conservatism: No budget-balancing if real people will suffer from it. If you guys need me, I’ll be over here in the corner curled up in the fetal position.

In other words no balls.

 

[Jaskalas]

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/...-cant-win-the-war-over-a-government-shutdown/

Not good news at all...

This bubble will continue to inflate. When it finally pops, there won't be anyone left employed to write about it. This is relevant because you see signs, such as this OP, as to why this result is inevitable. It cannot be stopped by our modern system.

Our people are simply not capable of making the decisions necessary to avoid it.

 

[wuliheron]

It's yard sale time! Hurry, hurry, hurry, get your favorite Republican toys! We got 'em all from aircraft carriers to stealth bombers!

 

[matt0611]

Shut it down. We're better off without it.

Or how about we just spend the money that comes in?
Pay the interest on the debt and then the rest of the money to all the other parts of the government.

People will realize that the world will not come to an end if we're ONLY spending 2 trillion dollars a year on our federal government.

 

[piasabird]

I say shut down the government completely. O'Bammah is spend crazy. They can start by repealling the Health Care bill! All Spending Bills must originate in the House.

 

[Zebo]

I said this 100x before. Republicans can be nothing but RINOs even though true conservatives deride them for it, politically they can be no other.

Just prepare for the ride into debt death spiral.

 

[theeedude]

GOP is afraid of a shutdown because it gives people a taste of the small government they are advocating.

 

[matt0611]

GOP is afraid of a shutdown because it gives people a taste of the small government they are advocating.

60 billion in cuts = small government
Thats a good one!

Please let the government shut down.

 

[theeedude]

60 billion in cuts = small government
Thats a good one!

Please let the government shut down.

Government shutdown would be smaller government for the duration of the shutdown. It's easy to talk about small government, it's a tough sell if people are actually experiencing it on themselves. But if GOP really believes in small government, they should just shut it down, see what happens

 

[matt0611]

Government shutdown would be smaller government for the duration of the shutdown. It's easy to talk about small government, it's a tough sell if people are actually experiencing it on themselves. But if GOP really believes in small government, they should just shut it down, see what happens

Shutdown would be small government indeed, but the GOP do not advocate for small government

 

[HydroSqueegee]

We'll see how this goes. im a Department of the Air Force Civilian... dunno if i'll be not working for a bit if the shutdown happens.

 

[Craig234]

This is well said about the Republicans generally:

“We always think it’s a good idea until we do it and get our butt kicked when real people start suffering for it.”

Applies to how they approach issues. A misguided ideology that doesn't work how they think - like Alan Greenspan's ideologica approach to the economy leading to meltdown.

Their ideology doesn't hurt people for a greater benefit like they think. It just destroys.

 

[werepossum]

Shutdown would be small government indeed, but the GOP do not advocate for small government

We have one party that advocates driving toward the cliff at an ever-increasing speed, and one party that advocates driving toward the cliff at an ever-but-slightly-more-slowly-increasing speed. The better party is obvious; the only question is whether the attendant social warts are worth the slight additional time before the crash.

 

[theeedude]

That's cool, hopefully Dems and tea party corner the GOP into shutting down the government. The people need to be given a taste of the small government conservatives are fighting for. Obama should demand that GOP pass his budget, verbatim.

 

[matt0611]

Remember how Obama wanted to stop the debt ceiling from being raised back when he was in the senate? He said it showed the country had a "lack of leadership".

Meet the new boss...

 

[crownjules]

Sometimes I wonder if it would be best if we wiped out everything in terms of spending and tax code and just started from a clean slate. Add in only what is necessary and it HAS to be supported by tax revenue. Put everything else on hold and take care of this because our debt problem is that big of a deal, it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.

 

[werepossum]

Remember how Obama wanted to stop the debt ceiling from being raised back when he was in the senate? He said it showed the country had a "lack of leadership".

Meet the new boss...

The TelePrompter is his friend. The DVR, not so much.

 

[wuliheron]

We'll see how this goes. im a Department of the Air Force Civilian... dunno if i'll be not working for a bit if the shutdown happens.

Can you get me a deal on an SR 22 Blackbird? I've always wanted one and they aren't using them anymore anyway...

 

[Craig234]

Sometimes I wonder if it would be best if we wiped out everything in terms of spending and tax code and just started from a clean slate. Add in only what is necessary and it HAS to be supported by tax revenue. Put everything else on hold and take care of this because our debt problem is that big of a deal, it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.

The rich want the people to support 'radical change', to feel powerless, unrepresented, to not care about protecting the democracy they have because it's been undermined.

That is how to defeat democracy.

And that is when the people will lose the only protection they have from far worse tyranny.

 

[Craig234]

Remember how Obama wanted to stop the debt ceiling from being raised back when he was in the senate? He said it showed the country had a "lack of leadership".

Meet the new boss...

Oh, you mean BEFORE the great recession, when the Bush administration was skyrocketing debt for the wrong things, not trying to keep the economy going to get out of the crash.

That's really the only response such a one-sided bit of snark deserves, but I'll say there is likely an *element* of partisanship to the difference also. You don't deserve that.

The dishonesty is remarkable from the right when they just ignore the Democratic budget balancer Clinton between the Republican debt-crazy sandwich sides.

This has been repeated hundreds or thousands of times here. It's not about the facts, just who can last post the lie 'Obama is the big debt guy for no reason but he hates America!'

What's the point in those thousands of repetitions of a lie here, ignoring the crash?

 

[Generator]

Republicans might as well go and shut down the government. Lets not forget the nature of seesaw politics where the Republicans from day one called Obama a terrorist, a muslim, a nazi, a grandma killer, a socialist, a communist, a kenyan, and boldly rooted for the President of United States to fail. And for all that bullshit the Republican party was rewarded with a record Congress seat gains.

If that stupid bullshit worked, what doesn't work on pleps in this country? Democrats win one cycle, Republicans the next. Same fucking fail, different day.

 

[matt0611]

Yeah, the democratic budget balancer. You mean the inflow of tax receipts due to the economic bubble?

So much money coming in even congress couldn't spend it fast enough

And Bush had his reasons to expand the government too, everyone has their own stupid reasons. Once you get into power you want the power you have expanded.

We're also doing the "wrong things" once again IMO.
I hope I'm wrong, and you're right and everything turns out well. I really do.