I haven’t posted that much on the payroll tax cut. Why, you ask? ‘Cuz it was a no brainer. Everybody knew it was a no brainer. Everyone also knew that members of the GOP were going to try to extact as much as they could for this tax cut. The political calculus was clear to everyone for months. My only question was why did the Dems get so little? They, the Dems, should have pushed for a 12-month extension (not 2 month) of this tax cut.
Facing withering criticism from across the political spectrum and abandoned by Senate allies, House Republicans bowed to political reality Thursday and agreed to a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans.
The agreement represented a remarkable capitulation on the part of House Republicans, who had two days earlier rejected such a deal with Democrats as the kind of half-measure that their new majority was elected to thwart.
And it amounts to a Christmas gift for President Obama, who attempted to paint his Republican opponents as willing to raise taxes for millions of Americans. Such an image could have cost the party politically just as it is gearing up to try to take back the White House and the Senate in 2012.
I’m personally sad to see anyone subjected to a ridiculous media frenzy like the one that has surrounded Anthony Weiner. The stupid, insane and pornographic questions that have been shouted at him are revolting. Yes, he was wrong to lie to everyone about his twitter account. Yes, he was right to resign. I understand that Democrats are spineless by nature so they turned on Congressman Weiner like nothing that I have seen in the last 10 – 15 years. Republicans should have simply been quiet. They have embraced John Ensign, who has probably broken the law. They have embraced David Vitter, who should have been thrown out of Congress for hanging out with prostitutes. Now, I understand that neither Ensign or Vitter have been charged with anything. That doesn’t matter. Isn’t there a standard that can be applied to everyone in Congress? If your private cell phone number is found in a Hooter’s Rolodex, you should resign. If you force your best friend’s wife to have sex with you repeatedly because you have their whole family dependent on your generous handouts, you should resign. If you are a “family values” politician and you have been found grossly violating those values, you should resign!
I think that Anthony Weiner was a very strong Democrat. He stood up for what he believed in and explained the liberal viewpoint, extremely well, on national television. This man is very strong. I think that he will be back. He will shake this and come back stronger. I think he should have stepped down for lying to everyone. I know that politicians lie as often as the rest of us breathe air but that doesn’t matter. There should be a bond that exists between the voters and the elected. Weiner broke that bond, not by sending pictures to women, but by lying. In a couple of years, he should run for office again. I know that I’ll support him even though I’m not from NY.
Strong Dems are hard to find.
So, now what? First, the media needs to cover real news. Anthony Weiner texting women isn’t news. The fact that Republicans have actively and proudly stated that the United States of America should default on its debt, now that’s news. This is ridiculous talk that jeopardizes everyone’s standard of living, except the very rich, here in the real world. Why isn’t that being covered with this type of frenzy. What aren’t the media yelling questions like – “Congressman, do want to see America become a 3rd world country?” “Congressman, if we default on our debt and China and Russia simply quit buying American debt, then what? How does that help America today and tomorrow?” “Congressman, are simply too stupid to understand that defaulting on our debt would throw our economy into a depression type tailspin that will take decades for us to recover from, is that what you want?” Can someone send a memo to our 4th branch of government and tell them that they are screwing up, again?
Dallas Mavericks are trying hard to blow their best chance to win an NBA championship. They looked tired, slow and disinterested. If they keep playing like this they will be able to watch the Thunder in the championship game.
Newt’s implosion is extremely interesting. It is almost as if he has jumped into a large bowl of tar and somehow he didn’t think that it was going to stick to him.
Even the lowly Chrysler looks like they have plans to pay our money back.
How about a constitutional amendment to over turn the Citizen United decision? Um, I don’t know about that.
Patriot Act has been extended in a double secret meeting. Dems and R’s agreed on something… anything. This should be a cause for celebration but something just doesn’t feel right about it.
Man walks after being paralyzed from the chest down with the aid of electrical stimulation and a computer. Totally Cool. (for those who want to read the scientific study, you can find it here.)
More on Newt Gingrich’s epic debacle. There is a reason that Newt Gingrich stepped down as Speaker of the House and has never run for another elected public office. This is not an accident. Newt Gingrich has a flair for over-the-top rhetoric. In order to paint himself in the best light, he will use the starkest metaphors to illustrate his point. So, to make himself seem like the biggest and best authority on Medicare, he contrasted himself against Paul Ryan and the Democrats. This was classic Newt Gingrich. Of course, he threw Paul Ryan and all of the other House Republicans off a bridge since he accused them of social engineering. He spent the better part of this week trying to weasel his way out of this epic mistake. In an effort to backtrack without looking weak he blasted those who criticize him and, of course, that included the great grand pooh-baw of everything conservative, Rush Limbaugh. PA has an excellent rundown on Newt’s week. Stephen Colbert took Newt Gingrich’s press release and asked John Lithgow to read it verbatim. This is funny.
