Congress accomplished "nothing" in 2011

OH SNAP!!!!!

this from one of the greatest republican strategists of the last 50 years.....it keeps getting better


Karl Rove piles on, tells Republicans to cut bait in tax standoff

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162- ... -standoff/

You know it's bad for Republicans when Karl Rove says it's time to cave and move on.

The former political adviser to President George W. Bush said Wednesday that the famously conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page was right when it said House Republicans should cut their losses and agree with a bipartisan Senate plan to extend for just two months the payroll tax cut enacted last year.

Republicans "have lost the optics on it," Rove told Fox News, "the question now is how do the Republicans get out of it."

Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans on Tuesday blocked a Senate proposal to extend the popular tax cut for two months in an effort to allow lawmaker from both parties more time to hash out a larger compromise on a host of issues that were holding up the payroll tax extension.

Boehner had reportedly backed the plan at first, but many of the most conservative members of parties revolted on Saturday and said they would not accept the Senate plan, vowing to kill it when it came to the House of Representatives.

But that may have been easier said than done. So Boehner came up with a plan to block the Senate bill without actually voting on the extension. Using a procedural move, the House voted to "disagree" with the Senate plan and set up a committee of members from both parties from both the House and Senate to work out a new compromise on legislation.

But most senators had already left Washington for the holidays and the Senate proposal was itself a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, who overwhelmingly supported the short-term legislative option to avoid the most contentious issues and pass the popular tax cut for two months. The Senate bill, which also includes an extension of unemployment benefits and a measure to make sure doctors do not have their Medicare payments cut, passed 89-10. All but seven Republicans voted for it.

The mastermind of Mr. Bush's 2004 re-election effort said the only thing Republicans can do now is "use it for political theater and then vote the two month extension and get out of town."

"The only way to win it is to just stick there and ruin their own Christmases and wait until the president heads off to Hawaii for his, and then lambaste the Democrats for having abdicated their responsibilities to pass a year-long tax cut," Rove said.

The payroll tax affects about 160 million Americans and it was cut a year ago in an effort to stimulate the economy with a little extra cash in people's pockets. Many conservative Republicans are skeptical of the macroeconomic benefits of the payroll tax cut.

Mark Zandi, an influential economist who served as an adviser to the 2008 presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, has said the economy could fall back into recession if the payroll tax cut is not extended.



what are the congressional republicans doing for YOU again???? that's right....NOTHING!

Go Beavers wrote:

mikepegg44 wrote:

Jason P wrote:

Boehner and the GOP House are really fucking up with the payroll tax fiasco. The Democrats have them cornered and if they fail to pass the extension, every worker will see a 2% deduction in their weekly pay ... which is counterproductive to their whole "limited government" battlecry.

I'm getting to the point where I don't even see the value in voting anymore. Every move made is for votes. Nothing is based on common sense and good judgment.

We need a one-term limit and we need it now.

Term limits for the win...it should be, and never was supposed to be a career choice to be a senator or rep...

I'm kind of mixed about term limits. Isn't that why we have elections? People have the choice to limit anyone's term, why take that choice away? Shouldn't people that support an individuals liberty be against term limits?

term limits do limit the choice of the people. Saying we need term limits is like Newt saying we dont need a supreme court...its a knee-jerk reaction. ANyone who thinks the dems are any better than the Repubs or vice versa is a tool.

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

WaveRyder wrote:

ANyone who thinks the dems are any better than the Repubs or vice versa is a tool.

again, who is raising taxes on the middle class while protecting the rich???? :eh:

who did not show up on the floor yesterday to vote on the senate bill???

the people are waking up to it, and are feeling buyer's remorse... i predict that the gop will be punished for this in 2012.

the truth stings just a little, doesn't it??

You're completely thick, aren't you? I. DONT. GIVE. A. FUCK. ABOUT. THE. GOP.

It's like showing a dog a card trick - too simple to even comprehend.

The only way things will get better is if we start voting for people and policy records and not political parties.

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

chill out with the snippy attack...you insulted me by calling me a tool....i'm just telling you and everyone else like it is....

Go Beavers wrote:

I'm kind of mixed about term limits. Isn't that why we have elections? People have the choice to limit anyone's term, why take that choice away? Shouldn't people that support an individuals liberty be against term limits?

if you had a stronger democracy ... ie engagement, informed voter ... it would be ok ... but the democracy is super weak now ... i think the idea of term limits is interesting in theory ... but i suspect that the people that will run won't necessarily be those with altruistic motives rather more corporate lackeys ... as long as they serve their corporate bidding - after their term is up, they'll be given comfy positions in the private sector ...

polaris_x wrote:

Go Beavers wrote:

I'm kind of mixed about term limits. Isn't that why we have elections? People have the choice to limit anyone's term, why take that choice away? Shouldn't people that support an individuals liberty be against term limits?

if you had a stronger democracy ... ie engagement, informed voter ... it would be ok ... but the democracy is super weak now ... i think the idea of term limits is interesting in theory ... but i suspect that the people that will run won't necessarily be those with altruistic motives rather more corporate lackeys ... as long as they serve their corporate bidding - after their term is up, they'll be given comfy positions in the private sector ...

+1

these days whoever runs for office must be power hungry, or have no soul, or be a shill for corporate interests.. none of them are for the average american no matter what they say on the campaign trail.

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

polaris_x wrote:

Go Beavers wrote:

I'm kind of mixed about term limits. Isn't that why we have elections? People have the choice to limit anyone's term, why take that choice away? Shouldn't people that support an individuals liberty be against term limits?

if you had a stronger democracy ... ie engagement, informed voter ... it would be ok ... but the democracy is super weak now ... i think the idea of term limits is interesting in theory ... but i suspect that the people that will run won't necessarily be those with altruistic motives rather more corporate lackeys ... as long as they serve their corporate bidding - after their term is up, they'll be given comfy positions in the private sector ...

+1

these days whoever runs for office must be power hungry, or have no soul, or be a shill for corporate interests.. none of them are for the average american no matter what they say on the campaign trail.

but actually, it's not so absolute. at the local level people often get into politics because they are asked to run. It's quite noble to sacrifice a lot of time to serve a school board, city council or county commission. But very few people are able to plow through the ranks without losing their integrity....very few. There are some. And one of them is running for President.

making Congressional insider trading illegal would go a long way to restoring faith and accountability within the system. Crony capitalism - insider trading allowed in Congress - doesnt work. True capitalism does.

WaveRyder wrote:

term limits do limit the choice of the people. Saying we need term limits is like Newt saying we dont need a supreme court...its a knee-jerk reaction. ANyone who thinks the dems are any better than the Repubs or vice versa is a tool.

How does it limit our choice? I don't think anyone misses not having the chance to vote George W in for a third time.

If anything, it gives us more choice. There are so many politicians that get re-elected based on name recognition and familiarity alone. In my state, the Democrats don't even bother running against one of our senators because he is so well recognized. This is one of the most powerful people in the United States and I don't have a choice to vote for anyone else. He has been in office for 35 years.

I repeat, he ran unopposed.