Government Closed, Sun Still Expected To Rise

[Gaspar]

I am certain Fox News would be just as supportive of some OWS participants trespassing on government property.

..sorry, missed a not there.

As of this point, none of the WWII vets have defecated on police cars, set things on fire, piled up garbage or left any needles laying around.  And to my knowledge they have treated the park and the park officials with the utmost respect.

Of course the day is young, they could all of a sudden strip down and start flinging poo.

[Gaspar]

 A little additional background on the WWII memorial closing.  Rep. Steven Palazzo of Miss. contacted the administration on Tuesday morning to clear the visit for the WWII vets and was denied.  He has noted "This is an open-air memorial that the public has 24/7 access to under normal circumstances — even when Park Service personnel aren't present."

In response the administration dispatched additional parks personnel, security and barricades in an attempt to bar the groups entry and create a media spectacle. 

When the same tour group was scheduled to also visit the Lincoln and MLK Memorials the same increase in security, barrycades, police tape, and personnel was dispatched.

It has obviously backfired.

Here is an interesting contrast.  There is no tour scheduled for the WWI Memorial this week.

[Townsend]

Of course the day is young, they could all of a sudden strip down and start flinging poo.

Following the example of the freshman republican representatives.

[Townsend]

Snatching Shutdown Defeat from the Jaws of Spending Victory

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/pat-garofalo/2013/10/02/republicans-already-won-the-shutdown-when-it-comes-to-spending?src=usn_fb

The ostensible reason House Republicans decided to shut down the government is that President Obama, not surprisingly, refuses to repeal, delay or gut Obamacare, his signature legislative achievement. And public opinion seems to be firmly on Obama's side: An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that neither a government shutdown nor a debt ceiling default, which is the next pressure point available to the GOP, should be used to derail Obamacare, even as voters remain split on the law itself. Poll after poll shows public disapproval of the GOP's tactics.

The tragedy of the situation, though, is that, in another sense, the GOP is fighting a battle it has already won, because Senate Democrats and President Obama are willing to enshrine into law the spending levels that House Republicans have been asking for since they seized the House majority in 2010.

As this graph from the Center for American Progress' Michael Linden (a former colleague of mine) and Harry Stein shows, the spending level in the Senate's continuing resolution – which was passed by the upper chamber and would keep the government open if the House would just adopt it – is not only below that enshrined in the 2011 debt ceiling deal, known as the Budget Control Act, but is barely more than that envisioned by the 2014 budget written by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the GOP's fiscal policy darling.

If House Republicans were actually concerned about government spending levels, they would be pocketing the Senate bill and running away with glee. If they were looking to negotiate a budget "compromise" when it comes to spending, they already have it and then some.

But if this shutdown debacle has proven anything, it's that the House Republicans are not actually concerned about spending. Instead, they're using a crisis to implement an agenda that they couldn't convince voters to support at the ballot box. (After all, if Americans hate Obamacare so much, as Republicans continually insist, it's a little odd that they re-elected, by a not particularly close margin, the fellow whose name is on the law.)

During previous battles over whether or not to shut down the government or default on the national debt, the GOP put forth proposals that, at least on the surface, were about spending. But not only are they currently attempting to use a shutdown to force through their health care policy, look at what they contemplated demanding for a debt ceiling increase this time around: repeal of some provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, Ryan's tax reform plan, blocking net neutrality, implementing the bad joke known as the REINS Act, tossing aside a bevy of environmental protections and means testing Medicare. Oh, and some Republicans wanted an anti-contraception provision added to the bill that would prevent a shutdown, because contraception and funding the government have so very much to do with each other.

These are not the actions of a party concerned with spending levels, even though that's what a government shutdown is technically all about.

So yes, it is entirely likely that, in the end, Republicans will be forced to cave and accept a re-opening of the government that does not involve gutting Obamacare (save for maybe a face-saving concession from the Democrats, such as repealing a tax on medical devices that everyone seems to hate). And they will, if the polls are any indication, be "blamed" for causing the shutdown and lose some of whatever popularity they have left.

But in the grander sense, they already pulled a fast one by getting Senate Democrats to almost unthinkingly accept levels of government spending much closer to the House's ideal plan than to Obama's budget; that funding level, if it becomes the baseline for future negotiations, will undermine important investments in education and science for years to come. If only Republicans had the sense to know when they've already won, the government could open back up.

[RecycleMichael]

It seems that the house is actually acting on behalf of the people they represent instead of the interests of government.  

Total BS. If it were that simple, we would never pay any tax or enter into any war.

[nathanm]

As of this point, none of the WWII vets have defecated on police cars, set things on fire, piled up garbage or left any needles laying around.  And to my knowledge they have treated the park and the park officials with the utmost respect.

Did those folks in downtown Tulsa poop on police cars, or do you really not understand that there are multiple people in the world who are each individually responsible for their actions?

BTW, when less than 30% of the population supports your actions now and your party lost the last election, which was largely a referendum on Obamacare, in which election your party's Presidential candidate lost and your opponents received more votes than you in the House, you can't really claim to be doing the people's work. Oh, and don't forget that the radicals in the House aren't even the majority. Unless you think Republicans are so special they should just run everything no matter who the people actually elect.

[swake]

Did those folks in downtown Tulsa poop on police cars, or do you really not understand that there are multiple people in the world who are each individually responsible for their actions?

BTW, when less than 30% of the population supports your actions now and your party lost the last election, which was largely a referendum on Obamacare, in which election your party's Presidential candidate lost and your opponents received more votes than you in the House, you can't really claim to be doing the people's work. Oh, and don't forget that the radicals in the House aren't even the majority. Unless you think Republicans are so special they should just run everything no matter who the people actually elect.

If the Senate bill were allowed to be voted on, there are REPUBLICAN estimates it would pass by more than 100 votes. But the Tea Party won't allow a vote.

[nathanm]

A nice explanation of how ridiculous the radicals' position on this is:

http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2013/10/01/american-healthcare-was-already-socialized-by-reagan-were-just-fighting-about-how-to-pay-for-it/

[Gaspar]

Did those folks in downtown Tulsa poop on police cars, or do you really not understand that there are multiple people in the world who are each individually responsible for their actions?

BTW, when less than 30% of the population supports your actions now and your party lost the last election, which was largely a referendum on Obamacare, in which election your party's Presidential candidate lost and your opponents received more votes than you in the House, you can't really claim to be doing the people's work. Oh, and don't forget that the radicals in the House aren't even the majority. Unless you think Republicans are so special they should just run everything no matter who the people actually elect.

So, let me break this apart so that we can follow.

Did those folks in downtown Tulsa poop on police cars, or do you really not understand that there are multiple people in the world who are each individually responsible for their actions?

Had you indicated it was the tulsa group you were commenting on, I would have focused on that group rather than generalizing. As for the Tulsa Occupiers led by local self proclaimed communist leader Daniel Lee, only a small proportion of the group was arrested that night in November of 2011.  40 left when the police announced that curfew was approaching.  About 10 remained, locking arms and refusing to leave.  According to the posted minutes from their previous evenings meeting, they had prepared to violate the law, and even anticipated being pepper sprayed. They were booked on violation of curfew and resisting arrest.  3 of the 10 had outstanding warrants.  So basically the vast majority of Tulsa OWS protesters were fine law abiding citizens.

BTW, when less than 30% of the population supports your actions now and your party lost the last election, which was largely a referendum on Obamacare, in which election your party's Presidential candidate lost and your opponents received more votes than you in the House, you can't really claim to be doing the people's work. Oh, and don't forget that the radicals in the House aren't even the majority. Unless you think Republicans are so special they should just run everything no matter who the people actually elect.

This door was opened when the Senate refused to pass a budget. . .again! The Senate delivered this authority to the House.  If the American people are against this action (and they are by a 75% majority) it will cause the house to shift those seats, but not until the next election.  The wiring has been crossed because of a failure of leadership. The constitutional responsibility of the Senate is to pass a budget and deliver it to the President for signature.  Because they did not, they forfeit a portion of their power.  Simple.

Now, who is to blame.  Both parties are to blame, and in the absence of leadership from the White House, both parties will continue to present this spectacle.  I remember Newt and Bill coming out of furious negations in the midst of a government shutdown with a stack of paper and an agreement, they were red-faced and exhausted, but that collaboration led to Clinton signing a Balanced Budget the next year.  Perhaps if the current President spent more time off the golf course working with both parties, we wouldn't' be here.

[heironymouspasparagus]

A nice explanation of how ridiculous the radicals' position on this is:

http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2013/10/01/american-healthcare-was-already-socialized-by-reagan-were-just-fighting-about-how-to-pay-for-it/

Yep.  But you will never get an RWRE to understand it, let alone accept the reality.

[Gaspar]

Good news!  It's working!

BREAKING: Obama Agrees To a Meeting

WASHINGTON — A White House official says President Barack Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House Wednesday, when he returns from the golf course, for a meeting on the government shutdown.

The official says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have been invited to the meeting. The official says Obama will urge the House to pass a spending bill to allow the government to reopen.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Good news!  It's working!

BREAKING: Obama Agrees To a Meeting

WASHINGTON — A White House official says President Barack Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House Wednesday, when he returns from the golf course, for a meeting on the government shutdown.

The official says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have been invited to the meeting. The official says Obama will urge the House to pass a spending bill to allow the government to reopen.

And the House will say no.  And on it goes.

[Townsend]

the absence of leadership from the White House

Keep trying this.  Maybe someone will eventually drink enough to agree.

[Townsend]

And the House will say no.  And on it goes.

I don't think the Bridenstiners will allow it.

[Gaspar]

Keep trying this.  Maybe someone will eventually drink enough to agree.

That's typically how Washington works.