Government Shutdown

[|kennethmw|]

From the sounds of it, only Boehner is screwing us all right now :)

He's much more interested in having the title of "Speaker of the House" than actually being the Speaker.

[|RayDoggBengal|]

He's much more interested in having the title of "Speaker of the House" than actually being the Speaker.

This is true but a lot of people don't see that.

[T-Dub]

[Go Skins]

From CNN:

Obama: "No negotiation" on debt ceiling and spending bill. "You don't get to demand ransom." 

[CincyInDC]

"We do not negotiate with terrorists."

[Go Skins]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/03/politics/government-shutdown-main/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

 President Barack Obama went on a rhetorical offensive against House Republicans on the third day of the federal government shutdown, telling a crowd in Maryland Thursday that there's only one party at fault and one remedy.

 

"There are enough Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives today that if the speaker of the House, John Boehner, simply let the bill get on the floor for an up or down vote, every congressman could vote their conscience, the shutdown would end today," Obama said in a speech in Rockville, Maryland.

 

"The only thing that is keeping the government shut down, the only thing preventing people from going back to work, and basic research starting back up, and farmers and small business owners, getting their loans -- the only thing that's preventing all that from happening right now today, in the next five minutes, is that Speaker John Boehner won't even let the bill get a yes or no vote because he doesn't want to anger the extremists in his party."

 

He urged Congress to "pass a budget that funds our government with no partisan strings attached."

 

He also called on Republicans to support raising the debt ceiling so that the United States does not default on its debts.

 

"As reckless as a government shutdown is, an economic shutdown that results from default would be dramatically worse," he said.

 

Social Security checks and disability benefits would be affected.

 

"There will be no negotiations over this. The American people are not pawns in some political game. You don't get to demand ransom in exchange for keeping the government running" or keeping the economy running, he said.

[Vol_Bengal]

Really good article regarding all this...

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/government-shutdown-barack-obama-obamacare-aca-97687.html

[|kennethmw|]

Really good article regarding all this...
 
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/government-shutdown-barack-obama-obamacare-aca-97687.html

Bullshit article in my mind. We both know that republican views were accepted in putting together the ACA, in fact, it's a republican idea. However, republicans decided they wanted to fight the president at every possible opportunity. They still are, and until republicans like yourself decide to elect republicans that reflect true republican values, this type of BS will continue.

[Jamie_B]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m52pde0OI7A

[T-Dub]

Boehner, Cruz, et al are committing an open act of sedition and should be removed from office immediately, at least.

 

That's my $.02.

[Homer_Rice]

Really good article regarding all this...

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/government-shutdown-barack-obama-obamacare-aca-97687.html

Thought this was okay, especially combined with a reading of this piece:

 

The Fall of the Heritage Foundation and the Death of Republican Ideas

 

A few more thoughts:

 

--Sometimes all the fuss is about "an idea whose time has come." This was the case with many of the highly divisive policy shifts in our history, including the two primary ones mentioned in the article Vol cited: the progressive income tax and Civil Rights legislation. That such choices are highly partisan should be no surprise.

 

The article fails to account for the reasons why the Republican party has become so highly partisan and unwilling to compromise in recent decades. Reagan was a highly partisan, but a realist on important issues, but the shift of the Reagan Revolution, in the hands of the Gingrich mini-revolt through to the rise of the Tea Party has turned the Republican party into obstructionists. It also doesn't help that so many of the newer members of Congress are not so well trained in statecraft and realpolitik to understand the give and take nature of the beast.

 

Imo, it's pretty easy to historically trace where a large segment of these dead-ender/true believers come from. It's the same crowd (functionally) which gave us the Civil War with a sizable dash of anti-federalism. Once many of these folks were Democrats--now they are Republicans. A core ideology is what holds these folks together through history: primarily an emphasis on liberty over freedom and a self-centered view of the world. It's no accident that when offered a choice between community and individualism that they'll choose individualism even if it hurts the community.

 

Hence, the highly partisan nature of today's political scene.

[Go Skins]

Speaker John Boehner has said he's willing to rely on Democrats to help raise the federal debt limit, a House Republican says.

[Jamie_B]

Really good article regarding all this...
 
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/government-shutdown-barack-obama-obamacare-aca-97687.html

I really hope there isn't a subtext of this is what you get here

[Go Skins]

In regards to yesterday's shooting at the U.S. Capitol:

 

JUST IN: Investigators have found indications that the Connecticut woman shot to death by police after leading authorities on a high-speed chase from the White House to the Capitol thought President Barack Obama was stalking her, law enforcement sources told NBC News. bit.ly/176rVPU

[Vol_Bengal]

I really hope there isn't a subtext of this is what you get here

Are you saying from me?

 

Not at all... I just thought it was a good, insightful article.  Obama pushed that legislation through everything else be damned...

And, the repub leadership is still beholden to the far right which is too far right for mainstream America's taste... and everything else be damned...

 

As Homer said - with the new age of politician in Washington you don't have people that will compromise here and there to get a mutually agreeable bill passed.  It is take it or screw you politics... its so divisive now that they can't come together and craft a good piece of legislation.  Could you imagine this group of dumbasses trying to write the Constitution???  Back then all of those guys had different stances on various things but compromised to build what we hold as our law of the land.  We couldn't get or anything even CLOSE to that written now.

[|Numbers|]

Are you saying from me?

 

Not at all... I just thought it was a good, insightful article.  Obama pushed that legislation through everything else be damned...

And, the repub leadership is still beholden to the far right which is too far right for mainstream America's taste... and everything else be damned...

 

As Homer said - with the new age of politician in Washington you don't have people that will compromise here and there to get a mutually agreeable bill passed.  It is take it or screw you politics... its so divisive now that they can't come together and craft a good piece of legislation.  Could you imagine this group of dumbasses trying to write the Constitution???  Back then all of those guys had different stances on various things but compromised to build what we hold as our law of the land.  We couldn't get or anything even CLOSE to that written now.

 

I could imagine these dumbasses at the Constitutional Convention.  Pretty much the same thing would happen that happened then.  55 attended and 39 signed.  I guess we will always have those that refuse to compromise.  Partisan politics is as old as this country is.  I am just floored that there are still those that believe the fault lies with either one party or the other and not both.

[Jamie_B]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/budget-conference-republicans_n_4020621.html

 

 

Republicans blocked a budget conference 18 times this past year. These people have NO interest in governing, they want government to fail so they can say "government doesn't work" so they can keep getting elected.

[MichaelWeston]

If a single person was elected to government in another country and then changed the rules to ensure tha they were elected again and again and or they didn't even need to go through the election what would we call that? Why is it so different when a group of people do it?

[|Numbers|]

If a single person was elected to government in another country and then changed the rules to ensure tha they were elected again and again and or they didn't even need to go through the election what would we call that? Why is it so different when a group of people do it?

 

Can you elaborate on which single person and / or group of people you are referring to ?

[|kennethmw|]

A Republican's Idea of compromise:

 

COMPROMISE: GOP Style........

GOP: "Can I burn your house down"?

Homeowner: "No"

GOP: "How about burning down just the second story"?

Homeowner: "No"

GOP: " Well, how about just burning down your garage"?

Homeowner: "No"

GOP: "You aren't playing fair at all, You aren't even willing to compromise with me"

[|Numbers|]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/military-keeps-camp-david-open-halts-nfl-baseball-coverage-to-troops-overseas/article/2536819

 

Military keeps Camp David open, cuts NFL, baseball coverage to troops overseas

 

President Obama has visited the Navy-run presidential retreat Camp David in central Maryland only 32 times, but it is being kept open during the government shutdown for his entertainment and security at the same time the Pentagon is cutting sports coverage to hundreds of thousands of troops around the world.

 

A phone call to the retreat found it open, confirming a TMZ report.

 

Camp David is one of the most highly secure areas in the nation and provides the president with a safe haven. The president has been known to shoot skeet at Camp David, which he most recently used for his 52nd birthday, according to CBS White House Correspondent Mark Knoller.

 

Obama has spent just 78 days at the retreat, choosing instead to spend his weekends in Washington and hitting military golf courses, which are also being kept open during the government shutdown.

 

In the meantime, overseas troops who typically look forward to watching NFL games and the baseball playoffs provided by the American Forces Network, will get little if any service due to the shutdown. A notice on the AFN page reads:

 

“GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. Due to the government shutdown, the Defense Department can only provide limited overseas television, radio, print and web services.”

 

The virtual elimination of sports coverage was noticed by the New England Sports Network, co-owned by the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins. “AFN provides a form of escape for many troops stationed around the world. Let's hope the popular station gets back on the air soon,” they reported.

 

I'd also like to add a few things;

 

1.  Military commissaries are closed down.  This is for many, one of the only places to buy groceries for military families cheaply and closely.

 

2.  IF anyone can assist our military brothers which currently live overseas with a game or two they can't get ...

 

3.  WTF are golf courses open for if such basic essentials such as the commissary are closed ?  Note to self:  The package store is open at least... ( sarcasm intended )

 

4.  Health care and administration facilities are undermanned and overworked... ( do not know if this one is applicable to all bases )

[|Numbers|]

An article from the Brookings Institute...

 

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/fixgov/posts/2013/10/03-time-to-compromise-republicans-democrats-government-shutdown-galston

 

William A. Galston |  October 3, 2013 5:14pm

 

Time to Compromise? How Republicans and Democrats View the Government Shutdown

 

Is the House of Representatives out of touch with the American people?

 

The founders designed the House to be the national institution closest to the people. But if recent surveys are accurate, that’s no longer true.

 

This morning, for example, a CBS News poll found that only 25 percent of Americans approve of shutting down the government over differences about Obamacare. Only 48 percent of Republicans approve; 49 percent disapprove. Only 38 percent of Americans who disapprove of Obamacare favor shutting down the government, while 59 percent reject the strategy. Of all the groups studied in the survey, only members of the Tea Party (by a margin of 57 to 40 percent) favor the shutdown.

 

How do we get out of this mess? 78 percent of Americans say that the congressional Republicans should compromise rather than sticking to their positions. 76 percent say the same about the Democrats. Not unexpectedly, nearly all Independents favor compromise. Surprisingly, 61 percent of Democrats think President Obama and the Democrats should compromise, and 59 percent of Republicans say the same about congressional Republicans.

 

As was the case in most prior surveys, more Americans blame Republicans for the impasse than do the president and the Democrats. But if the CBS poll is correct, both parties will take a hit if the shutdown continues.

 

Prior to the shutdown, Republican strategists reportedly believed that the continuing unpopularity of Obamacare would translate into public support for efforts to use the budget process to delay or defund it. It’s clear that they miscalculated.

 

Today, President Obama and the congressional Democrats seem to believe that because the public opposes the shutdown, they’ll also accept the Democrats’ continuing refusal to negotiate. This may also turn out to be a miscalculation.

 

The logic of the situation is clear. Congressional Republicans cannot reasonably expect Obama to compromise on the signature achievement of his presidency. Now that Obamacare is going into effect, it will be up to voters in future elections to evaluate it. Republicans should turn their attention to fiscal policy, which is more negotiable—and more relevant to the budget and debt ceiling deadlines that triggered the current crisis.

[|Numbers|]

Note on commissary being closed down;

 

http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/467240/paychecks-still-coming-for-military-but-budgets-impacted-by-commissary-closures.aspx

 

Paychecks still coming for military, but budgets impacted by commissary closures

 

Though commissaries are closed in the United States until the Department of Defense directs otherwise, commissaries overseas will remain open. 

 

Thirty-eight commissaries in Europe, one store in Puerto Rico and 29 stores in the Pacific (including Guam), would remain open during a government shutdown as a safety and security measure to serve U.S. troops and their families stationed overseas, according to a DeCA press release.

 

“… because of their geographic location, our service members and their families overseas have a more critical dependence on commissaries, and we are prepared to continue that support,” Jeu said.

 

Airmen who are in need of financial aid, click here for the Air Force Aid Society, http://www.afas.org/, visit your Airmen and Family Readiness Center, or contact your unit first sergeant.

[|RayDoggBengal|]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/military-keeps-camp-david-open-halts-nfl-baseball-coverage-to-troops-overseas/article/2536819
 
 
I'd also like to add a few things;
 
1.  Military commissaries are closed down.  This is for many, one of the only places to buy groceries for military families cheaply and closely.
 
2.  IF anyone can assist our military brothers which currently live overseas with a game or two they can't get ...
 
3.  WTF are golf courses open for if such basic essentials such as the commissary are closed ?  Note to self:  The package store is open at least... ( sarcasm intended )
 
4.  Health care and administration facilities are undermanned and overworked... ( do not know if this one is applicable to all bases )

Don't get the point of the article. Of course Camp David is open and secured. It's a secure location it would make no sense to pull security and then have to re-secure it.

As for the comment that it's kept open for his entertainment leads me to disregard the entire article. Maybe we should look at many days Bush spent their for his entertainment.

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