Tag: Democratic Party (United States)

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Politics

John Boehner Thinking Like A Democrat On Oil Subsidies

It is a policy that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Giving oil companies billions of taxpayers dollars every year in subsidies, at a time when these same companies are making billions of dollars in profits. And the decision to continue these subsidies depends on what side of the political aisle you’re on. Democrats think the subsidies are a waste of money, and Republicans think that keeping the subsidies in place “creates jobs.”

Well, one very powerful Republican leader is sounding more and more like a Democrat on this issue. John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House told ABC World News that taking another look at these subsidies might be the way to move forward.

“We certainly ought to take a look at it,” Boehner said. “We’re at a time when the federal government’s short on revenues. We need to control spending but we need to have revenues to keep the government moving.”

For example, Boehner said big oil companies don’t need the so-called oil depletion allowance, but that taking it away from smaller producers would mean even less domestically produced oil. The allowance allows producers a tax deduction comparable to the break given manufacturers for depreciation of the value of an investment in plants and equipment.

Boehner is the most powerful Republican in Washington and his remarks could signal a significant change of heart. Republicans have blocked attempts by Democrats to curb oil company subsidies.

The subsidies have been a haven for the oil companies. One report shows that while America went through the biggest oil spill in history off the Gulf coast in 2010, “BP was reaping sizable tax benefits from leasing the rig. According to a letter sent in June to the Senate Finance Committee, the company used a tax break for the oil industry to write off 70 percent of the rent for Deepwater Horizon — a deduction of more than $225,000 a day since the lease began.”

The report continues;

“The flow of revenues to oil companies is like the gusher at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico: heavy and constant,” said Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, who has worked alongside the Obama administration on a bill that would cut $20 billion in oil industry tax breaks over the next decade. “There is no reason for these corporations to shortchange the American taxpayer.”

Although John Boehner is considered the most powerful Republican in Washington, he answers to a group of people who believe in corporate welfare.  The Teaparty, the so-called grassroots organization, believes that  giving money to billionaires under the guise of “trickle down economics,” is the only way to get America back on good economic ground.

With the news of Boehner possibly changing his mind on these subsidies, you can bet there will be marches on Washington by the Teaparty, trying to keep those poor billionaire oil empires off the unemployment line.

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Barack Obama Politics Republican Ronald Reagan White House

Republican Presidents Add More To The Debt Than Democratic Presidents Do

Something we already knew, but now the record proves it. Republican presidents run up debts, while Democratic presidents try to reduce it.

This is in stark contrast to the ideology constantly being drilled into our heads by the media and the Republican party, that conservatives are for fiscal discipline. If this is true, the conservatives who become president must leave their ‘discipline’ at the door of the White House.

According to the report,

Economist Mike Kimel notes that the last five Democratic Presidents (Clinton, Carter, LBJ, JFK, and Truman) all reduced public debt as a share of GDP, while the last four Republican Presidents (GW Bush, GHW Bush, Reagan, and Ford) all oversaw an increase in the country’s indebtedness.

Similarly, Republican David Stockman, director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, as op-ed contributor to the New York Times blamed the “ideological tax-cutters” of the Reagan administration for the increase of national debt during the 1980s.

Looking back, this trend was not always the case. Yesteryear’s Republican Presidents once had focused on bringing down the national debt,  but something changed right around the time Reagan got into office. See the chart below;

So next time these conservatives talk about “deficit reduction” and “cutting the budget,” maybe they should consider whose policies increased the national debt to where it is today. They should also consider educating their next presidential candidate, and beg that candidate to maintain their so-called “conservatism” if they manage to cross the threshold of the White House.

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Politics Republican United States Wisconsin

Are You On The G.O.P’s Hitlist?

I know it may be quicker to list the groups the GOP are for, but I have some time and some blog space, so here goes…

Are you on GOP’s hit-list? Well you are if you’re one of these;

  1. Latinos
  2. Blacks
  3. Muslims
  4. The Middle Class
  5. The Poor
  6. Gays
  7. Democrats
  8. Independents
  9. Women
  10. The Educated
  11. Seniors
  12. All Union Members
  13. Teachers
  14. Children who were born
  15. Anyone who believes in saving the planet
  16. Public Workers

If you belong to any of the group or groups mentioned above, then watch out. There is a constant effort on the part of the Republican party to dis-empower you in the name of “Balancing the Budget” or”‘Big Government intruding on our Constitutional rights as American citizens”–take your pick.  But don’t be disheartened, there is a way you can get on the Republican’s good side. Any one of the groups listed below should be your goal if Republican Love is what you crave;

  1. The Ultra Rich
  2. A Fetus

Keep pushing America, you too can be ultra rich or a fetus someday!

Thanks to my twitter friends who contributed to this list; @MWJ1231, @Fairly_Balanced, @Lawsonbulk @chansa2

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Barack Obama Politics Republican

Shutting Down The Government For Teaparty Bragging Rights

John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives had this to say at a news conference last week;

“Let’s all be honest, if you shut the government down, it’ll end up costing more than you save because you interrupt contracts. There are a lot of problems with the idea of shutting the government down. It is not the goal. The goal is to cut spending.”

His Democratic counterpart in the Senate, Leader Harry Reid chimed in with this;

“I’m happy to say that negotiations toward a compromise are moving forward. Not as fast as I would like, but they are moving forward.”

And even the President himself, Barack Obama made his opinion known, when he said;

“We know that a compromise is within reach. And we also know that if these budget negotiations break down, it could shut down the government and jeopardize our economic recovery.”

So if everyone is saying the same thing and the need to continue funding the government is evident, why are we facing a potential government shutdown on Friday of this week? The answer is simple… The Teaparty.

One of the self-appointed leaders of the Teaparty, Congressman Mike Pence had this to say;

“If liberals in the Senate want to play games and shut down government rather than make a down payment on fiscal discipline, I say shut it down.”

The problem is one of compromise, or lack thereof. When campaigning for the 2011 mid-term election, Republicans promised the Teaparty the moon, the stars, and even a small section of the galaxy they can rename Teabaggers-ville. Another promise was to cut the federal budget by $100 billion – another far-fetched promise, but one that fell within the teaparty’s requirement to reign in federal spending at all cost. Given these promises from Congressional Republicans, the teaparty voted in masses, putting the Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives, and gaining seats in the Senate.

Now, four months after Republicans have gained power, the teaparty is looking for Teabaggers-ville. They want what was promised to them and thus far, the Republicans haven’t paid up. Not because they don’t want to, but because they simply can’t.

When President Obama came out with his budget, it included additional spending of $41 billion. John Boehner and his fellow Republicans in congress cried foul, demanding that the president review his proposal. He did, and came back with $33 billion in cuts. But this wasn’t enough for the Boehner and the Teaparty, who voted for, and approved a House budget with at lease $61 billion in cuts.

The adults in the room couldn’t agree on a final budget, so two separate CRs (continued resolutions – temporary spending agreements) were put into place. We are now just five days before the second CR expires, and everyone involved is saying the right thing. Everyone, that is, except the Teaparty.

What happens in the event of a government shutdown? Slate reports;

Certain necessary activities would continue—anything related to defense, inpatient or emergency medical care, air traffic control, securing prisoners, or disaster assistance, for instance. But legally, federal agencies would have to wind down nonessential business. That means hundreds of thousands of employees would go on furloughs, from the Treasury to Health and Human Services to the Department of Education, to be paid whenever a continuing resolution passes. Thousands more contractors would just lose their gigs. Parks would shut down. Offices would clear out. Phones would go unanswered.

Nobody knows exactly how it would shake out, not just yet. The president has broad discretion to decide what counts as necessary and what does not, says Stan Collender, a longtime budget expert and a partner at Qorvis, a D.C. communications firm.

But everyone dreads the prospect. The last time the government shut down was during the Clinton administration. For five days in November 1995 and 21 days between December 1995 and January 1996, the lights went off. In the first shutdown, 800,000 workers stopped heading into the office. In the second, about 284,000 stayed at home, with an additional 475,000 working on “non-pay status.” These were not just pencil-pushers either. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave up on monitoring the outbreak of diseases. Workers at 609 Superfund toxic-waste sites stopped cleaning up.

Another promise the Congressional Republicans made to Americans was job creation. Based on the information presented above, it seems that shutting down the government is not the best way to create these jobs. If the Teaparty is truly for fiscal responsibility like they would haver us believe, they will ask their congressional representatives to do what’s right for the economic longevity of this nation, not shutting down the government to fulfill some empty campaign promise.

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Abortion Featured Indiana Politics Rape

Republican Said Women Would Fake Rape To Get Abortions

Apparently, Republicans think women will lie about being raped or being the victim of incest, in order to get a “free abortion.” This claim is coming from a Republican in the Indiana Congress. His name is Eric Turner.

Mr. Turner introduced what is being considered the most restrictive abortion bill in the nation. The bill will make it illegal to have most abortions after 20 weeks. Present law makes certain abortions illegal after 24 weeks, or when the fetus is visible.

Realizing the implications of this bill, a Democratic congresswoman Mrs. Gail Dickens tried to introduce an amendment to the bill exempting “women who became pregnant due to rape or incest, or women for whom pregnancy threatens their life or could cause serious and irreversible physical harm.” But Mr. Turner would have none of it. He stepped to the podium and had this to say;

With all do respect to Rep. Riecken, I understand what she’s trying to do. But as you know that when the federal health care bill was going through Congress there was a lot of discussion whether this would allow for abortion coverage and of course we were all told it would not. And the bill, my house bill 1210, would prevent that for any insurance company to provide abortion coverage under federal health care bill. This [amendment] would open that window and I would ask you to oppose this amendment.

I just want you to think about this, in my view, giant loophole that could be created where someone who could — now i want to be careful, I don’t want to disparage in any way someone who has gone through the experience of a rape or incest — but someone who is desirous of an abortion could simply say that they’ve been raped or there’s incest.

Leave it up to a Republican male, to determine what’s right for the women of this country.

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Wisconsin Union Bashing

Despite Judge’s Hold, Scott Walker Publishes Union Busting Bill

 

Scott Walker

Despite a hold that a judge placed on Scott Walker’s union busting bill, Walker couldn’t wait for the legal process to unfold. On Friday, he published the bill on the state’s legislature website. According to the posting, the state’s law requires all bills to be published within 10 working days of its becoming law.

Also customary, according to Journal Sentinel;

The measure sparked protests at the Capitol and lawsuits by opponents because it would eliminate the ability of most public workers to bargain over anything but wages.

The restraining order was issued against Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette. But the bill was published by the reference bureau, which was not named in the restraining order.

Laws normally take effect a day after they are published, and a top GOP lawmaker said that meant it will become law Saturday. But nonpartisan legislative officials from two agencies, including the one who published the bill, disagreed.

“I think this is a ministerial act that forwards it to the secretary of state,” said Stephen Miller, director of the Legislative Reference Bureau. “I don’t think this act makes it become effective. My understanding is that the secretary of state has to publish it in the (official state) newspaper for it to become effective.”

Walker signed the bill March 11. Under state law, it should be published within 10 working days, which was Friday.

Read the report here.

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House of Representatives Politics Republican

N.P.R. In Republican’s Crosshairs

In a move that is nothing short of attempting to silence any and all political opposition from wherever it may come, the Republican led House of Representatives passed a bill that will cut funding to NPR – National Public Radio. The vote was held along party lines, with only seven Republicans voting with Democrats to continue funding. It passed, with a vote of 228 – 192.

If the bill becomes law, it would mean that other stations could not buy programming from NPR or any other source using the $22 million they get from the federal government.

Democrats saw the move by Republicans as strictly a political move, and the Republicans way of appeasing the Teaparty. “Why are we wasting valuable floor time on an ideological battle?” said Representative Louise Slaughter of New York.

The bill is not expected to reach the Senate, but if it does, it is not expected to pass. Democrats have a slight 51-47 majority vote in the Senate.

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Anthony Weiner Featured New York United States

The Wrestling Match Between Anthony Weiner, Sean Hannity and Michele Bachmann

You have to hand it to Anthony Weiner, Democratic Representative from New York. He appeared on a FOX show hosted by Sean Hannity and got double teamed by the host and his other guest, Michele Bachmann.

What made this video most enjoyable was seeing the obviously transparent ways the right winged host, who is supposed to practice  “Fair and Balanced” journalism,  attacks Mr. Weiner. Needless to say, Weiner didn’t get to say much, but he eventually realized what was happening and advised the host;

Sean, make it three on one next time. Make it three on one or four on one next time. I’m ready for you.

The “Fair and Balanced” host shot back with a personal attack on his guest, telling Mr. Weiner, “You’re a star, just don’t look in the mirror.” Mr. Weiner replied with a laugh, saying “I love these balanced debates.”

How this  ‘organization’  is  allowed to bear the name “news”  in its title is still beyond my understanding.

 

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Featured Republican United States Wisconsin Union Bashing

Republican Wisconsin Town Hall Meeting Reduced to Shame!

Remember the health care debate when the Teaparty, under the leadership of FOX NEWS and conservative radio commentators, went to Democratic town hall meetings with the goal of disrupting the meetings to portray America’s dismay with reform? Well, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin earlier this week, real Americans expressed their real frustrations at Republicans and Scott Walker’s proposed union busting bill.

The town hall meeting was held for Republican State Senator Leah Vukmir. Also in attendance was US Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner. Evidently, the real feelings of these Americans were too much for the Republican congressmen, and they abruptly called an end to the meeting and exited to stage to the chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

Scott Walker would dedicate 20 minutes of his “busy” schedule to a prank call he thought was coming from David Koch, but answering the concerns of their constituents is just too much to ask of these Republicans.

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Barack Obama Domestic Policies United States White House

President Obama Changes Position on Health Care Mandates

“Instead of refighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and let’s move forward.”

Those were the words of President Obama in his State of The Union address at the end of January, and today, the President signaled just how much he was willing to listen, comprimise, or adopt new policies that he hopes will accomplish the “fix.” Today, President Obama spoke with governors at a White House meeting and told them that he was willing to allow states to withdraw from the controversial mandate requirement in 2014 instead of 2017, if they could prove that they can insure the same amount of people the original Health Care Reform did, at the same cost.

“I think that’s a reasonable proposal; I support it, it will give you flexibility more quickly while still guaranteeing the American people reform.”

According to reporting from The New York Times;

The bipartisan amendment that Mr. Obama is now embracing was first proposed in November, eight months after enactment of the Affordable Care Act, by Senators Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, and Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts. Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, a Democrat, is now a co-sponsor.

The legislation would allow states to opt out earlier from various requirements if they could demonstrate that other methods would allow them to cover as many people, with insurance that is as comprehensive and affordable, as provided by the new law. The changes also must not increase the federal deficit.

If states can meet those standards, they can ask to circumvent minimum benefit levels, structural requirements for insurance exchanges and the mandates that most individuals obtain coverage and that employers provide it. Washington would then help finance a state’s individualized health care system with federal money that would otherwise be spent there on insurance subsidies and tax credits.

“It seemed to make sense that rather than have states invest in a system that may not be best for them, you change the date to 2014 from 2017 and give them the flexibility to design it,” said one of several administration officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the president. “But it’s clear that states must do a number of things to qualify for a waiver.”

The Health Care Reform passed by a Democratic controlled congress in 2010 divided the country along party lines, with most Democrats in favor of reform and most Republicans against. The White House and Democrats have admitted fault and have taken responsibility  now for  explaining to Americans the benefits of reform. And with the mis-representation of many parts of the law, many Americans are still advocating a total repeal of the bill, a promise that House Republicans have made and seemed determined to do. In reality however, repeal will not happen because of a Democratic controlled senate, and a promise of a veto if the bill makes it to the President’s desk.

Read the rest of The New York Times report here.

Categories
Politics Republican

Boehner Plays Hardball–Government Shutdown Looms Ahead

The Boehner has spoken!

“We are going to cut spending!” And with those words, the House Speaker exited the podium to the left. But in his haste to cut spending, what will happen to the funding of everyday government operations after the March 4th deadline?

The Republican controlled House is determined to cut $100 billion in spending from the new budget, and the Democratic controlled Senate is poised to refuse such “draconian” cuts. Can the two governing bodies come to a compromise before the deadline?

To make matters worse, both the House and the Senate will be off the entire week for President’s day. When they return to work after their much needed vacation – because we know how hard they’ve worked over the last month, a total of 10 days in January – they will have only five days to come to an agreement on the new budget.

Boehner is not budging on his $100 billion cuts he promised the Teaparty, saying;

“We are hopeful that the Senate will take up the House‑passed bill that comes out of here today, tonight, tomorrow morning, whenever it is, and we hope that they will move it. But I am not going to move any kind of short‑term CR at current levels. When we say we’re going to cut spending, read my lips:  We are going to cut spending.”

And what is the Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid saying about this?

“I am disappointed that Speaker Boehner doesn’t believe he has the votes to avoid a government shutdown, unless his members get their way on all of their demands. It is unproductive to resort to threats of a shutdown without any negotiations.”

Meanwhile, the clock ticks on til March 4th.

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Bill O'Reilly United States

Fox’s Bill O’Reilly Needs A Lesson In Honesty

In the heat of the Health Care battle when all manner of accusations were made against President Obama and the Democrats implementation of  Health Care reform, Senator Tom Coburn accurately said that FOX News were spreading false and misleading information insinuating that Americans will be jailed if they don’t purchase Health Insurance.

Bill O’Reilly, in his effort to prove Mr. Coburn wrong and restore Fox’s unknown reputation for truth-telling, brought the senator on his show, The O’Reilly Factor and did what he does best – lied-  saying no one at FOX ever made the statement.

Of course, it’s all on tape…

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