Tag: John Boehner

Categories
Abortion Featured Republican Texas

The Republican War Against Women Continues in Texas

A Law requiring doctors to take a sonogram of a fetus before performing an abortion, goes into effect as soon as Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas signs the bill. It passed both the Texas House and Senate, and promise to be one of the most anti-abortion measures yet.

The framer of the bill – a man who could never understand the pain and reasoning behind the decision to have an abortion – Republican Representative Sid Miller from Stephenville, admits to the far-reaching intent of the bill, telling reporters; “this will be one of the strongest pieces of sonogram legislation in the nation.” He also predicted that the bill would “save numerous unborn lives.”

According to reporting from the New York Times;

“The bill requires a doctor to conduct a sonogram at least 24 hours before an abortion and to give the woman the opportunity to see the results and hear the heartbeat of the fetus. Though the woman can choose not to view the images and hear the heartbeat, the doctor must describe what the sonogram shows, including the existence of legs, arms and internal organs.”

Opponents of the bill say that this is just another attempt by “get-the-government-out-of-our-lives” Republicans to control the most intimate and personal decision an individual may make.

Other states have already begun or passed similar measures. A recent count reveals that since Republicans took over the House of Representatives in January, Republican controlled states all over this country have engaged on an all out assault against women, bringing some 916 bills against a women’s reproductive rights.

The promise by John Boehner, the Republican House Speaker to make “jobs jobs jobs” their number one priority has fallen on deaf ears, as the conservative ideology of “small government” apparently does not include their control over a woman’s right to choose.

Categories
Barack Obama Energy Politics United States weekly address

Tax Cuts For The Rich – Not Right, Not Smart, Must End – Obama

President Obama in his weekly address;

Now, I don’t have a problem with any company or industry being rewarded for their success. The incentive of healthy profits is what fuels entrepreneurialism and helps drives our economy forward. But I do have a problem with the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies we’ve been handing out to oil and gas companies–to the tune of $4 billion a year. When oil companies are making huge profits and you’re struggling at the pump, and we’re scouring the federal budget for spending we can afford to do without, these tax giveaways aren’t right. They aren’t smart. And we need to end them.

Categories
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.

Categories
Barack Obama Planned Parenthood Politics United States

President Obama Caught On Open Microphone Talking About Republicans

President Obama was caught on an open microphone making some very interesting remarks about the Republicans and their recent 2011 budget negotiations to keep the government funded for the remainder of this fiscal year. The President, unaware that the microphones were on recalls, among other things, the unsuccessful reasoning given by representatives of John Boehner, in reference to repealing Health care.

Listen to the audio below.

Categories
Barack Obama Democratic Politics Republican United States

New Poll Finds Americans Have Soured On The Republicans

Call it buyer’s remorse, a recall on faulty merchandise. Or call it a demand for a refund due to false advertising. Whatever you call it, Americans are beginning to see that this batch of Republicans in Congress are not what they had bargained for.

A new PPP poll finds that just a few months after handing the control of the House of Representatives  over to the Republican party, 43% think John Boehner and company are doing a worse job than Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats did when they were in charge.

The poll finds that even among Independents, Republicans have lost support;

Independents say by a 44-30 margin that Republicans have been doing worse.  Further, 48% trust President Obama more to lead the country in the right direction, while 42% have more faith in the GOP.  The sentiment with independents is 49-37 for Obama.

And when it comes to the question of who is  the most  extreme, Americans point the finger directly to the Republicans as the nut-jobs;

Americans also see the Democratic Party as being more mainstream (46%) than extremist (39%).  Their opinion of the GOP is almost the opposite: 40% see that party as mainstream, and 48% as extremist.  Independents say by a 49-33 margin that the GOP is extremist and by a 49-36 margin that the Democrats are mainstream

Based on these findings, Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling expressed his opinion on the Democrats chances in the next election;

“The conventional wisdom is that Democrats will have a very hard time winning back control of the House next year, but that may be wrong- voters have soured on the new Republican majority in record time.

Soured is not the word. Is there some way we can pack this group of Republicans up and ship them off to a country more suitable for them? Like Somalia?

Categories
Barack Obama Politics White House

As They Agree To Cut $38.5 Billion From Budget, Debt Grew By $54.1 Billion

CS News picked up on this.

On March 30th, before any agreement on budget cutting was reached, the federal debt stood at $14.2101 trillion, according to the Bureau of Public Debt. During the next 8 days, which culminated with The White House and John Boehner agreeing to $38.5 billion in budget cuts, the federal debt increased by $54.1 billion dollars.

Ultimately, budget affect the deficit. Maybe if these two governing bodies had spent more time concentrating  on coming up with solutions to the country’s problems, instead of wasting time and money butting heads at every corner, we will have some actual debt reductions taking place.

But after all, these are politicians, and to them, party means much more than country.

Categories
Politics

Today’s Worst Person – Our Favorite Orange, John Boehner

Keith Olberman… yes, that Keith Olbermann – has been keeping up on the nonsense that is today’s Republican party. Here, in this Worst Persons Of The Day edition, our favorite orange, John Boehner wins hands down.

Ladies and gentleman, Keith Olbermann…

Categories
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.

Categories
House of Representatives Politics Republican

Republicans Say Boehner Created 216,000 Jobs In March

The recent employment figures show 216,000 jobs were created in March, allowing the unemployment rate to fall from 8.9% to 8.8%. And according to David Dreier, Republican Chairman of the House Rules Committee, John Boehner is the one responsible for these newly created jobs.

Contain your laughter!!!

Mr. David Dreier praised John Boehner, saying;

Speaker Boehner has consistently been saying not only, “where are the jobs,” and we’re all gratified that the positive signs of getting our fiscal house in order played a big role in creating 216,000 non-farm, payroll jobs last month and brought the unemployment rate from 8.9 down to 8.8%.

So what exactly is Mr. Dreier talking about when he says “getting our fiscal house in order?” Well, to answer that question, we have to look at what House Republicans have concentrated on in the last 2 months since they took control of the House of Representatives.

  1. House Republicans have voted to repeal President Obama’s health care law. According to a report by David M. Cutler, repealing healthcare would “slow job growth by 250,000 to 400,000 annually.” The report also show an increase in medical spending by $125 billion by the end of this decade, and another $2,000 increase in yearly insurance premiums for families.
  2. Republicans in the House have also voted to defund NPR. Exactly how many jobs will this create? Zero. But it will take away $22 million dollars from the organization. Sigh!
  3. Repealing Planned Parenthood…. Jobs created? Another big ZERO, as per The Huffington Post
  4. House Republicans are intent on cutting $61 billion from the budget. This must be where the 216,000 jobs came from! Well, let’s take a look. The Senate hasn’t agreed on this $61 billion cut, so in essence, this budget cut, called H.R 1 is not law. Jobs created? Zero. In fact, many economists agreed, that if the Republican’s budget cuts detailed in H.R. 1 go into effect, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost.

And so the confusion continues. If the bills that House Republicans have voted on haven’t created any jobs, then how exactly is Mr. Dreier crediting John Boehner with creating 216,000 of them last month?

Well, Dreier knows he is lying. But its something Republicans have been doing for some time now. It’s called the power of persuasion – you say something often enough, eventually, although it may be a lie, it will be accepted as truth by many.

Categories
Barack Obama Featured Republican United States Wisconsin

Where Are The Jobs Boehner? Boehner Blames Obama

“Where are the jobs!?” was a question John Boehner asked to anyone who gave him the time of day. But then again, a campaign was on the way for the 2010 mid-term election, so asking this question at a time when over 15 million Americans were without work seemed like the thing to do. Boehner promised Americans that if he wins, job creation will be his number one priority, but since winning, the new House Speaker had more important things to take care of.

But the people are still waiting, and John Boehner – now almost 4 months into his leadership role – has to come up with a reason why he hasn’t stuck to his campaign promise. So what’s easier to do, than blame President Obama? Nothing… so that’s exactly what Boehner is now doing. On his website, Boehner had this to say;

“Any improvement in the jobs situation for our country is welcome news, but unemployment is still far above where the Obama Administration promised it would be when it forced our children to pay for the ‘stimulus’ fiasco, which accelerated a government spending binge that continues to block our nation’s path to prosperity.

“The path to prosperity and job creation lies in liberating our economy from the shackles of excessive government and unleashing the awesome potential of the American people.  This has been and will continue to be the number-one priority for our new majority.”

If Mr. Boehner knows the pathway that leads to  “to prosperity and job creation”  then why doesn’t he take the initiative – hold America’s hand and lead us down the “path?”

Knowing the opportunistic nature of Boehner and his Republican allies, it is obvious he will claim that this pathway is the focus of his new majority. It is, however, impossible to understand how actions like defunding NPR – a move that House Republicans classified as an “emergency” – created jobs. And when the Boehner led House of Representatives focused like a laser on reducing $300 million in funding from Planned Parenthood, Americans are still asking, “Boehner, where are the jobs?!?!?!”

Americans are finally wising up though. It might be a little too late because the 2010 elections saw many Republican governors elected and a change in leadership in the House of Representative. But based on the actions – or lack thereof – of these Republicans, Americans have begun a real grass-root effort to make their voices heard. It is an effort that started in Wisconsin due to the over-reaching of another Republican governor whose intent is on silencing the Wisconsin workers and taking away their basic rights.

This grass-root initiative has spread nationwide, and the outlook for 2012 will be another message of  change. This time though, it will be a change from the Corporate agenda Republicans are trying to push, to a focus on the middle class and really getting the American economy back on track.

But with another upcoming election, prepare for more baseless promises from the Republicans.

Categories
Democratic Republican Teaparty

For The Teaparty, Happy Days Are Here Again!

Although the Republicans took over control of the House of Representatives in November and demanded an almost $1 trillion increase to the deficit to provide a tax cut to the rich, a recent poll suggests that the-government-is-spending-too-much-we-must-reduce-the-deficit Teaparty is now happier than ever before.

The poll, conducted by Pew Research Center finds that fewer people are angry at the government. Pew reports;

Overall, the percentage saying they are angry with the federal government has fallen from 23% last September to 14% today, with much of the decline coming among Republicans and Tea Party supporters.

Not surprisingly, the poll breaks down along party lines, with Republicans showing a more favorable outlook at the government. Back in September 2010, 33% claimed to be angry, as compared to 16% now. The excitement among the Teapartiers saw a 19 point increase, with their anger at government in September 2010 at 47%, but falling to 28% now. Democrats on the other hand showed a September 2010 anger level of 11%, and falling to 10% now.

Besides a $900 billion increase in the deficit, what else have the Republicans done to generate such happiness amongst Republicans and the Teaparty electorate?

Well, they really haven’t done much of anything else. What they have done is made a lot of promises! Apparently, these promises are enough for the Teaparty and their fellow Republicans. Among the promises;

  1. Repealing Health care, which will add another $230 billion more to the deficit according to CBO
  2. A promise to cut $61 billion from the budget, that would reduce services to pregnant women and, according to economist Paul Krugman, would “literally be stealing food from the mouths of babes.”
  3. John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives has promised to slash jobs by as much as 200,000, and another 700,000 this year’s end.

These are just some of the promises the Republican electorate are elated about. Adding trillions to the deficit, increasing unemployment and causing what many economists call a slowdown in our economic recovery. These actions just tickles the Teaparty.

Just imagine their joy if we plunge into another great depression.

Categories
Economic growth Politics Republican

Republicans Say “It’s All About Jobs,” So They Will Cut 700,000 More

When John Boehner said, “if we lose 200,000 federal jobs, so be it,” we listened and thought the figures didn’t add up. A little  research into the facts revealed the figure was more like 20,000 to 40,000 jobs lost if Boehner got his way.

Now, after economists studied the Republican budget and the effects of it’s cutting $61 billion dollars from it, the result – as reported by  financial economists – would be a job loss of 700,000 by the end of 2012.

According to reports from The Washington Post;

Zandi, an architect of the 2009 stimulus package who has advised both political parties, predicts that the GOP package would reduce economic growth by 0.5 percentage points this year, and by 0.2 percentage points in 2012, resulting in 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of next year.

His report comes on the heels of a similar analysis last week by the investment bank Goldman Sachs, which predicted that the Republican spending cuts would cause even greater damage to the economy, slowing growth by as much as 2 percentage points in the second and third quarters of this year.

Of course, Republicans stand by their claims that cutting $61 billion will create jobs and put America back on its financially feet. And of course, they’re the only ones believing this claim.

Maybe more appropriate for Boehner would be to claim, “Losing 700,000 jobs because of our budget and 200,000 federal jobs? Whatever!  I must keep a campaign promise, so be it!”

Read the rest of the Washington Post report here.

Exit mobile version