Senate Fiscal Cliff Doomsday Countdown Thread

So how long until Senators start punching out random members of the House?

 

As I was just reminded, the new Congress begins on Thursday. There would have to be another round of voting if things aren't fixed by then.

 

I can't believe how stupid the House GOP are....oh wait, yes I can.

Basically, this bill moves MUCH farther to the right on taxes than a lot of Democrats are happy with, and the House Republicans are falling back on the "all or nothing, my way or the highway" theme.

They are so overplaying their hand. If the deal dies, the Dow will likely shed between 500-1000 points this week alone. Even if that forces them to reverse course, their continued willingness to hold a gun to the head of the economy will very likely mean those numbers won't come back anytime soon, deal or no. They will rapidly lose all leverage, and end up with something much, much worse than what the Senate and the President have worked out.

If Obama has to go back to square one on this, I'm willing to bet he'll simply return to his original demands of $250,000, his original estate tax limits, and a refusal to negotiate over the debt ceiling, and just scream from every soapbox he can climb up on how the GOP is holding the entire economy hostage for the rich.

With a new recession looming and a falling stock market, and people's 401K's shrinking daily, the pressure on the House will likely be huge. This isn't lost on the Republicans; according to politico, this was brought up this afternoon at a closed-door meeting of the Republican caucus.

Oh, and physician-groups are already starting maneuvers to stop accepting new Medicare patients in the absence of a patch to the rate-cuts. Awesome.

Peace,

V-03

 

Someone with a lot on the line right now is Mitch McConnell. He's up for re-election in 2014, and while he's probably safe, he could end up losing some prestige if things go bad. I think a lot of people on both sides of the aisle in the Senate want nothing more to do with this situation and feel like they've done the best that they can do. Indeed, the Senate is adjourned, probably for the remainder of its term (which isn't much).

It's bad for House Republicans that the Senate passed this bill so overwhelmingly. They'll be the ones left holding the bag in terms of public opinion.

 

I can't stand Eric Cantor. I just want to slap that obnoxious smirk off his face.

I don't like the idea that some of the problems will need to be rehashed in two months under this deal, as it likely leaves federal agencies in limbo until they know whether or not the 9% funding cuts will happen. That's incredibly frustrating, but OTOH, at least it addresses some of the Middle Class tax issues.

Also, from my twitter feed:
Once upon a time Congress created a cliff and a road leading to it and then tried to heroically avoid careening off its own creation. - Neil King
The very definition of a dysfunctional system is last-minute chaotic decision-making on vital matters. Case closed.- Larry Sabato

 

***** Everybody in Congress.

 

So in hostage situations, do you blame the hostages as well as the gunman, Juliet?

 

My post has been edited to make my opinion more clear.

 

Nothing was cleared up by your edit. By continuing to act as if everyone in Congress has equal power and responsibility, you continue to leave any rationality out of your posts.

 

The question becomes, is the House GOP just posturing for show before they grudgingly vote to pass the compromise?

If they're smart, they let this through, then dig in on the debt ceiling fight; by caving now, they can come back in two months and insist on much steeper spending cuts to raise the debt ceiling than they are going to get if they scuttle this deal.

I'm watching the markets very carefully right now.

 

Either way, FOX news is already throwing McConnell out to the wolves, painting him to be a RINO for working with the Senate Reid and Pelosi on this deal.

 

With this crowd "spending cuts" always means so-called "entitlements". I'd be like, "you want spending cuts? Let's talk about what kind of a defense budget you're entitled to."

 

I think we all know the answer to this...


And if the deal fails, then McConnell will very likely face a strong primary challenge, maybe by the next Akin or Mourdock.

 

FOX is already painting him as the loser and the villian.

 

McConnell is throwing the GOP a life jacket and of course the House Republicans are doing their best to cut holes into it.

 

FOX should be shipped off to North Korea.

It can be their New Years's present.

Peace,

V-03

 

The (albiet small) irony of which up until this weekend, McConnell was one of the ones doing the obstructing.

Edit: And Speaker Boner is proving just why he's the Tea Party's perfect 'Dog on a Leash'.

 

Shoot the victim!

And seriously, Speaker Boner. Seriously.

 

It's bad luck for Republicans that this is taking place just before the beginning of the 113th Congress, because Democratic strength will increase when that happens.

 

MEANWHILE, AT GOP NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS



Really is just spectacular how committed to obstruction these folks are.

 

The House says it doesn't have enough votes to pass.

They're going to amend the bill to make it more right-wing... but that will lose Democratic support in both House and Senate, and most of the superconservatives will stay opposed to it too.

 

Looks like we'll be waiting through at least Friday for a resolution.

 

I think they should just stop for a few days, get some sleep, talk to their constituents, then come back refreshed to deal with this on Monday. They're all half-crazed, hungover, and sleep-deprived right now.

And I think Congressional approval is about to sink even lower than the current 9%.

With the House Republicans allowing taxes to go up on everyone, expire the unemployment benefits, etc. all because they want to help the rich and cut programs that help the middle class... then I think we can say that Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker again in a little over 2 years from now.

 

Yeah - until the GOP spin machine explains how it's the Dems fault for blocking "common sense solutions." Don't understand underestimate the gullibility of the American electorate.

 

Or at least the part of the electorate that lives in the South.