Deficit reduction panel releases debt proposal plan

Onion rocks...

Democrats: 'If We're Gonna Lose, Let's Go Down Running Away From Every Legislative Accomplishment We've Made'

WASHINGTON—Conceding almost certain Republican gains in next month's crucial midterm elections, Democratic lawmakers vowed Tuesday not to give up without making one final push to ensure their party runs away from every major legislative victory of the past two years.

Party leaders told reporters that regardless of the ultimate outcome, they would do everything in their power from now until the polls closed to distance themselves from their hard-won passage of a historic health care overhaul, the toughest financial regulations since the 1930s, and a stimulus package most economists now credit with preventing a second Great Depression.

"There's a great deal on the line, and we know it isn't going to be easy for us," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), speaking from the steps of the Capitol. "But if we suffer defeat, we will do so knowing we cowered away from absolutely anything we produced that was even remotely progressive or valuable in any way."

"And we will keep cowering right up until Election Day," Reid continued. "From Maine to Hawaii, in big cities and small towns, we will collapse into a fetal position and refuse to take credit for our successes anywhere voters could conceivably be swayed by learning what we have achieved on their behalf."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) acknowledged the task would be difficult, but said Democrats would remain steadfast in permitting their opponents to deride the accomplishments of the $787 billion Recovery Act, even as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reports that the 2009 measure has created millions of jobs.

"While the stimulus isn't a cure-all, we owe it to the voters to scatter like pigeons whenever the Republicans grossly mischaracterize it as a wasteful giveaway," Pelosi said. "Their sleazy, cynical distortions may win them votes in the end, but we will not let that happen without doing whatever it takes to sit idly by and let them get away with it."

According to party leaders, the Democrats are putting their sweeping new health care law at the top of the list of accomplishments to back away from, mainly by allowing its most popular provisions—federal subsidies to make health care more affordable; allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26; and rules that prevent sick people from being denied coverage—to be summarily dismissed as "Obamacare."

"Thanks to our efforts, a lot of people don't even realize they may already be benefiting from these reforms," Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) said. "They certainly don't realize they might be one of the 30 million currently uninsured people who will be provided coverage by the time the law is fully enacted."

"You can be certain we'll keep that information a deep, dark secret until we're thrown out of power," Bean added.

Political consultant James Carville praised the strategy, saying it was gratifying to see the party dissociate itself from what he described as some of the most useful and principled laws passed in nearly half a century.

"It's the ninth inning now, and Democrats are finally getting serious about hiding in the weeds at the slightest mention of last year's credit-card legislation, which put an end to predatory lending schemes that are universally considered repugnant," Carville said. "Now that's smart politics, right there. The chips may be down, but they're still finding a way to curl up like a bunch of pathetic little hedgehogs and piss all over themselves the moment any sort of challenge is mounted."

When reached for comment, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters he wasn't surprised his opponents were disowning policies he described as "disastrous for the economy, disastrous for families, and disastrous for America's future."

"And, what the heck, put down that it's disastrous for our men and women in uniform," McConnell said. "Might as well."

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I don't think Democrat leadership is witless, but I do think they let polls and emotional public swings dominate their decision-making to the point where they resign rhetoric and illogical stumping..."messaging"...to the Republicans and fight losing battles on that front.

We're a soundbyte society, and that won't change.

 

Rhad, I'm with you in your disgust. However, what are you going to do? Nader will probably run again?

Just remember Nader led to the Iraq War with a few hundred thousand killings and a couple of trillion lost and it also led to a couple of trillion transferred from the rest of us to the upper 2% with most of it going to the top part of the uppper 2% and a deficit the Grand Old Tea Pary fakely rails against.

 

Forget the libertarian wet dream of selling the public lands. No thanks. Same with turning the National Parks over to private enterprise. No thanks.

 

What do you call the types of office worker types who blythely propose raising the social security retirment age to 69 for folks who work up on roofs in hundred degree sun?

 

Like I said, I think I just might abstain from voting for anyone at the federal level. The choices supplied are basically identical, and past the city/county (maybe state) level government representatives cease to actually represent me for all intents and purposes.

 

We're never going to get out of debt, too many people want lower taxes and more benefits. And too many politicans listen to them. Nobody wants to hear the truth that we're spending money that doesn't exist.

 

Democracy in action.

 

That is pretty easy to say when you are not lower class driving a older car that gets much worse MPG and barely (if you are lucky) making ends meet.

Compound that if you live in Houston and have a long commute, or during the period of low employment had to take a lower paying job that is further away.


A gas tax might change the habits of someone middle class in the long run but totally screws the lower class.

 

Carpool?

 

You are right. A higher gas tax is going to be very regressive.

 

Obama denies he is willing to compromise on tax cuts for the wealthy according to CNN.

 

My problem with this is such actionS at the federal level as allowing all the AM stations to be owned by a few right wingers has led to the phenomena of domination of the media and therefore garbage in garbage out and you are going to have crappy local pols as the brainwashed go to the polls to vote.

 

You believe the Federal Government should make sure liberals own the media?

 

You're wrong. Post #39 is just one of the posts in which someone said "I'd be willing to pay higher taxes." I'll add to that. I don't mind paying higher taxes either.

 

In other news, Obama is saying he didn't cave in and he's still going to fight the extension of all tax cuts:

Good. Maybe they can compromise and only extend them for the middle class (and below).

Wait... compromise? Hahahahaha...

 

Plus one here. I don't mind paying higher taxes.

 

No one is stopping you guys from paying higher taxes. By all means go ahead. Stop taking all your deductions and pay the full amount.

How many of you who say you don't mind paying higher taxes will actually do that?? Most likely none.

 

Also we have a broken tax system when so many people pay little to no taxes at all and some are even getting more back than they put in. I think that's why you guys are for raising taxes you don't feel the burden and you are just hoping it's someone else's responsibility.

 

This is an argument I see used all the time. Paying more money myself does nothing to aid in reducing the deficit. Having everyone pay more money does. You missed the point of policy entirely, it seems.

We wouldn't mind such a policy since it helps reduce the deficit. You do mind since it reduces what's in your pocket. Paying more ourselves without policy does absolutely nothing and the argument is stupid.