"A black sheriff?!": The Official Topic of Obama and New Era American Politics

[Oblivion]

[Oblivion]

Oh, and the Reps want to take another shot at privatizing medicare:

No exaggeration here: On Tuesday, the GOP will officially propose eliminating the current Medicare system by 2021, replacing it with a system of subsidized private insurance in which Medicare beneficiaries would get the equivalent of vouchers to cover a portion of their premiums.

At least on paper, the proposal would save money, but only because it increases voucher funding more slowly than the cost of health care, guaranteeing that at some point, seniors wouldn't be able to afford to get insurance—assuming that they could even find an insurer interested in covering the elderly.

Republicans say that the plan won't impact the cost or quality of medical care, nor will it leave any seniors with inadequate coverage. But they are also careful to say that their plan would not take effect until 2021, so it would only impact people who are 55 and under.

But if they really believe their plan would be so great for seniors, why wait until 2021? Why not just do it now? I could see needing two or three years for implementation, but 10 years? C'mon, guys. It's obvious that the only reason you're exempting people who are 55 and older from your proposal is because you know that anybody who actually spends any time thinking about it (like, for example, people who are close to Medicare eligibility) will quickly understand that this proposal is a complete joke.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/04/963210/-GOP-to-propose-eliminating-Medicare,-replace-it-with-voucher-like-subsidies

Also too:

Oh, and for all those older Americans who voted GOP last year because those nasty Democrats were going to cut Medicare, I have just one word: suckers!

[Mandark]

Wasn't the figure in the GOP's Pledge To America $100 billion?

[Phoenix Dark]

The snark in the last paragraph reminds me why I don't visit DailyKos as much as I used to. Enacting policies take time, just look at Obama's health care bill; would he demand the various aspects of that bill be put in place immediately, before they're finished?

And then I feel dirty for giving Ryan the benefit of the doubt and assuming this is a serious proposal, when it's probably bullshit. But why propose shitcanning Medicare unless you were serious?

[Mandark]

The delay does look purely political, though.  Even the delay in Obamacare implementation had to do with avoiding the phrase "trillion dollars" in headlines.

Pretty sure Ryan's being genuine.  This is basically the McCain '08 plan, just targeted towards seniors.  I don't think it's going to go over well.  Messing with old people's entitlement programs generally doesn't win you votes.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Maybe they should get rid of Medicare.  Then old fucks will have to pay for their own damn Hoverounds when they go to the next tea party rally.

[Phoenix Dark]

These are the same clowns that screamed bloody murder when Obama cut some fat/fraud out of Medicare a couple years ago. Priceless.

I can't possibly imagine how many times Obama shakes his head in disgusts per day.

[Brehvolution]

Shaking his head isn't going to change any opinions, unlike proving the GOP to be bald face liers which is so much easier to do.

[Mandark]

[youtube=560,345]S9xYK9pZ65w[/youtube]

Hume says that instead of targeting corporations like GE, who aggressively use loopholes to avoid paying taxes, we need to "expand the base" for revenues.

That phrase goes back to Reagan's second term, when they were looking for ways to claw back some of the revenues his upper class tax cuts had given away, but without rolling back the cuts themselves.  What they did was "expand the base" of taxpayers by eliminating a ton of loopholes, so that the amount collected went up without raising the official corporate rate (which they might even have cut).

So when Brit Hume says we need to "expand the base" what he's saying is that we need to crack down on tax avoiders like GE by tightening the rules and getting rid of all the special laws passed over the years as favors to big companies.  Only he doesn't realize that's what he means because he apparently memorized the phrase phonetically, knowing only that it's meant to magically stave off any plea that a rich person carries their fair share.

Maybe I only hear what I choose to hear, but Brit Hume's still a tool!

[Phoenix Dark]

He said "expanding the economy" not "expanding the base," you socialist

[Mandark]

I realized that like a minute after I posted, but it's such a quality rant!

Lower tax rates --> expand the economy --> higher revenues is just boring old Laffer Curve fundamentalism.

[Phoenix Dark]

obligatory
[youtube=560,345]emgXwYWqd9Y[/youtube]

[Mandark]

[youtube=560,345]V3FnpaWQJO0[/youtube]

[Great Rumbler]

I can't even imagine how much tax revenue the government will be raking in once the tax rate for corporations and the wealthy finally reaches 0%!

[Van Cruncheon]

well, if they don't hafta support the disgusting lazy poors -- i.e. everyone earning under $250K/yr -- the government won't need their hard-earned lucre anyhow

[Stoney Mason]

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/glenn-beck-to-end-daily-fox-news-program/
 

Fucking Awful news. Now who's gonna keep us informed on what the communist-in-office is up to on a daily basis.

[Brehvolution]

The failure of Beck was that he had the right message, he was just trying to frame the wrong people with it, purposely. And most people see right through it which paints the people he was trying to protect in a far worse yet proper light.

Revisionist history at it's worst.

[Mandark]

Things aren't gonna be too pretty around here if there's a shutdown.  Already heard one acquaintance trying to line up a plan B.

[recursivelyenumerable]

I just sent out my resume to like 12 biker gangs today.

[Great Rumbler]

I just sent out my resume to like 12 biker gangs today.

[youtube=560,345]TULMrs76SeE[/youtube]

[Phoenix Dark]

Guess republicans didn't let Obama swoop in and avert a disaster at the last minute this time. Pretty damn surprising on Boehner's part considering he rose to power due to Gingrich's govt shutdown failure; I really didn't think he'd sit back and put his job at risk like that, but I guess I was wrong.

Latest poll showing voters split on who to blame, but I have a feeling those numbers will change in Obama's favor once tax returns and SS checks stop going out.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

now that Glenn Beck is getting bounced off the air, has any other conservative pundits expressed anything about it.  Rush, Savage, any columnists saying "shame of it all" and the like?

I'm guessing not so much.  I'm figuring he's off Fox on a regular basis less for ratings (still pretty good actually) and more for the fact that he was just an embarrassment to the network.

Thoughts?

[Phoenix Dark]

good article on Beck's current irrelevance
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-glenn-beck-lost-it/2011/04/06/AFNEgnqC_story.html

On the govt shutdown front...Reid has drawn a line in the sand: 38b in cuts, no Planned Parenthood de-funding or abortion riders, take it or leave it. So republicans get nearly 2/3s of what they want, and yet are willing to shut down the federal government over the small amount of money spent to provide contraception, cancer screenings, etc to women.

This is clearly not about the budget, it's about social issues. Obviously both the dem and rep cut demands are miniscule in comparison to the deficit, but this debate started on those cuts. Boehner originally wanted 30b, the tea party demanded 60b so he moved the goal posts.

in short, every time I get frustrated as fuck with democrats, republicans come around and demonstrate they aren't a valid alternative or party

[AdmiralViscen]

now that Glenn Beck is getting bounced off the air, has any other conservative pundits expressed anything about it.  Rush, Savage, any columnists saying "shame of it all" and the like?

I'm guessing not so much.  I'm figuring he's off Fox on a regular basis less for ratings (still pretty good actually) and more for the fact that he was just an embarrassment to the network.

Thoughts?

Advertisers more than network reputation.

Or he quit, has that been ruled out?

[Phoenix Dark]

abortion and wine are the new guns and butter

[Mandark]

I don't think the move from $30b to $60b on the GOP side was tactical.  Their campaign document called for $100b, Boehner knew they wouldn't get that, conceded too much initially and wouldn't have been able to deliver the votes of his caucus, making any agreement he reached with Dem leaders moot.

[Mupepe]

Let's start our spending cuts by gutting paychecks for these politicians who can't do their fucking job.

[AdmiralViscen]

Let's rescind G.E.'s 3.6 billion tax credit, make them pay that amount in taxes instead, and then we can save 7 billion from the 4 trillion budget without all the brouhaha

[Dickie Dee]

good article on Beck's current irrelevance
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-glenn-beck-lost-it/2011/04/06/AFNEgnqC_story.html

On the govt shutdown front...Reid has drawn a line in the sand: 38b in cuts, no Planned Parenthood de-funding or abortion riders, take it or leave it. So republicans get nearly 2/3s of what they want, and yet are willing to shut down the federal government over the small amount of money spent to provide contraception, cancer screenings, etc to women.

This is clearly not about the budget, it's about social issues.

That and #WINNING, i.e. kicking hippies

[TakingBackSunday]

Stealing that, Maurice.

[Van Cruncheon]

how many MUSLIM FETUSES must we PAY TO ABORT in AFGHANILIBYA, NOBAMA

[Mandark]

Apparently, we have a deal.  The quoted cut figure is $38 billion, though I've lost track of what the baseline is.

In return, the GOP conceded funds for groups that provide abortion, the ability of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases, and cuts in the military budget.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

edit - Fearless prediction:  Politicians spin it as a win for their respective sides or at least an important compromise, freepers say Boehner caved and is a wuss, Oblivion says Obama caved and is a wuss.

[close]

[AdmiralViscen]

Finally, the day has come when the EPA can regulate the environment. Nixons dream has come to life

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Considering how everyone was probably going to look much worse for allowing the government to shut down, the 11:59 compromise is probably the best option for them.  Everyone got to play a little chicken so they all look like badasses n' shit to their bases.

[Phoenix Dark]

Actually republicans would have been the ones looking bad. And instead of forcing that, democrats decided to make large spending cuts during a recovery. Maybe the WH knows something we don't, but I coulda sworn the last time a democrat president cut spending during a period of weak economic performance, bad things happened.

Oh well, Obama swoops in and saves the day - one cave at a time. For all the demonizing of him, it's pretty clear the dude simply isn't interested in playing some of the games politicians love to play, nor is he interested in this idea of leadership/strength through telling people how it's gonna be.

[Mandark]

the last time a democrat president cut spending during a period of weak economic performance, bad things happened.

Not actually true.

[Phoenix Dark]

the last time a democrat president cut spending during a period of weak economic performance, bad things happened.

Not actually true.

bah ToxicAdamn pointed out Clinton made similar moves on gaf, which I didn't know

[AdmiralViscen]

Thankfully, these aren't large spending cuts

[Brehvolution]

i saw on cnn that Obama went up to the Lincoln memorial today and was talking to tourists.

I was at the Lincoln around the same time last Saturday.

[Human Snorenado]

the last time a democrat president cut spending during a period of weak economic performance, bad things happened.

Not actually true.

bah ToxicAdamn pointed out Clinton made similar moves on gaf, which I didn't know

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the economy was never this shitty during Clinton's two terms.

[recursivelyenumerable]

shit, apparently we'll have to go through this BS again in a few weeks when they hit the debt ceiling?

[Great Rumbler]

shit, apparently we'll have to go through this BS again in a few weeks when they hit the debt ceiling?

Once the limit is reached, the Treasury Department would not be able to borrow as it does routinely to finance federal operations and roll over existing debt; ultimately it would be unable to pay off maturing debt, putting the United States government — the global standard-setter for creditworthiness — into default.

The repercussions in that event would be as much economic as political, rippling from the bond market into the lives of ordinary citizens through higher interest rates and financial uncertainty of the sort that the economy is only now overcoming, more than three years after the onset of the last recession.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42512163/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/

Fun!

[Mandark]

PD:  lulz, TA

Clinton's first budget was aimed at cutting the structural deficit, with tax hikes and spending cuts.  This is generally seen as Clinton siding with Robert Rubin at Treasury over Robert Reich at Labor, who wanted bigger infrastructure spending.  Republicans, especially in the House, predicted the sky would fall on all our heads if it passed.  It eventually made it through the Senate with Al Gore casting a tiebreaking vote.

We all know what happened after:  Clinton got creamed in the midterms then came back in time to get re-elected.  In terms of GDP growth and jobs created, 1994, the year his budget went into effect, was a vast success.  So at least it can't really be blamed on substantial grounds.

Anyway, in keeping with the 90's metaphors Clinton's budget was his Obamacare: a center-left solution to long-term deficits that the GOP treated as a zombie apocalypse passed by the thinnest possible margin in the Senate and followed by a midterm defeat.  The Clinton/Gingrich shutdown showdown is the fight over next year's budget that'll happen in the fall/winter this year, which the Ryan plan is aimed at, where the stakes are higher and Republicans are gunning for big Medicare cuts.

[Great Rumbler]

You know, a thought just hit me:

All the money handed out by the government to "lazy minorities" through Medicare and welfare is actually more beneficial for this country than all the money given to corporation through tax breaks and tax credits in the name of creating jobs and expanding the economy.

It's insane. But...wait. Every single dime of that money going to "lazy minorities" is going to be turned right around and pumped back into the local economy on food, gas, clothes, ect. in a month or less, in time for next check to come along and repeat the process. And what about the money going to corporations? Sure, some of it will go to build a factory and hire some jobs, but how much gets dropped in an executives pocket? I'm guess a lot of it eventually does. And a lot of the money is going to sit in investment portfolios and savings accounts, slowly growing over time and not being spent. There's also the fact that a lot of these companies are using their money to expand oversees, while cutting American jobs.

Maybe I'm way off base here or on some nonsensical tangent and there's some key piece of information I'm missing, so it would be nice if someone with a deeper knowledge of the subject could come along and expand on this idea in one way or another.

[Mandark]

GR:  My understanding is that during a boom it doesn't make much difference, but during a recession or weak economy you're exactly right: money given to the poor and underemployed cycles back into the economy much more efficiently.

[Oblivion]

The unemployment rate never went below 8% under Clinton in any time during his terms.



Seems it was actually going down during the last year of H.W.'s administration. I'm not sure where the specific cuts Clinton wanted to implement were gonna come from, but it seems the possibility of negative repercussions were far lower than it is now.

Also, I wouldn't call Obama care center-left. It's actually pretty far right.

[Mandark]

Also, I wouldn't call Obama care center-left. It's actually pretty far right.

Shut up.  You're dumb.

[TakingBackSunday]

Also, I wouldn't call Obama care center-left. It's actually pretty far right.

Shut up.  You're dumb.

Yeah, this.

[Human Snorenado]

I'd call it a pretty centrist hc "solution", if the public option is center left and socialized medicine is left.  Far right is distinguished mentally-challenged.

[Mandark]

The ideas for healthcare which have drawn actual enthusiasm from the activist bases have basically split like this:

Libruls:  Expand the number of the insured, shift risk away from individuals, lower costs to low-income consumers, control spending through expanding the pool.  That covers the goals of pretty much everything from single-payer to Obamacare as it was passed.

Conservatives:  Shift spending decisions and risk towards individuals, which will drive cost down through the Invisible Hand once moral hazard is eliminated.  This was McCain-care, Ryan's plan for Medicare vouchers, and every op-ed on health care by a right-wing pundit that I can remember reading.


The final bill that passed is, out of all the liberal ideas that have come close to being federal law*, the one which accommodates entrenched private interests the most and it has some serious problems.  But its whole approach is basically anathema to the way the GOP and its related institutions approach the issue.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Which means not counting the Gore, Bradley, and Kerry plans, which I'm pretty sure were all less ambitious.  And a dollar goes to anyone who can accurately summarize them without peeking at the answers section of your textbook, cause I sure can't.

[close]

[Oblivion]

How is Obamacare center-left? Obamacare mandates everyone else to take private insurance, there's pretty much as little government involved as possible for a universal health care plan. I mean, shit have we forgotten that this is the plan that friggin Bob Dole was proposing back in 94 or whatever?

[Mandark]

How is Obamacare center-left?

I thought I just explained the different between left and right oriented health reform plans, but lemme simplify.

there's pretty much as little government involved as possible

Center-

for a universal health care plan.

left.



Now explain to me how, in a world with HSA+tort reform as one of the major party's proposals, it can be defined as "far right" while keeping a straight face.



PS  You realize that Dole voted against that plan, right?  OR HAVE WE FORGOTTEN!?  herp derp

[Mandark]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/10/tea-party-activists-irked-by-budget-deal/

Oh shit predictions coming true all over my face.

[Great Rumbler]

Would be nice if they'd put some of that energy into pushing for tax hikes for the rich and corporations instead.

[Phoenix Dark]

How is Obamacare center-left? Obamacare mandates everyone else to take private insurance, there's pretty much as little government involved as possible for a universal health care plan. I mean, shit have we forgotten that this is the plan that friggin Bob Dole was proposing back in 94 or whatever?

That's one aspect of the plan though. There are a host of center-left proposals in it like the exchanges to pure left proposals like the medical loss ratio.


Obama will preview his budget plan on Wed btw. Can't wait for him to demonstrate strong leadership and make old and poor people suffer with medicare/medicaid cuts  :broder :broder

[Mandark]

So, how exactly do we get out of debt? I mean, seems kinda impossible to be debt free.

What Mr. Rygar said.

Actually we don't have to pay down the debt at all.  Instead total debt, a better stat to look at is the ratio of the debt to GDP (a large country like the US can safely borrow a lot more than, say, Tunisia), and you can shrink that simply by keeping the annual deficit low and the economy growing.



The US borrowed a ton of money during WW2, and basically used economic growth to get out of the hole.  All along that big downward slope, the government was still running small deficits 90% of the time, but because the economy outpaced the borrowing it's no problem.

[Oblivion]

How is Obamacare center-left?

I thought I just explained the different between left and right oriented health reform plans, but lemme simplify.

there's pretty much as little government involved as possible

Center-

for a universal health care plan.

left.



Now explain to me how, in a world with HSA+tort reform as one of the major party's proposals, it can be defined as "far right" while keeping a straight face.



PS  You realize that Dole voted against that plan, right?  OR HAVE WE FORGOTTEN!?  herp derp

Whatever, Adolf.



In other, slightly more positive news:

Obama prevents budget cuts to favorite programs

A close look at the government shutdown-dodging agreement to cut federal spending by $38 billion reveals that lawmakers significantly eased the fiscal pain by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway.
Such moves permitted Obama to save favorite programs — Pell grants for poor college students, health research and "Race to the Top" aid for public schools, among others — from Republican knives.
The full details of Friday's agreement weren't being released until late Monday when it was officially submitted to the House. But the picture already emerging is of legislation financed with a lot of one-time savings and cuts that officially "score" as savings to pay for spending elsewhere, but that often have little to no actual impact on the deficit.
As a result of the legerdemain, Obama was able to reverse many of the cuts passed by House Republicans in February when the chamber passed a bill slashing this year's budget by more than $60 billion. In doing so, the White House protected favorites like the Head Start early learning program, while maintaining the maximum Pell grant of $5,550 and funding for Obama's "Race to the Top" initiative that provides grants to better-performing schools.
Obama also repelled Republican moves to cut $1 billion in grants for community health centers and $500 million from biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, while blocking them from "zeroing out" the AmeriCorps national service program and subsidies for public broadcasting.
Instead, the cuts that actually will make it into law are far tamer, including cuts to earmarks, unspent census money, leftover federal construction funding, and $2.5 billion from the most recent renewal of highway programs that can't be spent because of restrictions set by other legislation. Another $3.5 billion comes from unused spending authority from a program providing health care to children of lower-income families.
About $10 billion of the cuts already have been enacted as the price for keeping the government open as negotiations progressed; lawmakers tipped their hand regarding another $10 billion or so when the House passed a spending bill last week that ran aground in the Senate.
For instance, the spending measure reaps $350 million by cutting a one-year program enacted in 2009 for dairy farmers then suffering from low milk prices. Another $650 million comes by not repeating a one-time infusion into highway programs passed that same year. And just last Friday, Congress approved Obama's $1 billion request for high-speed rail grants — crediting themselves with $1.5 billion in savings relative to last year.
The underlying issue is long overdue legislation to finance the day-to-day budget of every Cabinet department, including the Pentagon, for the already half-completed 2011 fiscal year. The measure caps 2011 funding for such operating budgets at about $1.2 trillion.
About $10 billion of the cuts comes from targeting appropriations accounts previously used by lawmakers for so-called earmarks, those pet projects like highways, water projects, community development grants and new equipment for police and fire departments. Republicans had already engineered a ban on earmarks when taking back the House this year.
Republicans also claimed $5 billion in savings by capping payments from a fund awarding compensation to crime victims. Under an arcane bookkeeping rule — used for years by appropriators — placing a cap on spending from the Justice Department crime victims fund allows lawmakers to claim the entire contents of the fund as budget savings. The savings are awarded year after year.
Even before details of the bill came out, some conservative Republicans were assailing it. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said he probably won't vote for the measure, and tea party favorite Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is a "nay" as well.
The $38 billion in cuts, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., wrote on his Facebook page, "barely make a dent" in the country's budget woes.
Huelskamp and other conservatives are also upset that most conservative policy "riders" added by Republicans were dropped from the legislation in the course of the talks.
The White House rejected GOP attempts to block the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to issue global warming rules and other reversals of environmental regulations. Obama also forced Republicans to drop an effort to cut off Planned Parenthood from federal funding, as well as GOP moves to stop implementation of Obama's overhauls of health care and Wall Street regulation.
The administration also thwarted a GOP attempt to block new rules governing the Internet, as well as a National Rifle Association-backed attempt to neuter a little-noticed initiative aimed at catching people running guns to Mexican drug lords by having regulators gather information on batch purchases of rifles and shotguns.
Anti-abortion lawmakers did, however, succeed in winning a provision to block taxpayer-funded abortions in the District of Columbia. And House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, won funding for a personal initiative to provide federally funded vouchers for District of Columbia students to attend private schools.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110411/ap_on_bi_ge/us_spending_showdown_details;_ylt=AssjuCR_Q0DVwT41wi4dQgSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFlNWpuYzJpBHBvcwM4MARzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3BvbGl0aWNzBHNsawNvYmFtYXByZXZlbnQ-


Seems Obama (my hero) came through afterall.

[Mandark]

Real talk, though:  Remember when RomneyObamaCare was a John Edwards '08 white paper?  And we all agreed he was clearly trying to seal up the liberal vote with ambitious policy stances?

How many lefties said "wow, Edwards is obviously running to the right with that ultra-conservative health care proposal, of which the public option is the only redeeming feature"?

[Oblivion]

Okay, I'll admit, maybe I didn't think this through all the way. Guess I focused on one aspect and ignored the rest. I was wrong, OKAY?

[Mandark]

No, this is the internet and you must FEEL BAD!



Actually, if anyone wants to feel bad for real, read this.


Summary:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Man is arrested for murder and found guilty, sentenced to death.  Exhausts his appeals, is going to be executed a day before his son's HS graduation.  A researcher hired by a law firm working pro bono finds a bunch of stuff that prosecutors never shared with defense attorneys, including blood evidence on the scene that clears his name.  He sues the prosecutors, case goes to the Supreme Court, where they rule 5-4 (guess how that split went!) to throw out the case.

Meaning you can hide evidence in order to get someone killed for a crime they didn't commit, and not be found guilty in a criminal court or even liable in a civil court. 

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