Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[mainiac]

I really expected the actual negotiations would need to start before I'd get pissed about them, but then I saw who Reid has selected to represent the Senate democrats.
John Kerry?  Eh, whatever.
Patty Murray?  Not bad.
MAX BAUCUS?  Why, sweet baby jesus why?

Max Baucus is possibly the least loyal democrat in the entire congress.  It's not just straying from his party on some votes, that's not too surprising.  But Baucus seems to relish in actively sabotaging his party by forcing them into embarrassing debates.  He probably did more damage to the democratic party in the healthcare debates then any other person in the country.  He kept sustaining the vote for months and months, all the while later making the bill less and less popular.  And what does he get for his troubles?  He gets a giant podium to stand on and subject the country to another revolting display of more of the same.

[GlyphGryph]

Aww fuckin' hell. Hey, ya'bastad, you know there are people in your party actually QUALIFIED to be on this piece of shit committee, right?

God. Damn.

[Heron TSG]

Holy shit, the good senator from my state gets to do something for once! To the mailbox, AWAAAAAY!

[RedKing]

I guess he was trying to go for balance with a liberal (not really) Dem (Kerry), a moderate Dem (Murray) and a conservative Dem (Baucus).
Problem is, do you really think McConnell is going to repay the favor and put an Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins on this thing?

The GOP slate will be conservative Rep, uber-conservative Rep, and Vlad the Impaler. 

[Aqizzar]

Well, I can't say as I'm surprised.  I was honestly rooting for Sharon Angle to win in Nevada last year, anything to dislodge Harry Reid from the leadership of his party.  Objectively speaking, his job is to make stuff happen that comports with the platform ideals of the Democratic party.  He is either horrible at his job, or has a very shallow idea of what his party is supposed to stand for.

Problem is, do you really think McConnell is going to repay the favor and put an Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins on this thing?

I'm willing to bet money that you'll see Rand Paul or Marco Rubio in there.  I'm committed to my prediction that none of the "leadership" members will be appointed, which at least saves the panel from John Cornyn.

[Africa]

And this is why Democrats always lose.

[RedKing]

No Rand Paul or Marco Rubio. Could have been better, but could have been a lot worse.

However....the Tea Party will likely be livid with most of the choices in the House. This might actually be the nail in the coffin for Boehner's speakership. The fact that he put three establishment members on the panel and two of whom (Camp and Upton) are in the Republican Main Street Partnership caucus, a group that has been derided by hard-right conservatives as the mark of a RINO (Republican In Name Only)...it's kind of a slap in the face to the House Tea Party caucus.

From the Senate:

John Kyl (R-AZ)
Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Rob Portman (R-OR)


From the House:

Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
Dave Camp (R-MI)
Fred Upton (R-MI)


Toomey: Holder of Arlen Specter's old seat. Tea Partier and hardcore right-winger. You pick an issue, his position is hard to the right.
Portman: Bush's US Trade Representative. Actually somewhat moderate. Guess this counts as their "compromise" appointment.
Kyl: Don't even get me started. I threw up in my mouth when I saw his name in the list. This is the same guy who flat-out lied on the Congressional floor, then when called on it, had a spokesperson state that the Senator's remark was "not intended to be a factual statement". 

Hensarling: Establishment conservative. Potential rival to Bachmann within the GOP in terms of jockeying for some leadership positions. Opposed the TARP program, opposed the bank bailout.
Camp: House Ways and Means chair. Slightly moderate establishment member.
Upton: House Energy and Commerce chair. Social conservative (introduced the 2006 Video Game Decency Act), but slightly moderate on financial issues.
 

[nenjin]

Kyl: Don't even get me started. I threw up in my mouth when I saw his name in the list. This is the same guy who flat-out lied on the Congressional floor, then when called on it, had a spokesperson state that the Senator's remark was "not intended to be a factual statement".

Can't wait until Colbert gets a hold of this one.

[Aqizzar]

Kyl: Don't even get me started. I threw up in my mouth when I saw his name in the list. This is the same guy who flat-out lied on the Congressional floor, then when called on it, had a spokesperson state that the Senator's remark was "not intended to be a factual statement".

I knew that name sounded familiar.  That pretty much says everything you need to know right there about where this panel is supposed to go, which is nowhere.  It will be a spectacle, it will be a brawl, it will be Kyl adding crazy shit to the package so he'll have a reason to denounce and vote against it on the floor.  I was immediately suspicious of every element of that $3trillion "trigger" package when I saw it, and this pretty much cinches it - the congressional Republicans would be fine with the trigger, so they sent a group that'll either make sure they get everything they want, or stall the whole thing until the deadline.

And like the punchdrunk old fool that he is, Harry Reid is going right along with it.  At this point, it doesn't really matter who Pelosi picks, and that's probably why she hasn't yet, she can't find three people in her caucus willing to tie themselves to this idiotic pageantry when they know will amount to nothing.

While Camp and Upton may be relatively moderate sounding people, the fact that they're both from Michigan gives me a pit in my stomach.  Fred Upton in particular represents the district of Benton Harbor, and his former chief of staff was the patsy who introduced the "financial martial law" power to the state legislature, which gives me absolutely no confidence in any label of financial moderation on Upton's part.

[nenjin]

While Camp and Upton may be relatively moderate sounding people, the fact that they're both from Michigan gives me a pit in my stomach.  Fred Upton in particular represents the district of Benton Harbor, and his former chief of staff was the patsy who introduced the "financial martial law" power to the state legislature, which gives me absolutely no confidence in any label of financial moderation on Upton's part.

Uh yeah. The guys who just sold a chunk of America to a corporate holder are going to protect the little guys in the super committee?

All it will take is a few dems who go weak in the knees when it comes time to vote (a certainty) and most of the Republicans staying close to the base (also a surety) and they could probably repeal many of the automatic cuts to defense spending. The rest of the cuts are something they want. And of course the Pentagon and defense agencies are going to claim 90% of the cuts are unacceptable on national security grounds, as Panetta effectively already has.

[kaijyuu]

Well, shit.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Patty Murray?  Not bad.

Nope.

Mostly due to being a spineless hack who just shoeshines for the other Democrats in Congress and breaks her back to do anything for the corporation Boeing. Her "leadership" is laughable. The only reason she's held her seat is because of the bourgeoisie in Olympia and the greater Seattle area. But then again, being a resident of Washington my whole life has given me a rather skewed view of the inept leadership of this state (don't get me started on Governor Gregoire).

The democrats sure are good at shooting themselves in the foot lately anyways, so I don't see this *ELITE GROUP* coming up with much of a plan, except to further remove funds from our schools, roads, elderly, poor, and otherwise distressed and lost people. All for the benefit of the corporate complex that owns all of our country. Expect to see more trickle-down economics. Reganomics (the policies implemented by Ronald Regan- Mostly consisting of Low taxes [on the rich and otherwise wealthy corporations] to encourage more private spending, but ended up only making the rich richer and the poor poorer) is alive and well, folks. It just has a 21st century make-over.


I don't even care to bother reviewing the Republican nominees. They will obviously be toting Boener and Mcconnel's company line. That's the requirement to be a Republican in congress nowadays.

[MaximumZero]

Why would legislators from MI even be allowed into this? I mean, can't the rest of the country see how bad we (the citizens of MI) are getting screwed here, especially financially?

[mainiac]

Well, maybe Pat Murray isn't as good as I thought from the other side of the country.  But it warms the cockles of my heart to see my state's Chris Van Hollen get the nod for a house position (along with Clyburn and Becerra who appear to be solid.)  Van Hollen does a good job speaking for the progressive cause in a respectable tone and I think the other two will be with him on that.  So kudos to Nancy.  One again, she shows that she's the real democratic leadership.

[Nadaka]

I'm posting to follow this thread... But I can already tell it will be bad for my blood pressure.