Boehner stepping down

It’d be REALLY nice if the government actually made a 2 year budget, and we didn’t have to keep doing this bullshit continuing resolution that wastes a ton of money and prevent allocation of funds to things that actually need it.

Yes, this will be really good for the country if it goes through., It’s also really, really good for Ryan. Which is probably bad for the country ;)

I’m curious what this will cut.

I’m sure this has been engineered by Ryan and Boehner and team. The budget deal gets pushed through, and Ryan will get to make all kinds of pissy complaints – maybe even vote against it – in order to secure his right flank for the speaker vote.

It’s good for the short term, but doesn’t do anything to resolve the divisions in the house. If anything, it’ll piss the crazies off even more.

There comes a time when you need to say “Fuck you” to the crazies, and stop giving one single fuck about what they think.

That time was 4 years ago, and every time they have played russian roulette with the debt ceiling.

Yeah, these guys essentially got themselves a job as a fireman by saying “I"m going to burn this fucking city to the ground!” in their job interview. The Republican leadership was complicit in that – they went out and recruited these guys. They wanted the majority, not realizing that a fractured majority is useless.

It’s a clock that won’t be unwound for many years.

Edit: And of course Ryan is already making concessions to the Freedom Caucus to get the speaker votes, such as agreeing not to put forward any immigration reform legislation.

I’d hope that he wouldn’t vote against it. That would send a very bad signal, I think.

That said, I love the fact that this deal goes until 2017. It’s nice to think that I won’t have to deal with a government shutdown again until the next administration.

I laughed when I read that Ryan was talking too fast for the congressman from Alabama to write it down.

Alabama: Making West Virginia look good since 1819.

Here’s the breakdown:

What Democrats got:
— $40 billion in additional non-defense spending, over and above the caps imposed by the sequester, over two years
— a debt limit hike through March of 2017, meaning no more conservative-manufactured debt limit extortion through that date
— an end to conservative-manufactured government shutdown drama through the election and beyond
— a solution to a glitch in cost-of-living calculations that threatened to hike premiums for millions on Medicare Part B
— a reallocation of Social Security funds that Dems had sought to keep disability insurance solvent
What Republicans got:
— $40 billion in additional defense spending, over and above the caps imposed by the sequester, over two years, plus an additional chunk of defense spending in a side contingency fund. That is to say, an increase in defense spending overall that is higher than the increase in non-defense spending
— Medicare cuts, but (according to reports and experts) only on the provider side
— A tightening of eligibility requirements to the Social Security Disability Insurance program that experts say does not equal a benefits cut
— a debt limit hike through March of 2017, meaning no more conservative-manufactured debt limit extortion through that date
— an end to conservative-manufactured government shutdown drama through the election and beyond
— a solution to a glitch in cost-of-living calculations that threatened to hike premiums for millions on Medicare Part B

This breakdown goes into much further detail, including the sale from the Strategic Oil reserves, etc.

selling oil from the reserve seems like a waste. Gas prices are almost crazy low because there’s so much oil in the market

Yeah, the only reason I can think of is the proximity to the Gulf Coast refineries as a boon down there.

What would actually make sense, is for the budget to contain a clause which authorizes Treasury to borrow in order to implement the budget spending as passed, so there is no ridiculous conflict between the budget and the debt limit.

Given there’s no way a Dem bill would make it to the floor of this House in any case, what this mainly does is damage … GOP presidential hopeful and immigration reform proponent Marco Rubio. While strengthening the hand of the main anti-immigration candidate, Donald Trump.

I’m sure the House geniuses who thought this up believe their offering will help appease Trumpthulu.

It would make sense, but both parties want the ability to hold it ransom when they control Congress. While Democrats never seriously threatened to default, they did take the opportunity to chastise George Bush for spending when they could.

I know some Dems have pushed for this, and have argued that the Constitution already allows for this under the 14th Amendment. I think if the Republicans refused to debt ceiling raise, a president would do it anyways citing that, and if the Supreme Court decided to nuke the government over it- well we’d know who to blame.

It would be one more step towards our system of government failing- presidential systems are inherently unstable and it’s a miracle the American one has lasted as long as it has.

Just in case anyone thought they’d decided to play nice, the Freedom Caucus is making sure we all know they don’t want any deals. It’s entirely possible that everything they said there about how horrible this thing is actually is true. Only thing worse would be not having it.

Ah yes, those damn Obama Democrats, causing the $20 trillion national debt.

I do enjoy the co-opting of the term “freedom” by these conservative groups. It gives them a built in comeback against anyone who disagrees with them. “A vote against this bill is a vote against freedom”. “Only people who hate freedom would rule against the conservation of marriage act”. Etc… It’s like the good old Freedom Fries. “The French aren’t against needlessly invading Iraq based on shaky intelligence. They are against freedom itself!”

Next we need the left co-opt a term like that. How about rebranding “liberal” as “liberty”. “Liberty Caucus” has a nice ring to it. “The Freedom Caucus wants to take away your Liberty!”

If any of these idiots were serious about running the debt down, they’d be for budget cuts and tax increases. But they’re totally not for the former if it’s anything that they benefit from, and they’re totally not for the latter whatsoever. So fuck em. If they want to get serious about cutting the debt and me believing them, they’d agree to both.

Yes, the only way to get close to a balanced budget in any time other than a booming economy is to cut spending and increase revenue, which is primarily taxes.

You will never get the Republicans to agree to raising taxes in any significant way. And you will never get them to agree to cutting defense spending. It’s pretty much hopeless.