American Politics Thread 2013: I'm a cool Rodham grandma in the USA

a dark place

that's racist

Home again today.

adding insult to injury, you can't even plan a trip, because you might be recalled any day, so you're stuck on a short leash.

think you can bank on the govt being closed till at least the 16th

You kind of can't blame the GOP for expecting obama to cave

Just wait. Reid has already said he's willing to negotiate once the ACA is out of the bill. So eventually the Republicans will take it out of the bill, and as a pointless show of good faith Reid et al., with Obama's blessing, will negotiate out that medical equipment tax. Which the GOP will call a victory, because ... it will be a victory.

but the medical equipment tax... is part of the aca

Team Bam -- we change parts!

(like the def of "enemy combatant")

but the medical equipment tax... is part of the aca

Yeah, but just a little part. No one will miss it, right? Of course not. And then the GOP will have until the next debt ceiling/budget debate to find some other "part" to attack. Because why wouldn't they? Especially once Reid/Obama/et al capitulate. And on that front, why would we believe this to be the one time, like, ever that Obama doesn't cave to some degree? He'll have made his point, gain the upper rhetorical hand, and then deal it away as usual. And the takeaway of the proverbial "American People" will be that both parties are equally bad, and Obama will take the blame for - or at least not get credit for countering - the effects of the cuts/machinations of the GOP. None of which matters much, anyway, because the gerrymandering guarantees the loony wing of the GOP is pretty secure for the time being, and the not quite as loony wing will stay silent or acquiesce, because they are not nearly as secure, and the loons would work to get them replaced by more malleable partners.

curious to see the business communities reaction to the approaching debt limit default, one would think theyre gonna start to get real nervous and call their dudes on the hill

seems like the administration has learned its lesson from 2011 and has no intention of bargaining w the gop, which is good and smart, one exception is i do think itd be worth bargaining to do away with the debt limit permanently once and for all

the other thing is that boehner can end this any time he wants and a lot of people think hes letting the nutjobs shut down the government to get it out of their system in hopes theyll relent before the debt limit has to be raised so that he doesnt have to rely on democrat votes to save the day and imperil his speakership

on the other hand a lot of people think his speakership isnt actually in peril either way

who know, this shit is so dumb, light the constitution on fire then take shit on it what a stupid form of government

Boehner angling for a Grand Bargain

without using either bait or a lure

or a bargain

But ain't it grand!

costa was making it clear last night that this has little to do w/ obama at this point, he's damn near a bystander, and to an extent not even a ton to do w/ the suicide caucus though obv cruz got this ball rolling but more to do w/ boehner vs reid and maybe even more specifically boehner's staff vs reid's staff. biden and mcconell, who've played large roles in getting things done in the past, are effectively out of the loop also, no major role at the moment.

can I just

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2012/12/norquist-mask-full-size.jpg

and reporting now that discussions now aren't even focus on cr but the debt deal, as a bundle. here's some notes on what boehner's telling the troops on grand bargain: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/360234/boehner-gop-grand-bargain-works-robert-costa

Per sources, entitlement reform, an elimination of the medical-device tax, and delays to parts of Obamacare are all on the table.

oh for fuck's sake

what does it matter, not a single Dem I know will renounce them ever, apparently. They can do all that.

RT @AP: BREAKING: White House meeting over, Boehner says Obama won't negotiate.

Lol

what the GOP did today with the WWII memorial is probably the funniest thing ever

They're voting on the funding that will give them the most face-saving press.

Good on Chris Hayes for reminding viewers, as I type, that the Dems have "adopted the budget of their vanquished enemy" Paul Ryan.

The sequester is still in place and has been for some time now, right? Since March? No one talks about that. What has been the broader effect or fallout, if any, of the sequester? Because it's doubtful the fallout of the shutdown will be any worse. It's been long enough that there's got to be some data, ranging from the effect of cut programs to how much money the stunt has saved so far, if any.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/dk-production/images/2026/large/boehnerreidcrying_jonathanernst_reuters.jpeg?1343236510

they should just do some silly thing about congressional health plans every time they need a face-saving compromise

would you save that face?

is the WWII memorial thing just a right-wing meme or is it likely to get some traction? I can't tell from looking at Twitter since that in no way resembles the real world

I've been reading a lot about politics and power in the Byzantine Empire the past few days. We have it good by comparison, but still...

A conservative friend of mine was all het up about it on Facebook, but fuck if I'm going to click on his link to a Michelle Malkin piece. (xpost)

americans are fucking idiots = wwii thing will prob get some traction

wait what is the wwii memorial 'thing'

they were ultimately let in, right? and the only reason they were hindered is because the house gop shut down the government, which normally runs such things as the military and its memorials

it's total bullshit, but

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/house-republicans-dc-monument-closures-government-shutdown-97758.html

*very white voice* Actually Obama purposely shut down the WWII memorial out of spite. Look it up.

americans are fucking idiots = wwii thing will prob get some traction

agree w/ this

According to an NPR interview with a high ranking official of the nat. park service, the wwii vets were let in to the memorial under an exemption for "first amendment rights on the DC mall", which bit of harmless sophistry was delightful and very reminiscent of Byzantium and its theological contortions.

They're voting on the funding that will give them the most face-saving press.

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn

They should build a Benghazi memorial right next to the WWII memorial, and then make sure it never closes and is under 24-hour guard.

wwii thing got traction for this cycle but obv doesn't have legs though hopefully the shutdown doesn't either

seems weird that they even had to block off the WW2 memorial -- iirc it's pretty much just an open-air thing.

the general fecklessness and panic of the republicans atm makes me have a glimmer of hope that the bargain won't be so bad. Fox News is silly even by their standards right now.

but obv doesn't have legs

why do you hate veterans

at this point i think it's obvious these republicans dgaf what most americans think, this WWII thing is prob just to give affirmation to their supporters. they've been able to bring our government to its knees with just the support of a small base of radicals and true believers, so what do they need with the rest of us. they're basically just free to do whatever the fuck they want now unless people get their shit together to actively stop them.

it's nice to think these people will lose in the long run, but uhhh ... how's that gonna happen?

that shut-down-the-military-too article was otm

seriously, shut it all down -- air traffic controllers, customs, nsa, medicare, everything

how else will we get past 'i'm from the government and i'm here to help'?

of course if a "deal" means chained CPI and "entitlement reform" we might as well stay closed until China buys us on eBay.

how's that gonna happen?

Boehner gets the boot and is replaced by someone the non-tea-party reps can back.

guys the military academy football games will not be canceled, we can all breathe easy

Boehner gets the boot and is replaced by someone the non-tea-party reps can back.

what about the massive amounts of money, finely tailored districts, and legions of followers who support these people? the system of laws that keeps it in place? i guess these authoritarian yahoos will naturally come to their senses and the billionaires supporting them and our laws that let them do so will just ... i don't know, cease to exist somehow. i guess it's pretty easy.

i don't know, this shit's pretty messed up, but that's old news. this gov't shutdown is just a natural consequence of all this fucked up stuff we've been witnessing the past few years and belongs to a bigger scheme of things.