Obama and the Budget Civil War

WASHINGTON -- Today, on the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, we're in the midst of another one. It's bloodless and less dramatic, but sparked by the same issue: the moral role and reach of the federal government.

This is a never-ending debate, one with roots that go back hundreds of years in our society. But it's more urgent now than it has been in decades.

There are two main reasons. The obvious one is that we are about as broke as the world's only superpower can afford to be. We have to make agonizing choices.

The other is that anti-government conservatives have been building to this moment for decades, and the defenders of Washington's role have preferred for most of those years to operate by stealth, by tactical retreats, and by shying away from debating the fundamentals.

Now they have no choice.

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan fired the fiscal equivalent of the first shot at Ft. Sumter. He has proposed sun-setting the modern capstone of American governmental commitment: Medicare, which, since 1965, has guaranteed taxpayer-funded health care to every American 65 and older. It looks like the GOP leadership is going to hope for the best and follow his lead and make the idea the centerpiece of their budget in the House.

I HOPE EVERY PERSON OVER THE AGE OF 65 WILL GET OUT AND VOTE FOR PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS IN 2012. MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR A REAL DEMOCRAT TO CHALLENGE OBAMA AND LET HIM KNOW THAT HE CAN BE PRIMARIED!!!!!

HERE THEY ARE...THE GOP FRESHMEN WHO ARE AT THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE NATION LOSING ITS AAA CREDIT RATING! HOW MANY OF THEM WILL BE RE-ELECTED IN THE FUTURE? MY GUESS IS ALL OF THEM, AND THE EFFECTS OF THEIR PRESENCE IN WASHINGTON WILL BE FELT FOR GENERATIONS!

Origins of the debt showdown

In mid-January, newly installed as the GOP House majority leader, Virginia’s Eric Cantor rose to the podium inside a spacious hotel ballroom to deliver a message to his troops, including the 87 newcomers who had given the party control of the House.

A vote to increase the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit was coming soon, he told the caucus members who had gathered at the Marriott in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for a closed-door retreat less than 10 days after taking power. Think of it as a “hidden” opportunity, he implored them, a chance to achieve their goal of reining in the federal government and its spending habits.

“I’m asking you to look at a potential increase in the debt limit as a leverage moment when the White House and President Obama will have to deal with us,” said Cantor, one of several new House leaders who detailed the game plan for the coming months. “Either we stick together and demonstrate that we’re a team that will fight for and stand by our principles, or we will lose that leverage.”

The frantic showdown that followed, bringing the nation to the brink of default, looked like the haphazard escalation of a typical partisan standoff.

It wasn’t.

It was the natural outgrowth of a years-long effort by GOP recruiters to build a new majority and reverse the party’s fortunes. That effort began before the economy collapsed in 2008, before the government bailouts that followed, before the tea party rose in response to push its anti-tax, anti-spending message.

Your are correct on that thought, Catherine. All of them....the root of all evil...more to come.

I've said this so many times, "those that are Republicans and how they dream about re-electing the person that will lead them to the firing squads, begging them to vote him or her back into office. I somehow never understand... their death door is about to open, yet they will follow that person to the end. They just have one-track mind, and that is why I have used this image of a Republican.... "narrow between the eyes and a small brain pan'
Can't see clearly and not a normal working brain.

Time’s up, Mr. President

by Brent Abrahamson

I no longer recognize the man I voted for to become our President in 2008. I have felt for a while now that we have been deceived. Barack Obama said the right words during his campaign, but he has failed to live up to those words in practice. He ran as a Democrat and has led as a Republican. As a result his Administration is failing badly.

It is not entirely his fault. The Democratic Congress hasn’t helped either. The National Democratic Party has lost its way. We have been deceived.

Progressives are ready to walk. We have had enough. We expect the Republicans to be the Corporate Party. Now it appears that the Democrats are a Corporate Party as well.

We are being sold down the river. We refuse to go. We will not vote for a Democrat just because he or she is not as bad as the Republican. Forget it! Recently I read about a resolution passed by the Progressive Caucus of California. They believe that Barack Obama should face a primary opponent. So do I. Following is the resolution they adopted. They will be contacting others around the nation to garner support.

I support this resolution. I hope it is successful.

MORE AT THE LINK, INCLUDING THE RESOLUTION OF THE CA PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS!