Every week on Monday morning , the Council and invited guests weigh in at the Watcher's Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day. This week's question:What's your reaction to the Fiscal Cliff Agreement?
The Razor:Everyone said Boehner was dealt a bad hand, but I don’t play poker for a reason: I suck at it. I understand that the best poker players are able to win regardless of their luck, which leads me to the following conclusion:
A great speaker in Boehner’s situation would have bested Obama and gotten an amazing deal. A good speaker would have gotten a decent deal where Democrats and Republicans were both upset but glad the worst was behind them. An incompetent speaker would have gotten a bad deal where the Democrats would have gotten everything and the GOP nothing that it wanted. A terrible speaker got the deal Boehner got – which is a disaster that was worse than the Democrats were offering.
I’m still trying to understand how Boehner managed to do that, but the bottom line was that he got a bad deal AND instead of talking about the 77% of Americans whose pay checks will be cut by 2% from now on, the wags were talking about how the GOP screwed the Northeast with the Hurricane Sandy bill. Yes the bill was bad and will be made right by the next congress, but the GOP were made out to be petty and divided by the way the bill was handled. Lost in the kerfluffle was the higher taxes everyone that’s working is paying, and Moody’s threat to downgrade our debt which shows the danger of Obama’s spending ways.
Yes the GOP is in civil war, and I’m all for it. Boehner is clearly incompetent, and the rest of the GOP leadership needs to be rounded up. I’m grabbing my pitchfork and heading to the Bastille because the way it stands today, the Republican party will join the Whigs on the ash heap of History, and it’s time for something better.
The Political Commentator: While the Democrat position regarding the fiscal cliff negotiations came as no surprise, what struck me was the unfortunate maestro-like way in which the Obama-led Party played the Republicans in much the same way that a concert pianist would play the Chopin Funeral March.
While it remains to be seen how much backbone the Republicans exhibits when the debt ceiling debate reaches the point of maximum noise, what is painfully obvious is that the Party of Obama is focused on everything but spending cuts and deficit reduction as evidenced by a "cliff" deal that's projected to add $4 trillion to our federal debt.
My reaction is one of angst and fear for myself, my children and my future grandchildren concerning the fact that the POTUS and his Party could care less about destroying the American currency, the American economy or of breaking the backs of the people who present the greatest opportunity for reversing our economic tailspin while at the same time creating an atmosphere of class warfare that threatens to at some point pit one American against another in violent confrontation!
For them it is all a political calculation geared towards reelection by pandering to a gullible and ignorant electorate with giveaways.
G-D help us all.
The Noisy Room: Intense anger is my reaction. I expected evil machinations from Obama,
but Boehner truly outdid himself this time. Not only did Obama get
everything he wanted, he showcased the Republicans for the spineless lot
that they truly are and tore their ranks asunder.
Even now, I hear the political cries that everyone had to do this, to
save us from radical tax increases. Well, Obama got his tax increases
anyway and laid the ground for much more, so I am puzzled at this
justification. The middle class was hurt the most by all of this - not
the elite. My husband just received a $1500 a year pay reduction and
that is before Obamacare kicks in. Let's not even discuss what is
happening to my business - it is heartbreaking. There is no longer a two
party system... just Progressives on both sides of the aisle, all
snuggly under the covers with each other while telling working Americans
they can just pound sand. The elite Progressives view Americans as their
serfs who fund their lavish lifestyles. But the slaves have just about
had enough.
What's even worse, is this whole piece of sordid theater laid the
groundwork for Obama to finish off the Constitution and rule by
executive fiat in toto. He no longer fears an actual fight as he moves
to gut the Second Amendment and take full control via a dictatorship.
But as Bob Owens has astutely pointed out, he will have one hell of a
fight on his hands.
Obama will tax us into submission if he can. He will finish off America
by destroying her great economy once and for all, while neutering our
military and baring our throat to our enemies. How he must truly hate
America and revel in the potential for her glorious demise. The one
thing he has miscalculated on is the American people. He may be using
class warfare to get his way, but there are just enough patriots among
us who will fight to the end to see America regain her glory.
Sadly, the Republicans will go down in history on the wrong side and
will be remembered only as weak, Progressive underlings, who, when the
fight came, sought shelter, fiscal crumbs and strength at the feet of a
Marxist despot. For that, they will wish that they be forgotten. May G-d
forgive them, because America and history will not.
The Independent Sentinel: President Obama won, We have trillions in increased spending over the next several years with a promise of more taxes. Our Republican leaders are wimps who didn't do what they said they would do.
Bookworm Room: Short answer: Republicans got rolled (again).
Long answer: Republicans can try to sell this as "giving the voters what they asked for.' Obama promised higher taxes and the Republicans yielded to that promise. They also protected as many people as possible by freezing as much of the Bush tax cut as Obama would allow.
The next thing is to do a big spending fight, with no backroom deals. Never enter into secret negotiations with a known liar. Also, since Obama is a mean fighter, it's better to have that out in the public. The Republicans also should get a message and stick to it. The message is that Obama's election meant people were open to a tax increase, but that the continued Republican majority in the House means that the American people wanted cost controls. Call out the Democrats on this one.
Oh, and my really short answer: Gag!
JoshuaPundit: I pretty much already said what I thought about this here.
As an aside. there were three unintentionally humorous parts to this fiasco.
The first part was the huge deal made out of the Fiscal Cliff by the media in terms of the relatively tiny amount of money involved as 'revenues' versus what the Federal Government is actually borrowing and spending. The second was the way an ObamaCare mandated decrease in fees paid to doctors seeing MediCare patients was 'avoided' by essentially fudging the math and figuring how to pay for it later...which is a joke you only get if you remember how Obama's surrogates talked up th eway ObamaCare was going to save money by doing exactly that. And the third knee slapper was out benighted president pounding his chest, crowing and taking credit for 'his' win when the actual work - if you can call it that - was done by VP Biden and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.
The actual formula they Republicans and the Administration signed amounts to $41 of new taxes for every $1 of spending cuts, and I think we all know by now that even those spending cuts won't ever be instituted unless they involve defense.They never have been, if you look at the history of this sort of thing since Democrat Speaker Tip O'Neill conned President Reagan into raising taxes back in 1982 in what was supposed to be $3 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax hikes.
It also struck me as pretty funny that neither the media or anyone else ever discussed all of the shiny new taxes mandated by ObamaCare that took most people by surprise when they got their first 2013 paychecks.These new taxes and the huge tax raise given to President Obama by the House Republicans amounts to another huge transfer of wealth, which is what the president has always been about anyway.
Expect more of the same, especially when it comes to the debt ceiling. Because much of the GOP leadership appears to be afraid of doing what they're constitutionally mandated to do, control the purse strings.
Eventually, that cowardice is going to have to be paid for.
GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD: Obsession with how this will effect Defense and defect Great Satan's Global Hyperpuissance. Alliances cut in good faith - like Taiwan, SoKo and or Nippon are in jeopardy - not to mention understood understandingments with spiritual sisters like Little Satan.
Well, there you have it.
Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.
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