Mad_Machine76
Mad_Machine76's JournalGood article
the only thing that I would disagree on is whether President Obama should submit any kind of "plan" at this point. He's put out lots of plans and ideas and proposals since 2011 that have included cuts and revenue that the Republicans have consistently refused to embrace. The Republicans are really so out there at the moment that nothing he proposes (short of the Ryan Budget and maybe not even that) has any hope of being seriously considered by the Republicans in the House let alone passed by them and sent to the Senate, so he'd once again just be spinning his wheels and looking like he's "negotiating" with them. I think that the Republicans need to keep blowing hot air and stomping their feet about shutting down the government and letting the country go into default by not raising the debt ceiling. They need to sober up and do their jobs and I'm not sure that there's anything that President Obama or any Democrat in Congress can do to help bring them back to reality at this point. I think that they are going to have to feel the heat and wrath of the American public before they get some sense knocked into them. The more that President Obama and the Democrats in Congress try to deal with the Republicans the more it just becomes "both sides do it". Let the Republicans propose/pass the cuts they believe that this country needs and try to get the public on their side. They won't be able to convince large numbers of Americans that Social Security and Medicare should be cut- not now or ever but if they believe so strongly that that's what needs to be done, they should be welcome to try and see how far that gets them. And they shouldn't be able to accuse President Obama of "not leading" while they themselves sit around and expect President Obama and the Democrats in Congress to do their dirty work for them either.
What needs to be refuted exactly?
It's silly on its face. There is simply no equivalency between guns and hammers or guns or cars or anything else. There are a lot of things that people can use to intentionally or unintentionally harm or kill another person but AFAIK there are only a few things out there that can kill a large amount of people in a short amount of time. Hammers aren't one of them! IMHO it's just a smokescreen to obscure the debate over whether or not we need to regulate guns better in this country and how.
Steps 1 & 2 are good
I don't know if I would have President Obama be the one to initiate a government shutdown over the debt ceiling but certainly him starting to warn people about what could happen and what the Republicans say they expect to happen wouldn't be a bad idea. This whole situation has gotten insane. Let the Republicans make their own proposals and try to get the people on their side for a change. That's really how it's supposed to work anyhow. I'm tired of a small group of people (i.e. "gangs"
sitting behind closed doors cutting all of these deals that everybody else is usually forced to accept to avert some new manufactured "crisis-of-the day". Laws are supposed to be proposed, debated, and voted on in the light of day. IMHO Republicans are basically trying to lure President Obama and the Dems into a trap by demanding that they negotiate with them and ultimately propose/agree to cuts they know are going to be unpopular with the base and the public at-large so that they can have some cover and/or have some political leverage going into the 2014 midterms.
So are we in a spending crisis or not?
Always seems to be enough money for tax cuts, "defense" spending, and anti-gay bigotry. 
Amaizing
that somebody like John McCain- who along with several other Senate Republicans have already told us in no uncertain terms that they will NOT raise the debt ceiling unless cuts are made to Social Security- throws a tantrum about the President telling the American public what most of us with half a brain cell and a block on Fox News already knows.
Profile Information
Name: Mara Alis ButlerGender: Female
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Home country: USA
Current location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Member since: Sat Feb 28, 2004, 01:13 AM
Number of posts: 24,438