U.S. debt impasse signals shift to the right for both parties in N.J.

[villager]

not just "N.J."....

U.S. debt impasse signals shift to the right for both parties in N.J.

The East side of the U.S. Capitol building is seen in this photo today in Washington, D.C. Spurred on by President Barack Obama, lawmakers today dove into a frantic beat-the-clock weekend effort to avert a debt default that could plunge the world economy into recession.

Like their colleagues from other states, the seven Democrats and six Republicans in New Jersey’s congressional delegation have stared each other down from a seemingly impassable divide over the debt ceiling debate.

Historically moderate, all of New Jersey’s Republicans stood staunchly behind trillions of dollars in Tea Party-backed cuts to Social Security and Medicare, a two-step increase in the debt ceiling, and no increases in taxes. Friday’s House bill had no votes from the state’s Democratic lawmakers.
In a month of grueling negotiations, New Jersey’s congressmen have talked a lot and slept little — working 12-hour days even on weekends — but that is where their commonality ends. Today, both houses haggled over a bill that could pass before Tuesday, the deadline to avoid a possible default.
"Neither political side wants to live with the possibility of failing on this issue," said Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University, adding that debate this weekend was less about details and more about appearances.
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"The compromise that’s going to come out necessarily is going to have to let both sides save face."
Today, Jersey congressmen continued to blame each other for the stalemate, despite widespread similarities in the Republican and Democratic bills.

"If you can’t compromise for the good of the country, you don’t belong here," Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.) said from his Washington office. In fact, political analysts said that the past month of debt talks has seen both parties move significantly to the right.

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/debt_impasse_signals_shift_to.html

[saras]

1. That's compromise all right - both parties move to the right from their starting positions...

[villager]

2. It's... bipartisanship!

:thumbsup:

[no_hypocrisy]

3. "Compromise for the good of the country"

Does that mean give the Tea Party whatever it wants or does it mean preserve democracy, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and not cave?