Rep. Jackie Speier on Obama's deal: "I'm very disappointed. He's out-Bushed Bush,"

[brentspeak]

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county/ci_16829980

San Mateo County Times
Posted: 12/10/2010 07:36:08 PM PST
Updated: 12/10/2010 11:07:21 PM PST

Rep. Jackie Speier on Friday lambasted the tax cut deal President Barack Obama reached with Republicans this week, vowing not to support it unless key provisions are changed, and she questioned the president's political values.

snip

The other element of the tax cut deal that Speier can't stomach is a one-year reduction in the payroll tax from 6.2 to 4.2 percent. She said Obama was "foolish" to go along with a decrease in the payroll tax, the funding mechanism for Social Security and a coveted target of Republicans. Decreasing the tax temporarily will give Republicans the chance to fight its restoration, endangering Social Security, which the conservative movement has long sought to eradicate. "This is a grand plan of starving Social Security so you can then privatize Social Security (and) seniors are on their own," said Speier, noting that 45 percent of seniors lived in poverty in the 1930s before the federal program was established.

"I'm very disappointed. He's out-Bushed Bush," she said of Obama, referring to President George W. Bush's failed attempt in 2005 to partially privatize Social Security.

The tax cut deal also appears to have shaken Speier's opinion of Obama. Asked whether she trusts the president to defend Social Security -- perhaps the most popular and successful program ever created by the Democratic Party -- from Republican attempts to slash it, Speier demurred. "I don't know what I believe," she said. Asked if she thinks Obama -- if the tax cut deal is passed in something approaching its current form -- will be up to the task in 2012 of negotiating more forcefully to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and restore the payroll tax to its previous level, Speier mentioned Afghanistan, where the president has escalated troop levels and hinted at backtracking on a plan to withdraw troops by 2011.

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[ProSense]

2. What a courageous statement

"I'm very disappointed. He's out-Bushed Bush," she said of Obama, referring to President George W. Bush's failed attempt in 2005 to partially privatize Social Security.

The tax cut deal also appears to have shaken Speier's opinion of Obama. Asked whether she trusts the president to defend Social Security -- perhaps the most popular and successful program ever created by the Democratic Party -- from Republican attempts to slash it, Speier demurred. "I don't know what I believe," she said.

Some of these Democrats need to get a grip. What the hell does the tax deal have to do with Bush trying to privatize Social Security?

"Speier mentioned Afghanistan, where the president has escalated troop levels and hinted at backtracking on a plan to withdraw troops by 2011."

She did? Then why did she just vote for this bill?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[ProSense]

9. Tell him to go

talk to the Congressional Black Caucus because they also support support a tax holiday:

<...>

The CBC's counter-proposal showed few signs of members giving up ground. The proposal includes a two-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class -- which was part of the tax-cut measure that the House passed this month -- as well as a payroll tax holiday and a 13-month extension of unemployment insurance benefits. All three components are priorities for congressional Democrats.

<...>

Claiming this is an assault on Social Security is absurd.

[brentspeak]

13. Is the 17th time in the past few hours you've posted that CBC thing?

Why should my mind or anyone else' mind be changed because you keep spamming the boards with CBC's virtually-identical-to-Obama's tax cut proposal? Is their surrender to the Obama/GOP payroll tax holiday the final word or something?

[ProSense]

19. I wasn't counting

but why can't I cite that the CBC supports the tax holiday? How many times has the President been called a sellout?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

22. I Like Pro Sense And The CBC

.

[catgirl]

8. Good catch

We need to expose ALLl the hypocrits. I love how Sanders is claiming (after the fact) that he, the hero that he is, could get the
60 votes needed to pass only the middle-class tax cut extensions. If he has so much clout and could pull this off, then why
didn't he when he had the chance. All the hot air after the fact, is worth shit.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[catgirl]

14. i commented to Prosense

about reps (regardless of their party) who bash Obama about the tax deal, etc. after the fact, when it should
never have come to this in the first place. How dare you censure and twist my comments- asking me if I'm a
DEMOCRAT? Where did I attack her for a vote on Israel? (Not that I support giving them money for their military).

[brentspeak]

15. If you didn't attack her for her vote on Israel, then why did you call her a "hypocrite"?

You apparently need some background on the whole tax deal matter:

Obama did not include the Democrats in his "negotiations" with the Republicans. He left them out-of-the-loop -- completely. It "came to this in the first place" because they were never allowed to have a say in the first place -- or in the second place, or in the third place. Speier is quite clear on this in the article. Obama spoke with the Republicans, but he did not speak to the Democrats. The White House has openly admitted this.

[catgirl]

17. Again- read the post that I actually commented on please

Nothing to do with Israel whatsoever. Okay?

[John Q. Citizen]

16. i think Obama needs to get a grip. his loss in the mid terms has pushed him to

completely repudiate the people who elected him.

Here is the bottom line as I see it. I'm not going to be told one week that Social security and Medicare is in big trouble, but then next week lets cut the funding by 2% and divorce the workers money from the workers retirement system.

That's a big No! That's insane.

Until Obama gets it, I will continue to repeat it.

No!


(It's easy to see how this worked for the Republicans. You should try it. It really works. See already the bill has changed some, even though the President said , "No changes," see everyone knew he didn't really mean it. So we are going to get more before we let this go ahead. Give it a try, Pro Sense, just tell Obama "No"and watch how quick he folds.)

[brentspeak]

18. Gee, I wonder what the Obama payroll tax holiday has to do with the GOP attempting to privatize SS?

"What the hell does the tax deal have to do with Bush trying to privatize Social Security?"

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/10/131969824/some-worry-payroll-tax-cut-threatens-social-security

But Altman, and some Democratic lawmakers, worry that if the payroll tax cut becomes permanent, Congress will balk at making up the shortfall year after year with general revenues.

"If we start to fund Social Security through general revenue," says Rep. Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat, "given where we are today, through deficit spending, it will permit those who would like to, move away from our long-standing, successful Social Security program to privatization and to benefit cuts. It will enable them to make those arguments in a way that they've never been able to make them before."

Deutch says he has no doubt that a year from now some Republicans will try to make the payroll tax cut permanent.

Of course, you were completely unaware of the connection and had never heard about it up until now.......

[Bluenorthwest]

23. To mock the courage of Representative Speier takes some

nerve. This is one of the finest Democrats in the House, and a woman who could have easily run from public service, as her first boss died in front of her, Democratic Congressman Leo Ryan, the only United States Congressperson ever to die in the line of duty. Speier was assisting Ryan when they were ambushed at Jonestown, where they had come at the request of Ryan's constituents with family members there.
So sure, let's sneer at the courage of this Democrat. What a twisted world this has become, when our bravest have to face this sort of framing. Dastardly, I call it.

[ProSense]

29. Hey,

sue me for defending the President. If she can vote for the spending bill with all its freezes, then I have no problem with being critical.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

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[xiamiam]

43. + 10000..nt

[Supersedeas]

52. the for him or against him attitude is alive and well for a third term

the sometimes position which reveals false dichotomies is a more sophisticated stance reserved for rational appraisal of Republican President's only....apparently.

[boppers]

30. "I don't know what I believe"

Wow.

How facile.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

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[boppers]

36. She was an aid on a trip 32 years ago, and therefore doesn't have to know what she believes?

Yeah, but no.

You can only run on a sympathy vote for so long, before you have to actually address problems and begin thinking.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

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[boppers]

40. I cannot parse your second sentence.

"offensive seed"?

[CreekDog]

56. and her husband was killed in the 90s leaving her a widow with a young child

but do keep mocking her strength.

and when I was attending her town hall meeting on the health care bill she was very clear about what she thought was good in the bill and what wasn't and also why she supported it anyway.

To help the audience understand, everytime she referred to Medicare she called it a government run single payer system calling it efficient and effective except for its private Medicare advantage plans which she said were not as good yet they were more costly.

[CreekDog]

32. I don't like your mocking of her. she was shot and survived ambush by Jim jones' thugs

She laid on there runway for five hours with five bullets in her before she was found. she also played dead. her boss, Leo Ryan was assassinated in the same place.

I think her courage has been well demonstrated.

[ProSense]

34. Tragic events, but

what does that have to do with my criticizing her for these comments?

[CreekDog]

39. mocking her courage

Why do I even point this out to you? leaving it to stand on its own makes you seem so value and uninformed. or justt pain mean. There are lots of adjectives that better suit your criticism and you picked the dumbest, most ill fitting one.

[Union Scribe]

46. You mocked her courage

and it looks like you stepped in it.

[eridani]

45. Cutting the fucking PAYROLL TAX is directly defunding Social Security

It is an explicit attack that will lead to benefit cuts or even getting rid of it, should it be allowed to stand.

[ProSense]

54. No, it isn't n/t

[eridani]

58. All SocSec predictions of full benefits were made on the basis of the current tax

The cut is a full frontal assault on Social Security.

[Marnie]

57. I have been calling Obama Bush light since

his campaign when he said he would attack Pakistan.

But for a Democratic President to give FDR hating Republicans (they still havent' figured out now socially sick it is to continue to attach the victories of a man who has been dead for over a half a century) their greatest victory is just surreal.

Not only is this a total betrayal of all Democrats, it is illogical to attack the one fully funded part of the Government's budget. It's bad enough the WH has been borrowing with it as the collateral but mutilating it to death was the Republicans agenda, which now Obama has made his agenda.

The Democratic party and the Democrats in congress need to go rogue on the WH. They are already largely excluded from Obama's meetings with Republican leaders so they can't object to his give aways, and what ever else he gets for selling his own party out, so why should they even pretned to be loyal to him.

Look after you voters Democrats, its time for that back bone.

[tabatha]

3. That's the truth.

Jackie Speier is a VERY courageous person.

[jannyk]

4. k&r!

[glitch]

5. Good. More Democrats need to speak out on this values shift. nt

[CakeGrrl]

6. Too bad they waited this long to become so outspoken. n/t

[catgirl]

10. I just said the same thing

Easy to throw someone under the bus for their own failures. If our reps had done their jobs, we
would have a good tax bill, not a compromise. Then they blame Obama. That is disgusting. THEY
are the ones who need to be primaried next time for not doing their jobs.

[Laelth]

Congress carried water for Obama for two years.

Congress gave the President pretty much everything he wanted. We had a very disciplined caucus. Most Democrats in Congress supported the President's agenda and did not make waves, even if they privately disagreed with him. They did not challenge him, for the most part, in public.

Then came the 2010 elections, and Democrats in Congress got to see, first hand, what they gained by following Obama lock-step. They were slaughtered.

Now, Congressional Democrats are finding their independence again. Personally, I think that's a good thing.

-Laelth

[Ikonoklast]

53. They were busy ducking and covering 'til after the elections.

Fingers in the wind, the lot of them are all political cowards.


Now that President Obama has actually gone agead and tried to fix this mess, they all can come out and start sniping.

[Starry Messenger]

11. Yay!

My rep (and yes I voted for her reelection last month).

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

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[Starry Messenger]

41. I have them all on ignore.

I think I can see about 10 people who post in here. :rofl: I just left a thank you on Rep. Speier's FB discussion page. She's been a heroine of mine since Jonestown. Anyone who thinks she is at all weak is totally ignorant of history.

""The president made a tactical mistake by thinking he could negotiate with the minority members of the Senate and think that's good public policy," she said. "Last time I checked, we didn't have rings in our noses."

Obama's circumvention of Democrats led to a raucous meeting Thursday of the House Democratic Caucus, which emerged with a message of opposition to the president's plan.

"It was very animated," Speier said of the meeting. "It's about core values. And they have just been uprooted and tossed aside."

<snip>

Speier also thought it was rich that, following months of talk about bringing the national debt under control, the president and Republicans are planning to add nearly $1 trillion to the debt with money, she said, borrowed from China.

"You just declared bankruptcy, and you're going out on a shopping spree," she said."


She just ate everyone's lunch. I love it.

[Dr.Phool]

50. While some stood up against the Kool-Aid drinkers,

Others are standing in line for theirs.

[thelordofhell]

20. Why is Jackie attacking the President......this is ALL the Senate's fault

Everything the House and the President proposes gets crushed in the Senate.

[zulchzulu]

21. Shhh!

You're interrupting a perfectly well-rehearsed circular firing squad! It's also a benefit if you are civics-challenged and a partisan purist who wants your pony.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

24. We Have Been On Different Sides Before

But I ask you will he/us/we ever recover from this.

[catgirl]

26. That must be too obvious

How many legislative votes passed in the house that got crushed by the senate? How the blame has shifted to Obama is beyond me.

[Exilednight]

27. It's called leadership. Obama is the leader of the Democratic party. If this was just a hot button

issue for so long, then he should of started shouting from the rafters over a year ago.

[egoclothes]

28. Payroll tax cut worries Social Security advocates

I am very worried that this issue was tossed into the "deal".


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101212/ap_on_bi_ge/us_payroll_tax_holiday

Payroll tax cut worries Social Security advocates

AP – FILE - This Feb. 15, 2010 file photo shows House Social Security subcommittee Chairman Rep. Earl Pomeroy, … By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press – Sun Dec 12, 2:43 pm ET
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's plan to cut payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers, but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the retirement program's finances.

The plan is part of a package of tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax cut; those making $100,000 would get a $2,000 tax cut.

The government would borrow about $112 billion to make Social Security whole. Advocates and some lawmakers worry that relying on borrowed money to fund Social Security could eventually force it to compete with other federal programs for scarce dollars, leading to cuts.

Social Security taxes "ought to be held sacrosanct," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security.

..............................

[impik]

25. Another "brave" Democrat who refused to vote BEFORE the election, and now blame the president for

saving their stupid ass.

[CakeGrrl]

31. That's it in a nutshell. Funny how all these Democratic voices are JUST NOW being heard. n/t

[democracy1st]

48. but you don't see anything wrong with what Obama has done or continued to do?

[704wipes]

51. Because no one in their right mind would have conceived that

the president would compromise away funding for a huge successful legacy progressive program THAT WORKS, and claim it was something the Republicans relented on. Congressional Dems didn't say anything before hand on this because WE THE PEOPLE we're completed blind-sided by it. And now they try to bamboozle us with spin and PR that it was something the GOP 'gave' us in the negotiations that did not include the Democratic Congress which is currently seated.

That's why your post and Obama's give-away is BULL.FUCKING.SHIT.

[Bluenorthwest]

55. You need to cite back up that Speier 'refused to vote'

You are making a claim about a courageous, long term elected Democrat. The woman has taken bullits in the line of service. To imply that she is not a brave person shows nothing but your lack of knowledge.
So prove to us that she refused to vote. You make a strong claim. Back it up.

[BlueIris]

42. Thanks, Rep. Speier. You are a brave lady. nt

[Enthusiast]

44. This is an assault on Social Security!

:fistbump:

[democracy1st]

47. +1

[Dr.Phool]

49. It's an assault (another) on the working class.

Social Security being just one in a long line.