Practically Delusional (New House Bill)

[brooklynite]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Just minutes after President Obama urged the parties to come together and avert this default crisis, things are actually going backwards in the House. And in pretty incredible fashion.

To secure enough votes from his own members for his plan, Speaker Boehner is amending it to basically turn it into Cut, Cap, and Balance Lite.

Here's the key new provision that is apparently going to win enough GOP votes to pass the bill:

The debt ceiling would be raised immediately but not by enough to get the government through next year. To get the second debt ceiling increase, House Republicans want a balanced budget constitutional amendment to pass both chambers first and be referred to the states.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/07/practically_delusional.php?ref=fpblg

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Basically, what we have here is a demand that the Senate votes the way

that a minority of an oppositional party in another Chamber wants it to vote before it lifts the debt ceiling in the future; otherwise, default.

John, you're going in the wrong direction . . . .

[karynnj]

6. Good summary

and the idea of C,C and B has already been voted down by every one caucusing with the Democrats.

The RW is arguing that tabling it is not letting it come to a vote, but the fact is that to pass it they would have needed 60 votes - and 53 are unobtainable.

[eleny]

2. That sounds like another DOA

What's left?

[Amonester]

3. Leadership (14th). eom

[Igel]

20. Yeah, people think he's quite a Gaius.

The 14th would make a dandy prelude to a first settlement, though, sadly, probably with the House and not the Senate--although one would have to wonder what kind of fugue would follow it in counterpoint.

Happily, many already consider Obama to be quite augustus, so there'd be no problems there, and many already believe that the US is an empire. I guess that means we're just waiting for our caesar to come and deliver us from the Republicans.

Of course, we'd really have to criminalize the spelling of "hail" as "heil," lest offense be given.

[brooklynite]

5. The GOOD news about this Bill...

...is that it's nutty enough to pass the House, at which point it will be blown out of the water by the Senate (probably with a couple Republicans joining in), and we can move along to the end game.

[Dappleganger]

4. So this is why Bonehead was grinning?

Seems to me he's already run through his daily Jack Daniels quota.

[soleft]

7. Maybe the Republicans realize the only way they can win in 2012

is to impeach Obama. Force him to use the 14th amendment, impeach him and run against Biden.

[Mz Pip]

9. They'll never get a conviction

It will just turn into another political circus.

The last Impeachment was just a long drawn out reality show with all the GOP hacks pushing for some face time for their 15 minutes of fame.

[soleft]

12. Who convicts? Both House and Senate?

[Mz Pip]

15. The Senate

The House acts as the Prosecution and Defense and the Senate acts as the jury with a 2/3 majority needed to convict.

[Jon Ace]

19. No conviction then. (nt)

[eleny]

11. The House can impeach but the Senate won't finish the job

And I believe that the president would emerge even stronger. Impeachment would be a major fail.

[soleft]

13. Thanks

[Mz Pip]

8. I just fired off another email

to him and told him to stop holding the American people hostage and to actually look up the word "Compromise" in the dictionary. It does not mean getting everything you want.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

10. Delusional? Yes. But the new provisions could give Rs more leverage in conference

more leverage in conference should Pelosi and Houyer prove unable to get 21 House Republicans to vote for the Reid bill (There are 195 Democrats in the House to bring the vote up to the needed 216).

Should each bill pass only one house of Congress, a House-Senate conference this weekend would have to merge them into one bill that will be the "Last One Standing" on Monday. And a more extreme House bill today would give Republicans more leverage in conference than they would have had yesterday or the day before.

[Wait Wut]

14. This asshole is determined to lose.

Problem is, he's trying to take our country with him.


When I win the lottery I'm taking each and every one of you to DC with me. I'm no anarchist and my radical days are over, but I'm sick of these pricks and really, really need to scream in Boehner's face until he cries.

We need a few more millionaires on our side to buy us some busses and cool signs.

[florida08]

16. Harry Reid looks exhausted

He's talking about the House now on MSNBC. Not going to pass this one either. Going to meet with McConnel for more compromise..
*gasp*

[florida08]

17. self delete

[Jon Ace]

18. Rinse and repeat. (nt)

[Igel]

21. I'm less cynical.

It evinces a truly phenomenal degree of distrust and naivete, both at the same time. Right off the scales.

The assumption that if the amendment and budget ceiling bills both pass the House only one would even be considered in the Senate is probably true. The general attitude is that the other side aren't really people, much less Americans. A dim view is taken of calling their patriotism into question mostly because the answer is considered so given that it's a waste of time and breath, and somebody might burp out the wrong answer.

At the same time, it's hopelessly naive because the distrust is entirely appropriate. Even if Reid and Boehner each promised to sacrifice his own neighbor's kids if he didn't submit the bill to pass, he'd probably already have the knife at hand. It wouldn't pass. Wouldn't be considered.

Silly, that.

Then again, feeling a great surge of cynicism coming in, it's no sillier than the rest of the spectacle being performed by harlequins, each with his own individually authored script.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. We are beyond the Great Compromise of 1850

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850

And it is time the WH wakes up this new reality...

[dana_b]

23. I agree - this is beyond absurd & dangerous n/t

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

24. NPR interviewed some House Republicans today.

It was stated that the legislation needed to go more to the right, that there was plenty of room there. One Republican noted that a BBA would allow future cuts to social programs, in spite of such moves being unpopular with voters, because the legislators could point out that they were forced to do it by the amendment. I thought this was a surprisingly open declaration of their intent.

This poster is really not liking the way things seem to be moving. Seems increasingly like the fix is in, and has been for quite some time.