San Jose Mercury News tears the supercommittee a new one

[KamaAina]

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_19320527

As the Thanksgiving deadline approaches for the congressional super committee on deficit reduction to complete its work, the whole thing is starting to look like a big, fat turkey.

It's difficult to gauge which is worse: the committee's lack of progress toward a deal to cut the federal deficit by at least $1.2 trillion, or the total absence of sunshine on the proceedings. No wonder Congress' approval rating has sunk to single digits, a new low.

The fact that the nation's future is being negotiated in secret, during closed hearings, is an affront to Americans and should outrage Republicans and Democrats alike. Advocates of open government are demanding that any bill that goes before the House or Senate be posted online for all to see at least 72 hours in advance of any vote. Amen to that.

In retrospect, it was Pollyanna optimism to think a committee like this could bridge the huge gap between Democrats and Republicans on the deficit. We had hoped compromise would be spurred by the prospect of devastating cuts that automatically are triggered if the committee fails to reach agreement. Instead, the triggers mostly have inspired creative proposals from both sides of the aisle to avoid defense and domestic cuts without solving anything.

:rofl:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. I, for one, feel comforted by the fact that a Mom-In-Tennis-Shoes is covering my back.

:rofl:

[Missy Vixen]

3. Senator Murray actually cares about her constituents

We're living proof.

Thanks for your concern.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. She's one of my Senators.

Thanks for yours.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Truce: Let's talk after the finding.

[Missy Vixen]

7. I would love to

We're still in our house because of Patty Murray. I hope she's the voice of reason in those negotiations.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. She won't be. It'll be deadlocked or horrendous.

I wish I didn't feel it were so.

[Warpy]

11. None of those old boys is being reasonable

so the voice of reason is falling on deaf ears. We can only hope they stalemate, that what they hand Congress is so unpalatable to both parties that it fails, and that the whole thing is drop kicked to the next Congress and that OWS has opened enough eyes in this country that we get rid of all the conservative dead wood in both parties. At least if Blue Dogs get defeated, it will take incoming Republicans a little time on the learning curve to learn how to steal.

This Congress should have been written off by all of us in November, 2010 when the election returns came in. Republicans got the house and they're incapable of running a charity car wash, let alone a government.

Our best hope is to GOTV and get rid of enough conservatives that the next Congress can make a difference.

[gratuitous]

2. Gosh, who could have predicted this?

Okay, don't everyone raise your hand at once! Calm down.

Gee, they're going to push their deadline right to the very brink and then, because Something Must Be Done, the worst aspects of all the bad ideas will be agglomerated, and we'll get this "bipartisan" "compromise" proposal that just happens to be 98% of what Yertle McConnell wants.

What do I win?

[TheWraith]

8. Nope. There will be no deal.

That's been the overwhelming likelihood from the beginning.

[DCBob]

6. Actually the end result will most likely be exactly what Obama and Dems wanted in the first place..

an increase in the debt limit and nothing else.

[GeorgeGist]

10. It would appear the the super secret Super Committee ...

isn't real. Par for the course.