Political Ruminations

Quote of the Day: Joe Biden (updated)

In Virginia today, Joe Biden was characteristically outspoken about Romney-Ryan plans for the House Republican budget and Wall Street regulation:

“They've said it. Every Republican's voted for it. Look at what they value, and look at their budget [the Ryan Plan]. And look at what they're proposing.

He [Romney] said in the first hundred days, he's going to let the big banks write their own rules — unchain Wall Street. They're going to put y'all back in chains.”

UPDATE: Republicans were having a pure hissy fit over Vice President Biden’s use of the word “chains”[known in grade school as “they can dish it out, but they can’t take it”], so he tried to clarify the “chains” remark by putting it in further context. ABC News, emphasis mine:

In a speech in Wyethville, Va., on Tuesday afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden attempted to clarify comments he made at a stop in Danville that morning in which he said Mitt Romney will try to “put y’all back in chains” by deregulating Wall Street, a remark the Republican nominee called “outrageous.” The vice president said he misspoke and intended to use the word “unshackle,” which has been used by the GOP in the past.

“We don’t have to imagine anymore. The details are there. Here’s what Congressman Ryan said. He said, ‘We believe a renewed commitment to limited government will unshackle our economy.’ The Speaker of the House said, used the word ‘unshackled’ as well, referring to their proposals. The last time these guys unshackled the economy, to use their term, they put the middle class in shackles. That’s how we got where we are,” Biden said in Wyethville.

“I’m told that when I made that comment earlier today in Danville, Virginia, the Romney campaign put out a tweet. You know, tweets these days? Put out a tweet, went on the airwaves saying, ‘Biden, he’s outrageous in saying that,’ I think I said instead of ‘unshackled,’ ‘unchained.’ ‘Outrageous to say that.’ That’s what we had. I’m using their own words. I got a message for them. If you want to know what’s outrageous, it’s their policies and the effects of their policies on middle class America. That’s what’s outrageous,” Biden added.

The reaction from Imani Gandy aka Angry Black Lady, was righteously and scathingly dismissive of Mitt Romney’s reaction to Joe Biden’s use of a slavery metaphor:

“Oh my gawl, you guys, did you hear? Uncle Joe used slavery as a metaphor for what Mitt Romney and Wall Street have planned for us hapless 99 percenters Negroes Latinos immigrants women seniors POCs LGBTers Americans and the Romney campaign is outraged by the slander! Outraged, I say! This is a new low in politics!”

All fakey Romney hissy fits aside, Joe Biden is right. If Republicans regain power they have very clearly indicated that the middle class will continue to be decimated— both through their stated plans to further deregulate the financial industry (because you, know, it worked so well prior to the financial crisis of 2008),  and through the Romney-Ryan budget and tax plan.

Chart of the Day: GOP Deficit Hawk Fakery

Krugman’s chart illustrates what U.S. debt would look like under the plan of the Obama administration, as well as under the plans of the four remaining Republican presidential wannabes.

U.S. debt would be much higher under all of the Republican plans except Paul’s, and as Krugman pointed out, Paul’s plan includes “huge and probably impossible spending cuts”.

Deficit hawk fakery.........don’t catch it!

Rand Paul Lies About Public Sector Workers

I guess I could say he “made false claims”, but “lies” is shorter.

From Think Progress:

Yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) appeared on Fox Business Network to continue this war on labor rights, using his time on the station to attack unions and claim their pay and benefits are too high. At one point during the interview, the senator began attacking “government unions,” saying they are “going to have to” contribute to their pensions and health care plans, just like Paul has to as a senator, and that Kentuckians back home don’t have any sympathy for government union workers because they pay for their retirements:

PAUL: Federal employees have almost double the compensation that private employees have. [...] Maybe these government unions are going to have to contribute to their pension, maybe they’re going to have to pay something for their health care, like I’m having to pay, so when I hear regular taxpayers in Kentucky they don’t have a lot of sympathy because they’re paying high insurance premiums and they have to pay for their own retirements.

Watch;

Republicans Caught: They DO Want a Government Shutdown

Although Republicans keep on saying that they don’t want a government shutdown, and although Republicans will try to blame it on Democrats when they do actually shut down the federal government (rest assured, they will shut it down in April), but yet….here they are, recently caught on tape spewing in favor of a federal government shutdown.

Transcript of remarks made by Republican lawmakers in favor of a federal government shutdown below the video.

Watch:

More “I’m a fiscal Conservative” Hypocrisy From Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby

From 1987 through the current year, Sen. Shelby has introduced a Constitutional amendment which would require Congress to adhere to a balanced budget

On February 1, 2011, I introduced a Constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance our nation’s budget.  I have introduced this legislation in every Congress since 1987 and will continue to fight for its enactment.  A balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is the only certain mechanism that will break the cycle of deficit spending and finally put our nation on a path to paying off our national debt.

Recently, Sen. Shelby published a statement in which he states that “Washington must put its fiscal house in order.”

Paul Krugman on the Budget Debate: It’s Fraudulent

A quote from Krugman on the budget debate, who has a great piece up, ‘Willie Sutton Wept’.

There are three things you need to know about the current budget debate. First, it’s essentially fraudulent. Second, most people posing as deficit hawks are faking it. Third, while President Obama hasn’t fully avoided the fraudulence, he’s less bad than his opponents — and he deserves much more credit for fiscal responsibility than he’s getting.

Fake Deficit Hawks

Nothing new, but I've been angry at the bullshit right wing budget process over the past few days, and just have to point out that If Republicans really cared about the deficit, they'd be amenable to raising tax rates on the wealthy.

The fact that they adamantly refuse to raise rates on the wealthy is certainly a strong indication that they don't really give a damn about the deficit, OR U.S. debt.

Hell, if they cared, they would demand higher rates. Bastards.

Update on the GOP Battle Against the Affordable Care Act

I was embroiled in personal issues over the past couple of weeks, and consequently missed posting about several significant events in the Republican battle to repeal the the Affordable Care Act, which I think is definitely important enough to keep up with, thus, this catch-up post..

First, on January 20, the Republican controlled House voted unanimously to repeal the ACA, or as Republicans like to [falsely] call it, “the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act”. . HuffPost:

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans voted unanimously on Wednesday to fully repeal health care reform, though Senate leaders have said they will not take up the lower chamber's bill. Instead, the fight will move to the less glamorous arenas of funding and rule writing. The vote was 245-189, with three Democrats -- Dan Boren (D-Okla.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), and Mike Ross (D-Ark.) -- voting for repeal.

This despite the fact that a majority of Americans do not support repeal, and many more would not support repeal had the GOP not engendered and publicized so many lies about the ACA, not the least of which is the so called job killing aspect of it [the truth is that insuring 30 million more people would create thousands of jobs in the health care industry], and the blatant lie that the law would increase the deficit. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the law would decrease the deficit, and repealing it would increase the deficit by 200 million. deficit  From the CBO blog:

Republicans Vote En Masse Against Feeding Hungry American Kids

157 Republicans voted against the deficit-cutting Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act . From Think Progress:

Well-versed in obstructing help to the hungry, House Republicans first blocked, then voted against the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act yesterday, a bill that “would give more needy children the opportunity to eat free lunches at school and make those lunches healthier.” The Senate passed this bill by unanimous consent in August — essentially a 100-0 vote in favor of providing school meals to the nation’s 17 million hungry kids

How do these people face themselves in the mirror every day? And HOW in the hell can they justify demanding that the Bush tax cuts for MILLIONAIRES be extended to the tune of 830 billion dollars, all of which gets tacked on to the deficit, and allow American children to go hungry??!!!

UPDATE 1 - DEC. 3: The bill is on its way to President Obama for signing, no thanks to Republicans in the House.

Republicans Hold Expired Unemployment Benefits Hostage

Yesterday, Democrats introduced a proposal to extend unemployment benefits through 2011, at a cost of $56 million, without offsets. Republican, Scott Brown [R-MA] singlehandedly shut them down with a refusal to consider the proposal unless the cost is paid for. 2.5 million unemployed Americans are left with out needed aid just in time for the holidays.

After his objection, Brown offered his own proposal for a year-long extension as long as the Office of Management and Budget finds funds from already approved appropriations to pay for it. But Democrats turned down the plan because, as Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) noted, “we have to deal with the immediate crisis” and “the families that are struggling today.” This, of course, was the governing philosophy of both parties when they passed unemployment extension seven times under the Bush Administration. In fact, before yesterday, Congress went 40 years without allowing extended unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate was above 7.2 percent. The unemployment rate today stands at 9.6 percent.

And yet, Scott Brown, along with his Republican cronies in Congress, want to give millionaires a gift by extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy at a cost of $830 billion with no offsets.

But, in a video released this morning, Brown defended his opposition, saying he “disagreed” that Congress should “pay for unemployment benefits” by “putting more debt on the credit card.” A curious position considering Brown is more than happy to slap the nation with a $830 billion bill in order to extend the Bush tax cuts for the top two percent of wealthy Americans. In touting the GOP’s absurd logic, Brown and his GOP colleagues champion an extension that provides “virtually no economic stimulus,” while rebuking one that “contribute[s] powerfully to the economic growth that is vital for a healthy budget.”

Watch the faces of the unemployed.

This morning, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) called Brown’s vote against 60,000 Massachusetts workers “outrageous” and a “question of national character.” “We need Scott Brown to see and be worried about the people of the Commonwealth who are trying to get groceries on the table while they continue to look for work,” he said. But, according to his schedule, Brown is busy focusing on his Christmas-themed fundraisers this week.

Bastards.

Morning Quote

Newly ordained Kentucky TeaPublican Senator, Rand Paul on Medicare during a 1998 appearance on the public affairs program, Kentucky Tonight. Paul criticized the government for not allowing the market to decide the amount of reimbursement doctors should receive from Medicare. He also said that the market should decide health care prices.

The fundamental reason why Medicare is failing is why the Soviet Union failed -- socialism doesn't work. You have ... no price fluctuation.

Of course, the opthomologist had/has no dog in this fight.

And helllooo, if the government allowed the market to decide on the amount of reimbursement to doctors, wouldn't that mean more government spending? Why, yes, I believe it would.

Senate Republicans Will Filibuster Extension of Middle Class Tax Cuts if Wealthy Excluded From Extension

Kiss our collective derrieres, Senators. Republican Senators. Mitch McConnell.  F**king Bankster Politicians.

Is there a single Republican Senator who stands for the middle class? The answer is a resounding “NO”.

To a person, every Senate Republican has promised to filibuster an extension of middle class tax cuts if the Bush cuts for the wealthy are not also extended.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for McConnell said today that every Senate Republican has pledged to oppose any attempt to extend the Bush tax cuts that doesn't include an extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy. McConnell himself has given similar remarks.

The Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of the year, and Mr. Obama has strongly urged Congress to extend them for everyone except for Americans making more than $200,000 or households making more than $250,000. Republicans, by contrast have called for a extension of all the tax cuts.

Yeah Mitch, let’s just hand another $100k of taxpayer money to every millionaire household.

Makes perfect sense, since they really, really need it.

A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year -- and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation's millionaires, according to a congressional analysis released Wednesday.

New data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation show that households earning more than $1 million a year would reap nearly $31 billion in tax breaks under the GOP plan in 2011, for an average tax cut per household of about $100,000.

A millionaire bailout. In 2011, $31 billion out of $36 billion of the cost for this extension would go to the wealthy. Meanwhile, over the next ten years, we would add $3.5 trillion to both our debt and our deficit.

And, count on Republicans voting against another stimulus, or an extension of unemployment benefits. Cause, hey, you know, let them eat cake.

*Emphasis in blockquotes is mine.

New DNC Ad Targets John Boehner

This new DNC ad makes it clear that John Boehner's economic plan includes shipping our jobs overseas via tax cuts for big business.

Lobbyists Heart John Boehner as GOP Plots House Takeover

Yesterday, The New York Times did a piece on the logistics of the care and feeding of House Minority Leader, John Boehner.

You know, that Republican, that guy that refuses to cast a yes vote to pay for health care for 9-11 heroes because of his fake deficit hawkishness, but demands that we extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. The same guy who would become the Speaker of the House, third in line for the presidency, should Republicans retake the House in November. That guy moron.

WASHINGTON — House Democrats were preparing late last year for the first floor vote on the financial regulatory overhaul when Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders summoned more than 100 industry lobbyists and conservative political activists to Capitol Hill for a private strategy session.

The bill’s passage in the House already seemed inevitable. But Mr. Boehner and his deputies told the Wall Street lobbyists and trade association leaders that by teaming up, they could still perhaps block its final passage or at least water it down.

“We need you to get out there and speak up against this,” Mr. Boehner said that December afternoon, according to three people familiar with his remarks, while also warning against cutting side deals with Democrats.

That sort of alliance — they won a few skirmishes, though they lost the war on the regulatory bill — is business as usual for Mr. Boehner, the House minority leader and would-be speaker if Republicans win the House in November. He maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R. J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS.

They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed.

Meanwhile, the GOP is already secretly plotting their moves for  "when" Boehner becomes the Speaker.

House Republicans have held a series of private discussions to plot their first moves if they win the majority in November — with plans to use spending bills and subpoenas to rein in President Barack Obama and satiate their own ravenous base.

Republicans recognize they won’t be able to do any broad governing even if they take back the House; they’d hold just one chamber of Congress, or at most one branch of government, if they also win the Senate. So officials familiar with the early discussions say they’ve centered on undoing key parts of the Obama agenda and repositioning Republicans as the party of fiscal responsibility heading into 2012 — a mantle the GOP surrendered during the big-spending George W. Bush years.

The plans presently under discussion include defunding some parts of the new health care law and delaying implementation of others, withholding some of the unspent stimulus funds and using the oversight power of Republican-led committees to investigate the Obama administration.

“The goal, obviously, would be to make it a one-term presidency,” said a GOP lobbyist briefed on the talks.

I will be at the polls in November to vote. We can’t afford to let Republicans govern. Hell no.

---

RELATED POSTS:

~ John Boehner is a Moron Whose Economic Plan Would Devastate the U.S. Economy

~ John Boehner is an Idiot

~ John Boehner wants to repeal the financial reform bill

Video: Obama Rebuts John Boehner's "Economic Plan"

During Obama's speech in Parma, Ohio today, he made it a point to rebut the remarks John Boehner  made to an Ohio audience a couple of weeks ago. Via Jon Cohn, Obama:

A few weeks ago, the Republican leader of the House came here to Cleveland and offered his party’s answer to our economic challenges.  Now, it would be one thing if he admitted his party’s mistakes during the eight years they were in power, and was offering a credible new approach to solving our country’s problems.
 
But that’s not what happened.  There were no new policies from Mr. Boehner.  There were no new ideas.  There was just the same philosophy we already tried for the last decade – the same philosophy that led to this mess in the first place:  cut more taxes for millionaires and cut more rules for corporations.  Instead of coming together like past generations did to build a better country for our children and grandchildren, their argument is that we should let insurance companies go back to denying care to folks who are sick, and let credit card companies go back to raising rates without any reason.  Instead of setting our sights higher, they’re asking us to settle for a status quo of stagnant growth, eroding competitiveness, and a shrinking middle class.

Let's hope that this means the end of bipartisanship for a while.

ht Bob Cesca

John Boehner is a Moron Whose Economic Plan Would Devastate the U.S. Economy

Boehner, Fake Deficit Hawk that he is, would add approximately $3.7 trillion to our deficit over the next ten years if his economic proposals were followed.

Yes indeed, House Minority Leader, John Boehner, aka Orange Man, is one of the biggest and dumbest of the fake deficit hawks, and my opinion of this dunce was once again borne out when he gave an economic address in Ohio this week. Via Huffington Post:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) was short on specifics during his much-touted economic address in Cleveland this week, promising to offer a more detailed plan as the election approached.

But the Ohio Republican did outline some ideas about how President Obama could restructure both his White House staff and the economy. And in a subsequent report analyzing his suggestions -- which included the firing of top economic advisers -- the progressive think tank NDN estimates that the plans could exacerbate the deficit by roughly $3.7 trillion over the next ten years.

NDN is, obviously, not an un-biased source in the debate. But they base much of their data on non-partisan indicators. Boehner's suggestions stand little chance of becoming law. They were offered, primarily, as a counterpoint to the agenda that the president is pushing. But NDN's President and Founder Simon Rosenberg makes the case that in a year when deficit reduction is a cause celebre, Democrats would be well served, simply, by highlighting the numbers.

You can read the full report of Boehner’s plan to increase the deficit by $3.7 trillion on Huffington Post.

Fareed Zakaria on the extension of the Bush tax cuts:

Most conservatives have been very concerned about America's sky high deficits. They believe they are a dire and urgent threat to the country's future. So when an opportunity presents itself to cut that deficit massively in one fell swoop you'd think they would jump at the chance, right? But they haven't.

You see, George Bush's massive tax cuts are the single largest chunk of our structural budget deficit.

Take a look at this chart. It shows the deficit growth over the next ten years, and the red stripe shows just how much those Bush tax cuts add to the deficit. Well, those tax cuts are due to expire at the end of the year. Were the tax cuts to expire, the budget deficit would instantly shrink, by about 30% or more than $300 billion dollars.

But Republicans are now adamantly opposed to any expiration of the Bush tax cuts, because, they say, that would weaken the economy. But wait a minute. They have been arguing for the last year that what's weakening the economy most is the prospect of unending budget deficits.

Paul Krugman on the extension of the Bush tax cuts:

We need to pinch pennies these days. Don’t you know we have a budget deficit? For months that has been the word from Republicans and conservative Democrats, who have rejected every suggestion that we do more to avoid deep cuts in public services and help the ailing economy.

But these same politicians are eager to cut checks averaging $3 million each to the richest 120,000 people in the country.

What — you haven’t heard about this proposal? Actually, you have: I’m talking about demands that we make all of the Bush tax cuts, not just those for the middle class, permanent.

Some background: Back in 2001, when the first set of Bush tax cuts was rammed through Congress……

The related charts are telling. And Boehner’s plan to increase our deficit by $3.7 trillion is nothing more than a hideous joke which could become a fact of life if Republicans regain control of Congress in November.

Virginia's Governor McDonnell Credits Conservatives for the Budget Surplus Acquired Through the Obama Stimulus Plan

Some people have taken hypocrisy and made it an art. Republican Governor Bob McDonnell is one of those.

Loudly gloating about Virginia's budget surplus of $403.2 million during a speech to the legislature, he enumerated the factors contributing to said surplus, and during an appearance on Fox Business network, he continued to claim conservative principles as the reason for Virginia's surplus.

Well it took a lot of work and a lot of bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature but I think we took a very conservative, fiscal, practical approach to budget. You can’t spend what you don’t have.

The truth is another matter.

McDonnell’s “prudence” would be a shining example for the federal government if he hadn’t relied on one important contributor: the federal government. According to a Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis report released this week, last year’s Recovery Act provided $2.5 billion in stimulus relief to “maintain crucial services for [Virginia] citizens” and “help close the state’s budget shortfall in 2010-2012.” Virginia legislators relied on $1.3 billion in enhanced Medicaid funding, $1 billion in funding for K-12 and higher education, $39 million for public safety, and $200 million in general support to reduce “what would otherwise have been a $5.4 billion budget hole.”

Selective amnesia on the part of McDonnell? Indeed.

But McDonnell has a history of selective amnesia when it comes to Recovery funds. During his gubernatorial campaign, McDonnell continually criticized the Recovery Act as a “massive” spending bill that would “do little to help the economy.” But, while in office, McDonnell heralded $24 million in federal funding to advance health information technology while sweeping the fact that it was stimulus funding under the rug. He even requested stimulus funds to cover rising health care costs and to help build a Rolls Royce manufacturing plant in Prince George County. As one Virginia legislator put it, “we wouldn’t even be talking about the surplus if it weren’t for the stimulus.” 

From a comment on Think Progress:

Do the math:

started with 1.8 billion in the hole.

Add 2.5 billion from the fed stimulus.

Equals .7 billion in the black.

Ended with .4 billion in the black.

Fiscal responsibility and conservative principles somehow swallowed .3 billion!

Via Think Progress

Republicans Want to Give $100K to Every Millionaire!

A millionaire bailout.

A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year -- and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation's millionaires, according to a congressional analysis released Wednesday.

New data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation show that households earning more than $1 million a year would reap nearly $31 billion in tax breaks under the GOP plan in 2011, for an average tax cut per household of about $100,000.

F**k the Republican Party!

Via Bob Cesca

Jon Stewart Takes on the Hypocrisy of Republicans re the Deficit and the Bush Tax Cuts for the Rich

The utter and complete hypocrisy of Republicans regarding the deficit and the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy is simply put, astonishing. Jon Stewart dissects their stance using their own words, and with his inimitable brand of humor.

The deficit wants to skullf**k your mother. It wants to eat your children, after it shows your wife a level of physical passion you've never been able to provide. 

Via Huffington Post

Related Posts:

• 3 Charts: Bush Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthy vs. Obama Tax Plan
• Quote of the Week: Fareed Zakaria on Republican Deficit Hawks and the Bush Tax Cuts
• Stehphen Colbert: Quick, Rich People, to Your Tax Shelters!

Conservadem Deficit Chicken Hawks Vote to Extend Bush Tax Cuts for the Rich

Predictably, the two most conservative Conservadems, Lincoln, and Nelson, voted to extend the Bush tax cuts along with the Republicans. Via Think Progress:

Last month, as the Senate was gridlocked by a Republican filibuster of a bill to extend much-needed unemployment benefits to millions of out-of-work Americans, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) stood with the GOP against the extension. Nelson claimed that his concerns about the deficit overrode his support for the extension; he voted against the bill that finally passed 60-40.

Later that week, Nelson came out in support of an extension — “for now” — of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which adds many billions more to the deficit than the unemployment insurance extension. In fact, extending the Bush tax cuts for one year alone would add $115 billion to the deficit, compared to the “relatively tiny budgetary cost of $33 billion” for the extension of UI benefits.

Today, though, Ben Nelson provided further evidence that he is a deficit peacock — someone who claims to be concerned about the deficit but isn’t actually interested in taking serious steps toward a balanced budget. Before the final vote on the states’ aid bill that passed today, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) offered two amendments that would, in effect, permanently extend the Bush tax cuts. David Dayen has the results:

ht Bob Cesca

Stehphen Colbert: Quick, Rich People, to Your Tax Shelters!

Colbert mocks the fake deficit hawks also known as Republicans and Conservadems, regarding their completely disingenuous hand-wringing over the impending expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy.

Hillarious! Colbert:

Quick, rich people, to your tax shelters!

ht Bob Cesca

Related Posts:
3 Charts: Bush Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthy vs. Obama Tax Plan
John Boehner is an Idiot

Quote of the Week: Fareed Zakaria on Republican Deficit Hawks and the Bush Tax Cuts

Sunday on CNN's GPS, Fareed Zakaria pointed out the hypocrisy inherent in Republican shrieking about our budget deficits, as all the while they adamantly oppose allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire.

Most conservatives have been very concerned about America's sky high deficits. They believe they are a dire and urgent threat to the country's future. So when an opportunity presents itself to cut that deficit massively in one fell swoop you'd think they would jump at the chance, right? But they haven't.

You see, George Bush's massive tax cuts are the single largest chunk of our structural budget deficit.

Take a look at this chart. It shows the deficit growth over the next ten years, and the red stripe shows just how much those Bush tax cuts add to the deficit. Well, those tax cuts are due to expire at the end of the year. Were the tax cuts to expire, the budget deficit would instantly shrink, by about 30% or more than $300 billion dollars.

But Republicans are now adamantly opposed to any expiration of the Bush tax cuts, because, they say, that would weaken the economy. But wait a minute. They have been arguing for the last year that  what's weakening the economy most is the prospect of unending budget deficits.

Yes, yet another example of the despicable face of Republican Hypocrisy.

Via reader Anthony

Related Post: 3 Charts: Bush Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthy vs. Obama Tax Plan

3 Charts: Bush Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthy vs. Obama Tax Plan

Taxes should not be a partisan issue.

A chart published by the Wall Street Journal denotes the difference between the current tax plan, which includes the Bush-era tax cuts, and the Obama plan, which revokes the Bush-era tax cuts for those earning over $300,000.

The red bar indicates the taxes currently paid by the groups listed, and the blue bar indicates the taxes which would be paid under the Obama plan in 2011.

Unless you are a blithering idiot, you can clearly see that there is a tax reduction for those earning below $300,000, which decreases as income goes up.

VIDEO: Anthony Weiner Goes Off on Obstructionist Republicans Over 9/11 Health Care Bill

Republicans continue their mantra of "No, NO, NO" to anything proposed by Democrats. Yesterday, on the House floor, Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY] made it clear to Republicans that they are nothing more than completely obstructionist assholes, refusing to yield the floor, and calling them out for what they really are. "No! The gentleman will sit down! I will NOT yield!"

From a commenter on Bob Cesca's blog:

They sit silently, letting the ignorant wing of their base talk about insurrection, revolution, armed resistance...
Well, fuck that noise. And fuck the stubborn, petulant, malfeasant manner in which the GOP pretends to operate.
The time has come to get ALL the way up in their stunned Boehner, McConnell, Cantor faces.

Four months to midterms - like the last 20 seconds of the round. Time to come off the ropes and unload some heavy combinations. No more jabs...no more rope-a-dope. Time to open up some cuts and crack a few ribs.

AP report:

WASHINGTON — A bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust fell short in the House on Thursday, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts.

The bill would have provided free health care and compensation payments to 9/11 rescue and recovery workers who fell ill after working in the trade center ruins.

It failed to win the needed two-thirds majority, 255-159. The vote was largely along party lines, with 12 Republicans joining Democrats supporting the measure.