Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) issued the following statement about his position on the debt ceiling compromise:
“As I have said all along, the consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling and defaulting on our debt would be disastrous to all Minnesotans. Unfortunately, in a game of chicken, the player most concerned about protecting the full faith and credit of the United States is put in the most difficult position.
“As a result, the deal that has been struck is not balanced, as I would have preferred. It does achieve the laudable goal of reducing the deficit, but does so with only cuts, even though a significant majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor closing loopholes for corporations and tax increases on the wealthiest Americans to make sure everyone is paying their fair share.
“Nevertheless, I will vote for this package, because defaulting would have grave economic consequences for my Minnesota constituents. The deal does protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. And it will erase some of the uncertainty confronting businesses and the markets.
“I hope now we can get back to our job, which is to facilitate the growth of our economy and create jobs by investing in innovation, in our infrastructure and workforce, and by making sure our children get a world-class education so they are prepared for a 21st century economy.”
The Obama Diary 
hopefully when they start in on him, he will respond very politely as befitting his station as a U.S senator: “Fuck You, Mofos.”
Actually no, they only focus on/hate President Obama.
He’ll get a free pass.
Bernie Sanders voted no on Gitmo, voted yes on of the ACA (I think)
They still blame the President for Gitmo and Bernie Sanders is like a saint.
Did Adam Green actually said that the progressive budget could have passed the House and Senate.???
Anyone saw that? I missed it.
You’re right Christie. Both Grayson and Weiner voted to defund ACORN based on Breitbart’s false accusations – yet the PL blame President Obama as well.
I was listening to talk radio and a caller said that Obama threw ACORN under the bus. Neither the host nor the guest corrected the guy.
Obama gets blamed for the dog chewing up a shoe. That’s how bad it’s gotten.
I agree with all of you. They have an obsession, lord only knows why, in their corrosive minds Barack Obama’s is to blame …for everything.
When will they acknowledge that those in the extreme left can influence but they can not dictate. We have to find our way to middle or close to it to to actually legislate anything. We should start wearing T-shirts, compromise is not a dirty word.
Gooood Morningggggggg…..FAm….sipping coffee …reading what i missed…..i hope everyone had a restful slumber,,,,,
The Political Let and the right wingers are the 2 sides of the same coin….
All this blame on Obama is simply a strategy to bring down….if we allow it! For if you keep blaming some-one all the time,then the sheeple will be conditioned into assuming that whomever you are blaming is really to blame,whether true or not. Therefore it is up to us to correct all the time,just like Rev Al does, all,all, the fallacies. And yes, we have our work cut out for us. Desertflower…You Tube idea?
Damn! And I just blamed my dog for doing it!
Oh it’s not too late. Tell your dog sorry and that you know it was Obama. 😉
Lets alos not forget that their other hero, Russ Feingold, objected to voting to end Bush tax cuts for the wealthy before the 2010 elections. These leftists hypocrites, who pretend to be “holier than thou” progressives, are really obsessed with President Obama. Like their fellow tea baggers, they blame everything on him. For example, many vocal gay activist who hate President Obama, love President Clinton. Yet, it was President Clinton who introduced and signed into law DADT. It was President Clinton who signed the DOMA into law without even a signing statement noting his objections. But, Oh no! According to people like Dan Choi, President Obama, who quietly engineered the repeal of DADT, and has authorized the Justice Dept. to stop defending the constitutionality of DOMA, is a homophobe.
There’s nothing left but to chalk it up to good ole racism and/or jealousy. I can’t find anything else, can you? Anyone?
I agree that Al will get a free pass. I use to listen to the liberal radio pundits give Russ Feingold a free pass no matter what he did. The only liberal pundits who mentions how the dems stayed at home and did not vote in 2010 are Randi Rhodes, Stephanie Miller and Hal Sparks when he is on Stephanie’s show. They call themselves “happy clappy obama supporters”. 🙂
They’re my favorites. I have to podcast Randi.
Yes, he and everyone else gets free passes while Obama gets all the blame.
Even today, the progressive left were out there blaming Obama for the crisis. Rev Sharpton asked them why the Dems did not vote to let the Bush tax cuts expire before this and Bill Press and that Laura woman had to acknowledge that they could have but chose not to.
And Adam Greed was looking angry as ever and tried to say how the progressives had a plan and blah blah blah. He was really pushing the blame on Obama for the Bush tax cuts being extended but Rev Al would not have any of that.
I love Rev. Al. I think he’s also seeing how everyone blames Obama for every damn thing when there is plenty to go around.
Adam Green can’t implode soon enough for me. Angry little ass wipe.
A. Greed always looks like he’s on the edge of exploding. Seriously; he has this angry look like he’s this close to just losing his shit.
He’s an horrendous spokesperson for his organization.
He always look constipated to me.
It’s true. Franken is “being forced to do this” because of PBO’s failure to lead, so say some of the Nutroots. They’re living up to the “Loony Left” moniker.
They’re full of shyte. That would make Senator Franken President Obama’s “bitch” like they’re accusing “PBO of being the republicon’s bitch”.
Senator Franken has a love of country and a mind of his own.. unlike the whiney contingent who only think about where their next sucker is coming from.
Al’s my Senator. He has made me proud every step of the way. And he’s there for the next 5 years at least. I also don’t see Senator Klobuchar loosing her seat so that’s something that Minnesota can be proud of……..sorry about Bachmann 😦
Good for you, Walking. He’s a wonderful senator.
I love Amy and Franken. Franken is really, really smart. I saw him embarrass one of his colleagues on the floor one day over something listed in an article. The repug was lying and Al corrected him several times.
He wrote a great book a few years back called “Lies (and the Lying Liers who tell them) – A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right” It’s hilarious, you should read it. He’s a very funny guy, but he has made the transition to hardworking Senator. The Republicans really underestimated him. I watched those debates and he won every one hands down because he knew all the facts and just wouldn’t let the BS go by unanswered.
I bought that book in paperback off of Amazon a couple of years ago. Then just recently, I was at the thrift store and found it in hardcover. I snagged it, I just couldn’t leave it there.
Sad thing is, I have not even read it yet.
I’ll try to do that this weekend.
PS I also got Obama’s “Audacity of Hope”. 🙂
Find time to read them Trumpdog (says me who has two books on the dresser sitting half read that I haven’t got to yet). Audacity of Hope I loved. Dreams From my Father I loved the most. That’s the one that got me hooked on PBO. I like that it was written before he was a politician so it’s very open, less cautious. Because he’s the President I sometimes forget that he’s also a brilliant author. His books are not hard to read at all they are bright, intelligent, entertaining, touching, honest and funny. You would have to be a cold stone to read “Dreams from My Father” and come away from it not liking the author.
Lies and Lying Liars had me laughing out loud while simultaneously shaking my fist in the air in outrage. It’s a very good read.
Thanks, Walking_on_ Sunshine . My sister loaned me “Dreams” and I have not gotten to that yet either.
I’m excited to read all of them, it’s just that I have not made time like I should.
Thanks for the excellent summation. I’ll try to start at least one this weekend. I think I’ll start with Franken’s; I could certainly use a few good laughs after this crazy week.
I have all three of those books, but haven’t read Franken’s yet. Will give it a read. As for PBO, his first is what really sold me also on his mind and heart. The man is so damn talented, it’s no wonder so many people try to tear him down. Look at all of his kudos: Grammy winner, Nobel Peace Prize winner, best-selling author 3 times over, self-made millionaire, successful representative, I think it’s number 4 as an AA U.S. Senator, ACA, DOMA, DADT, Lilly Ledbetter Act, Hates Crimes Act……the list just goes on and on. And an intact, beautiful young, spirited family, no nasty skeletons found, his mega-watt smile, graceful carriage, sportsmanship – in and out of the office. Bravery in the face of unflinching vitriole. Anyone care to add to this list. He is just damn awesome, which is why so many attack him. He makes so many look like the petty little grifters they are.
Oh, and let us not forget….HE KILLED OSAMA !
Nonsense. GWBush killed Osama.
Did you not see his ex advisers and staff being trotted out in the “liberal media” to give him credit?
Great review about “Dreams from My Father WoS! I agree, it gives you a great perspective of how the President was shaped. When you look at him and hear him now, you see how his thoughts and convictions were shaped.
The far rw tool was testifying before a Senate committee on ending DOMA and got caught lying about a research study. The tool was saying that the study showed that kids did best in two-parent households in which parents were of the opposite sex. Senator Franken read from the study and showed that the tool was lying. The study didn’t show what the tool was saying at all. The attendees in the audience burst out in laughter. The rw tool was embarrassed and humiliated. Of course, right-wingers on blogs were accusing Senator Franken of being the cause of the rw tool’s embarrassment and humiliation. He wasn’t. He was just smart enough to use the rw tool’s own tactic against him. RW tools need to stop lying if they want to avoid being embarrassed and humiliated by the facts.
Your neighbor here, equally proud of Al and Amy. I have to say that Minnesota was even capable of electing and then reelecting Bachmann made me start looking at my fellow Minnesotans side eyed. I didn’t know we had such crazy people in our midst.
Hi Sue,
It depends where you live. She’s in a very red area. I live in a red area too (not her district) so my vote only makes a difference in the statewide and Presidential races. I got so used to always losing I swear to God I drank an entire bottle of wine on the night Obama won. I don’t drink usually and I really paid for it the next day but my nerves were shot. It was great. I took my car to get fixed the next day and one of the guys who worked on it was so happy with me because of my bumper sticker he followed me out of the place and shook my hand and we were both just about hopping for joy. I’m a middle aged woman so this is not very mature behavior but it was a great feeling. I am actually pleased with the progress that has been made and I can’t understand where these angry lefties are coming from. My dad used to say “some people are never happy unless they’re miserable” and I think there’s some truth to that.
Well Walking, God had to make up for giving you Michele Bachmann.
How amazing he has been as a Senator. He’s so bright, strong, and grounded. He years in entertainment prepared him to deal with idiots quite well and with grace. Thank you, Senator Franken.
The GOP agenda has been fully exposed. There can be no doubt that this crisis was resolved by the President’s skill in negotiating. And now we go on to the important work of building our progressive community, working for the reelection of President Obama and electing Democrats.
Al Franken is actually in the kitchen while all the others, Bill Maher, etc, are on the outside lobbing fireballs. Being in the middle of the fight is not easy, sitting on the sidelines yelling is. I have no admiration for those who sit and yell. I have admiration for Franken who got his hands dirty and works hard.
Al and Amy are my Senator’s, too, and their elections to the Senate are the best thing to happen to Minnesota for a long time. Bachmann and Pawlenty are embarrassing and pathetic.
OT but I notice an uptick in the amount of followers President Obama had. I remember news articles that were giddy because Obama lost 10,000-30000 followers. I think my last count was 9,316,430. It’s now at 9,406,270. Where’s the media coverage on that? They were so interested before…
“I think my last count was 9,316,430. It’s now at 9,406,270”
lol that is too funny. I love that TrumpDog. Made my day
i do love Al. A friend of mine works for him in D.C. and she says he is just as stellar as he appears — just a little bit disorganized, lol.
Catfood Commission!111!!1!!111! (zap….pow….BbbzzzzZT!)
I just checked Smartypants and this is huge news!
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2011/08/one-more-good-thing-in-debt-deal.html
…. one more thing has come to my attention from Jay Newton-Small in her article titled Five Things for Liberals to Like in the Debt Ceiling Deal. Her first point:
The 2012 budget: At one point in the negotiations, the 2012 budget was to be slashed by $36 billion. The final number of cuts: just $7 billion. And just to ensure we don’t have another bruising government shutdown fight over cuts in September, the deal deems and passes the 2012 budget. Yes, that’s right, the old Gephardt Rule or Slaughter Solution, is back. What’s deem and pass? It’s a legislative trick that essentially means that Congress will consider the budget passed without ever actually having to vote on it.
This is HUGE! It takes away the one last chance for a hostage situation before the 2012 election when we can vote the lunatics out.
This doesn’t seem to be the case. Only Swampland reported as much and a guest on Tweety was talking about another showdown in two months.
We’ll see, StR.
It’s time to focus on reelecting President Obama and Democrats.
Hell I really hope it is the case, because if it isn’t, then it means we have a hostage situation and potential Gov shutdown in October, than the Supercongress Committee bill is due in November and to be voted on by Dec 23rd.
Looks like it’s going to be one “crisis” after another with the GOP always demanding more and more cuts to agree to anything.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky said on the Maddow show that she would have voted for the bill if her vote would have made the difference, but since it was going to pass easily she voted against it.
What!?!
Rep. Cleaver who called the deal a “Satan Sandwich” also voted for the bill I believe.
But it’s always President Obama. The nutroots really did think they were electing a King.
Unfortunately, Franken’s desire to get anything done in the congress other than try the best they can to not kill the latest GOP hostage is fantasy.
Also it seems like a simple majority will rule on the Special Super Congress committee. Three Reps and Sens from each side and a simple 7-5 rules the day. And it gets an up-or-down vote in the Senate, no 60-vote threshold. Dems in the House better start rallying the idea that they like the trigger ramifications, because SS, Medicaid, UEI, Pell Grants are walled off while surely they’ll be on the table in any agreement. And you know the GOP will stand a united six – meaning one Dem crosses over and they control what comes out of the committee.
“Rep. Jan Schakowsky said on the Maddow show that she would have voted for the bill if her vote would have made the difference, but since it was going to pass easily she voted against it.”
This is what they ALL do. Other Dem’s votes covered them so they could comfortably go around looking like a hero.
That you for that very interesting bit of news, gobrooklyn!
Guys, this isn’t a bad thing. Really — it isn’t. Pelosi had total control of her votes and wanted to release only as many as necessary to pass the bill. You think half and half was an accident? No way.
This deal is not great. It does not further a Democratic agenda or how Democrats view government or taking care of its citizens– it does stem the damage that Republicans wanted to unleash.
I believe it is in our interests for progressives to say, “this is not good enough, but it needs to pass”. It actually keeps the door open for our Democratic agenda to get through and grow, rather than abandoning it and agreeing that it’s okay to play by Republican rules. I frankly wouldn’t be surprised if this is precisely what Obama wanted. We actually did not need the entire Democratic party to say, “This is great — this is exactly how we want things to be in the future.” We needed enough Democrats to say, “we’ll make sure it passes to avoid an economic 9/11 but we stand up for a better way of viewing our government.”
As long as they don’t go into the bizarro-world where this is all Obama’s fault — Grialjva got close to that and that’s where I draw the line. But furthering a Democratic view of governance, accepting the best deal we could get — I think this may be one of the better outcomes of this debacle. Nancy Pelosi made sure of her message: we don’t like it, it’s not the way to govern, but we will do what’s necessary to save our country from the default that Republicans are willing to embrace.
Absolute fealty to the President as if this deal is GREAT is not necessary and in my opinion, not even preferred.
sige at Smartypants writes about ordinary people and how they are viewing this. This is a must read.
Just came from five plus hours talking to Democrats (and some Independents and Republicans) and thought I’d do a brief recap for Smartypants.
No one I spoke to was upset by the budget deal. That’s a true statement.
….he fact that there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare Beneficiaries and to Pell Grants seeped through the noise. The Peoria I talked to got it. The budget wasn’t balanced on their backs, their parent’s backs, their college kid’s back.
One woman said she didn’t care if she watched a big screen tv the next time she was in the hospital. ‘Tell the providers that,’ she said. ‘They can cut their costs right there.’
There was no sense that Democrats’ “caved.” There was a sense that someone finally stood up to the crazies (people I talk to, ranging to upper 80’s, routinely use the word ‘crazy’ to describe the current Republican Party).
One gent put it well, here’s what he said (as close as I can remember), “We didn’t get the Bush Tax Cuts this time, but we will, and it will happen automatically.” Bravo, gent. “Automatically” is the word.
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2011/08/so-howd-it-play-in-peoria.html
Great to read – thx!
That’s reassuring.
I think most people have not watched the minutae and back and forth of whats been going on. Ultimately, they are just concerned with how it will immediately affect them. With the big three off the table, they may just be relieved that it’s over.
But with everything, I guess we will see how it all plays out.
Thanks for posting this I think most Americans are just happy the debt ceiling will be raised and their social security/medicare won’t be touched. My husband is one of those, whose only concern was that PBO did not agree to a short term extension of the debt ceiling. The repugs have shown themselves to be crazy and incapable of governing, and there is nothing the talking heads or the PL say that would change their minds.
That wasn’t my experience in my circle of Democrats, so I am thrilled to hear that my circle may not be indicative of how the message is playing in the real world.
I’ve never met a Canadian on twitter, ever…first one tonight, and from Montreal like me.
He seem to be a big fan of Bill Maher.
He just tweeted.
Tweet: all the american media tonight saying tea party won including democratic pundits like begala and huffington
Democratic pundit Arianna Huffington hahahahaha……what a fraud….
I’m trying to set the record straight but it’s not easy on twitter, so limited.
His reply after my comment about the fraud Arianna Huffington
Tweet: ok now your making little sense her husband was a republican she is far left and has defended obama 90% of the time not on debt
Defended the President 90% of the time? come on, it’s a joke.,she’s the worst hater.
Ok I’m just about done with this guy.
Montreal, eh? Ariana Huffington is a Liberal?!? Tell dude to:
Prendre un baiser volant!
In a nice way, of course. Just a given with Canadians, I know…
That’s news to me. Ask the guy to specifically name the 90% of the time she’s defended Obama.
I like Al Franken. The 6 months he had to wait before being sworn in due to that nutjob Norm Coleman was ridiculous. He really has been a wonderful senator for Minnesota. Oh why do I live in a red state… 😆 Al might get some cover from the PL and some others in the PL will throw him under the bus. It’s an eat their young mentality. I’m glad Al read the bill and isn’t out there participating in the progressive and GOP game of bashing President Obama. Already people on twitter are retweeting out petitions to primary President Obama. These uneducated fools haven’t taken the time to digest and understand the true facts of the deal. President Obama protected Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Pell Grants. In addition he achieved a deem and pass on the 2012 budget reducing GOP $36 billion draconian cuts to $7 billion. But you won’t see the #emoprogs mentioning that or praising President Obama for that scoop. I was practically spitting mad and I have been fighing back HARD with multiple tweets and thank goodness real Obamabots are fed up with #emoprogs and their one hour of support and twenty-three hours of bullshit and are fighting back equally hard. 2012 is way too important to let the left and the right distort the Obama Administration’s policies and records. So onward we march and harder we fight!
I was on a conference call with President Obama today. He was speaking with a number of volunteers across the country. He had nothing but high praise for those who e-mailed, tweeted, and called congress during this difficult time. He said it was the thing that turn the corner in the debate and he asked us not to let up when the next set of negotiations take place. He said the work is going to get harder, but with our help we can help make the difference. He said that the other side has one thing that he can count on. They will never stop pushing against this progress. He said we must have the same motivation and tenacity in the months ahead, becuase we do make a difference!
YES WE CAN DO IT AGAIN IN 2012!!!!
I get more fired up all the time, Frenchie! Glad to know about the call. I love working for President Obama and Democrats reelection.
Gallup Poll – Liberal Support Remains High for President Obama
….the data show that Obama’s support from his liberal base remains as high relative to his overall average as it has throughout his term. Specifically, liberals’ approval of Obama last week was 72%, 30 points higher than his overall approval rating of 42%. By comparison, liberals’ approval has averaged about 28 points higher than his overall average so far in the Obama administration.
….Obama’s job approval last week was 77% among Democrats, 37% among independents, and 12% among Republicans. This overall pattern of partisan difference is not substantially changed from the average such differences over the last 2 ½ years. Democrats have on average given Obama an approval rating 33 points higher than his overall rating, and last week their approval rating was 35 points higher. Obama’s approval rating among independents has averaged four points lower than his overall rating, and last week their rating was five points lower. And Republicans have historically given Obama an approval rating 34 points lower than his national average; last week that gap was slightly narrower than usual, at 30 points.
….
I also read somewhere that a PPP poll also shows President Obama leading both Bernie Sanders and Howard Dean by double digits – IN VERMONT!!!
Also, there is a distinction between “liberals” which also include Independents and “liberal Democrats” for which his approval is ~ 83%.
WOW. What a night. It’s Monday, so I had to go hunt and gather food for the next four days, then work my Goddess wonders with some raw cow, and large tubers…
Having just caught up with all the email/posts… WHEW…. I CAN DO NO MO!
Well.. I’ve got some THOUGHTS running around my head on all this debt drama that I’ll put into more verbage tomorrow after the Deal is Done.
However a few things I’ve gotta say –
1. My sometime baby daddy LOD wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought he’d be tonight (well after I wanted to rip his face off for saying, “Obama blinked.”) The Bill Maher piece was some cuts from his New Rules rant on Friday about the beauty of Socialism, and LOD overall wasn’t nearly as hard on Obama as I expected, and made some amazing points about how the GOP are fucking terrorists. (WIN)
2. Everyone should catch tonight’s Daily Show – and let me explain why: First, yes, it will piss you off regarding Obama, ok, we know. Get past that part, because the rest is worth it. First, he again hands the GOP/Tsps their ASS and it’s wonderful. But more than that, he went to KANDAHAR this weekend with the Joint Chiefs for the USO. His tribute to our men & women, and the troops of our allies is a thing to behold. It touched me as much as Gabby’s appearance on the House floor – but obviously in a different way. The tears of joy were there for both. It runs later on Comedy Central tonight, and tomorrow morning, and afternoon. Just hold your nose regarding the Obama part.
3. Am I the only one who has read the fucking outline on the deal from whitehouse.gov? Why are the pund-idiocracy saying there are no revenues when there clearly ARE? Granted it doesn’t say specifically WE WILL TAX THOSE RICH ASSHOLES STARTING TOMORROW – but then that’s true of everything it does say – it’s all vague as fuck, yet everyone is acting like their mother just got thrown into the street. That pissed me off regarding LOD & Jon most of all (and everyone else other than Randi.)
ah well…. they have writers. Maybe if enough of us tweet and tell them to READ THE FUCKING DEAL THEIR OWN DAMN SELVES maybe someday they will.
One last note. Twitter isn’t hard. It’s easy to ask others to do it for you, but think of the amount of tweets we’d have if you did it yourselves. I resisted forever because it just sounded so …… well, …..fucking stupid. I was wrong. It’s a powerful tool. It’s time everyone stepped up. It’s going to be a hard fight for 2012, and that fight starts NOW.
ALL HANDS ON DECK. Let’s go!
After listening to some of the talking heads today, I think you, me, and a few others actually read the outline of the deal. All I heard over and over was if POTUS just screamed louder, the repugs would give in
What I found odd was the PL were screaming that he shouold use the magical bully pulpit and when he did go on TV, all they did was complain and say he should have done it sooner.
W.T.F.
And they also complained that he told the American people to contact congress. Horror!!!!!!
I read in a Greg Sargent column where Krugman said PBO should have been a little bit more aggressive and put public pressure on the Republicans. That the President should have at least used the 14th Amendment as a leverage. As for the public pressure, when the president called on Americans to become part of their government and call congress, some of them complained that he was weak.
Further Krugman is suggesting that the president should have been posturing by threatening the 14th Amendment. The president knew this was not a good avenue for him, why go out here and pretend?
These are the kinds of answers these self-important people have to the important issue this president faced regarding making serious decisions for the American people.
From the confines of their plush offices or ther basement, whereever, they make these big pronouncements as if it is as easy as pie.
He should have jjust done this….he should have just done that…..He should have just helped me blow my nose.
Go figure.
They are not talking about because they can’t understand it and can’t explain. It requires reading and analyzing something which the news folks don’t seem to do anymore.
Gobrooklyn, you are correct about reading and analyzing. This morning, out of curiosity, I turned on the Bill Press show to see how he was spinning passage of the deal. He was applauding all of the democrats who voted against it. The next thing out of his mouth was a huge lie when he said that everything was on the table, including medicare, medicaid and social security. I email his show a lot with corrections but I don’t think he cares. He loves drama and spin. He was a huge supporter of Hillary and use to work for Jerry Brown years ago. One would think that he would be more loyal to the Democratic party. He is one of those who always present stupid questions about PBO everyday instead of going after the republicans.
Hate to say it, but they can’t get past President Obama, young upstart, coming on the scene and stealing Hillary’s thunder. Can’t get over President Obama being the right man for the job and America voting for him. Bill Press, Krugman, the CBC members — all of them were on the Hillary bandwagon and hate Obama for beating her.
Agreed. And believe it or not, some of the old Black political establishment feel highly threatened by this egalitarian President. He is essentially eliminating their do-nothing-but-preach-all-day middle man role and exposing them for the frauds that they are. Barack Obama has not internalized a lot of the stereotypical dysfunctional attitudes that plague individuals like West, Smiley, certain members of the CBC, Conyers, etc. He is here to address the deep structural issues that keep blacks poor and disadvantaged, not float around preaching and posturing and making silly symbolic gestures that ultimately do nothing to change their situation. Those who are part of the older Black political/academic machine built and maintained their careers on the plight of poorer and less fortunate Blacks, and they will gladly keep it that way with the help of their White politician friends. Anything or anyone who threatens to change the status quo is considered an enemy. That’s what Barack Obama is facing with these idiots.
I just found out Cleaver’s only claim to fame is that he’s a minister. Now, I’m a Christian and have nothing against ministers. But that tells me he knows nothing about the political process.
I can’t stand listening to Bill Press. He’s another knee-jerk, “hair on fire” talker. So whiny. 🙄
No thank you for the Daily Show. I have gotten so tired of people criticizing this President about every thing as if they could do better. It’s so easy to sit on the sideline and complain about what someone else should do.
I cut the Daily Show from my dvr and I literally don’t find John funny anymore. When he questioned PBO’s accomplishments, I was done with him. I also Have not watched Bill Maher in over a year. Armchair quarterback comedians get a free pass on politics but they influence a lot of people, especially John Stewart and young voters.
Where’s the beauty of paying tribute to the troops while he rags on and mercilessly attacks their Commander in Chief. Makes no sense.
Still trying to figure out what Jon Stewart is trying for.
ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL HANDS ON DECK!!!!!………LET’S GOOOOOOOOO
Honey, I luv ya and you know I do. This was a great post
But I have one quibble: revenue increases are not guaranteed. They can and will be considered. McConnell is saying today that NO WAY they will raise taxes.
Without a doubt I completely believe that nothing gets out of the commission without revenue increases. But they’re not guaranteed. Cuts are guaranteed, but not revenue increase.
Hey, I hope I’m wrong
Oh, and I fucking LOVE Al Franken. He might be our guy in 2016. I’m serious.
oooooo that’s a great idea……….
I think what everyone is missing in this deal is that a paltry $10 billion is proposed to be cut over the next two years. All the cuts are “backloaded” which means many will never happen – especially if Democrats retake the House in 2012. Form Times Jay Newton:
It may seem like a lot, but the $917 billion in the first phase of cuts were carefully negotiated by Vice President Joe Biden and his group. They include $350 billion in Pentagon cuts — a win for liberals. They don’t touch entitlement benefits, another win. And they set top line numbers for the next decade of budgets that aren’t draconian. It still cuts where liberals might prefer to spend, but most of the savings are backloaded to avoid extreme austerity in next few years of fragile economic recovery. Just $7 billion would be cut in 2012, and only $3 billion in 2013. And of that combined $10 billion, half would come from the Pentagon.
The tide of damage was stemmed — no question. We live to fight the monsters another day, and there is some semblance of fairness in the battle rules. Everything you say is true and vitally important.
However, I can’t tell you how much easier I could get through to my friends and family if some revenue increases had been guaranteed. Impossible? Maybe. That is the fine point of selling this politically — it could fall either way. It’s easy to get through that their Social Security, Medicare benefits and Medicaid and Pell Grants are protected — that’s a fact. But whether Obama could have gotten revenues? We’ll never know and it will always be a political sticking point.
GREAT STATEMENT FROM FRANKEN…ESPECIALLY THE LAST SENTENCE! WE HAVE TO GET BACK TO THE REAL BUSINESS IN WASHINGTON….AND…WE OBAMA KIDS ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THE IMMATURE,IRRESPONSIBLE,HOMEGROWN TERRORIST ATTITUDES OF GOP LEADERS DO NOT RETURN TO THE HOUSE IN 2012!
OLD MITCH WAS SAYING YESTERDAY THAT THE SAME THING WILL HAPPEN IN 2013! THE GOP/TEAPARTY MAFIA WILL NOT DO THIS TO OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. GRAB A DECK CHAIR ON THE TITANIC BECAUSE YOU’RE GOIN’ DOWN!
No it won’t happen again if we get out to vote in 2012 and kick their asses out.
The interesting news in what you wrote Sue is that subconsciously, Turtle is preparing for a second term with this president. That says it all.
TURTLE NEEDS TO BE VARNISHED AND PLACED IN HIS BACKYARD FOR THE BIRDS TO APPRECIATE!
😆 😆 😆 😆
FRNAKLY PJ…HE LOOKS LIKE HE’S ALREADY BEEN VARNISHED. HE REMINDS ME OF A MORTICIAN…IKNOW I SPELLED THAT WRONG…PALE AND CLAMMY! I HOPE I’M DEAD BEFORE I EVER SEE ONE! LOL!
OOPS!..FRANKLY..IT’S A BLONDE PUTER DAY!
Good morning gang,
I read all the comments from last night.
This I didn’t know: Russ Feingold, objected to voting to end Bush tax cuts for the wealthy before the 2010 elections.
I knew about Grayson and Acorn.
And of course Sanders on Gitmo.
The fact that these people are saviors to them, like saints, and they blame everything on the President just prove that they just hate him, period, Nothing is rational.
My jaw dropped not to long ago, I saw a link on twitter for a diary on Daily Kos, The title was : the fraud that is Bill Maher. It was worth going to that crazy place just to read it, but I was looking around the diaries titles, horrified. I checked a few just to see if it was the same people, yep, the same gang of perpetual haters.
But this made my jaw dropped: someone posted: well he thinks we are fucking retards anyway.
After all these months? and they know it’s not true, the President never said that, and they know that Rham was talking about the actions.
There’s no difference between the teabaggers and them, none. All connected through their hatred of President Obama.
Feingold and Reid wanted tax increases off the table because of their Senate contests. It was despicable. This hero worship of Feingold has always been unfounded. He did some good things, but he was uneven at best on progressive issues and tone deaf politically most of the time.
If you’re going to put the country at risk by not addressing the Bush tax cuts before the election, then run a God damned decent campaign. He ran a ‘clean’ campaign and didn’t land one God damned punch against his tea party opponent. It was ridiculous, yet Russ Feingold, the hero of the looney left, asked that tax cuts come off the agenda for his own personal gain. What an effing hero he is.
Had Democrats not run from the Democratic agenda and celebrated Democratic progress, we never would have lost the House. We would have lost the seats that never should have been “D” anyway — these were actually Republicans who took Howard Dean’s well-intentioned money to get into office. I’m glad they’re gone. I would have much preferred a smaller alleged ‘majority’ that the conservadems who are the actual reason everything got watered down. The House was crawling with them and there were enough conservadem Senators to sink the actual, very progressive goals of our President.
All I can say is, I’m happy with what was accomplished with this mess. Obama used this fabricated crisis to expose “The Republicans”. Everyone sees them for who they are now. I love my President.
WE MUST PRAY THAT THE VOTERS REMEMBER THIS AND TAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE POLLS!
Hate to burst your bubble, but, Chipsticks, the reality is that consumer spending is down, manufacturing is down, hiring is most likely anemic, there is aboslutely zero confidence in the market right now, and all the default bill does is take money out of the economy at a time we most need it. There’s no wishing that away. The GOP has effectively won the legislative argument and Obama isn’t even fighting for the jobs bills in public, which he should be.
It’s dangerous to rationalize in groupthink because you like someone or something. The objective facts are the bill does nothing to help the economy, and in fact, the debate has already cuased the economy to slow down. I know that’s tough to hear, but I would like to think of this community as reality-based.
PBO didn’t really win any policy concessions. He played on their field and got beat pretty handily. I know you’re not going to publish my comment since it’s not praising PBO on this deal, but it’s not healthy to censor what the facts are and only fosters alternate realities, ones people here make fun of the teabaggers for. Those are the facts. And we shouldn’t be afraid of them. And you shouldn’t be afraid to acknowledge a crap sandwich when you see one.
What bubble is that Halo?
I hate to burst your bubble Halo, but we are based in reality. PBO didn’t lose any policy concessions. I wish you would read the deal in it’s entirety instead of going off half cocked. A lot of the cuts are backloaded. Let me repeat that they are BACKLOADED. Only about $10 billion will be cut in the next 2 years. That’s a paltry sum in the scheme of things. Manufacturing is actually ticking up not down, so you are categorically wrong on that. The debate might have caused the economy to marginally slow down, but it did not plummet because at the end of the day investors knew that despite the crazy teabaggers, others in congress would not allow this country to default. Your analysis that President Obama hasn’t been talking about jobs is also somewhat wrong because he and his team have already been doing so. They have a bunch of trade deals in congress that are job providers and even amidst the debt ceiling debate they all demanded that people tell congress to stop holding those trade deals hostage. They also have other manufacturing and technology job inititiatives in the pipeline. You should pay better attention to his policies before you erroneously say that he hasn’t been talking about jobs. Yes the economy will take a slight beating, but all credible economists have said there is going to be growth. It might be slow, but there will be growth. Instead of moaning woe is me, we should call, email, fax and tweet congressmembers esepcially the GOP and demand the jobs they promised us. If you would read the deal in its entirety and peruse the interwebs you would realize that the cuts to Medicare are on the provider side and it’s only 2% and this isn’t the first time that’s been done. So in actuality, he saved Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and increased the funds of Pell Grants. He also used a legislative measure called Deem and Pass to make sure that the 2012 budget is passed with no qualms and showdowns. He also reduced the draconian cuts the GOP placed in the 2012 budget from $36 billion to $7 billion. The Bush tax cuts for higher income earners will also expire providing revenues for the economy. All in all, if he and his team message this right, which they will, they will point out that they saved every American and didn’t cave. My main underlying point to you is to go and read the deal in its entirety.
thank you, UT.
Utaustin thanks for this very coherent and detailed response. I have one question though. I’m getting conflicting stories about the “Deem and Pass” legislative procedure with some people saying that it didn’t make it in this particular bill. I’m not sure how accurate that is and I need a definitive link or document that would confirm this for me.
Yeah, I’m confused about the deem and pass. The one disadvantage of the internet is how fast things spread, true or untrue. Has Deaniac weighed in? He’s my go-to on this deal.
That is just factually incorrect. ISI index has manufacturing down. Consumer confidence this morning is down. GDP was absolutely terrible the 1st quarter AND the 2nd quarter. You cannot objectively say that 0.4% is something to cheer about. That is basically zero growth. We’ll see where the UE rate is this Friday, but all the estimates are saying only 50k, which doesn’t even keep up with the workforce. You need to have at least 250k a month to keep up.
“he saved Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security” –> There is a Chris Rock bit that says “Don’t you hate it when people brag about what they’re SUPPOSED to do?” Obama is a Democrat. He is SUPPOSED to stop entitlements from being burned to the ground.
It doesn’t matter whether they’re “in the pipeline.” He has to go out and SELL them, even if they’re not goign to pass. I never said he never talked about jobs. He just hasn’t been focused on them in terms of selling them to the public and making a coherent case for them. People have no idea that there is an infrastructure bill out there. He has the ability to push them into the public debate and he has yet to do so with enough force to make it a priority in the minds of people. He has the ability to say the Republicans are purposely hurting the economy, yet he continues to negotiate with them in good faith, giving them practically everything they wanted.
And by the way, ALL credible economists say this bill will slow down the economy, taking off 1.5% off of GDP next year, election year. The Deem and Pass budget is not conclusive yet. There have been conflicting reports. If it’s not there, there will be another showdown of shutting down the government, which will hurt the economy once more.
As for the Bush tax cuts, the next debt ceiling bill is set to expire at the end of next year, when the Bush tax cuts are set to expire. You tell me wh ohas the leverage. Obama keeps thinking “good policy is good politics,” but he doesn’t get that people don’t pay attention and will simply blame him next year when the economy is still hovering around 8.5% UE and he doesn’t combat the right wing noise machine.
Tsk, tsk, tsk Halo. Whatever are we going to do without your daily hand-wringing, hair on fire “reality” checks?
Some see thorns where other see roses.
I think God that despites the negativity in this world I still see roses….such as the big three goes untouched which is what they after.
And as far as revenue goes right when the cuts are to take place the Bush tax cuts sunsets.
I ALWAYS…ALWAYS REMEMBER WHAT PBO SAID IN THE PAST…’THERE IS OPPORTUNITY IN CRISIS!’
As I have said before, the pundits and comedians (and remember this is what Stewart and Maher are) do not matter; they have no real power. Peolpe stayed home during the midterms because there has always been a pattern of low voter turn-out for these type of elections; they did not stay home because a pundit that only a few people watch said so. The pundits do not matter even when they agree with our point of view. What does matter is the everyday person, like those who answered the president’s call to action by contacting congress. What matters is the local media outlets, the ones that PBO has been smart enough to give many interviews to to go around the lazy national media; what matters is the ability of all to read (info is a click away) and to hear the president and judge for themselves. Most people are busy with their lives and not commenting on blogs and watching the pundits ,but that does not mean that they are not engaged in some form or another. I rmember during the election that i saw few signs and not a lot of talk, but there was this under-current, almost stealth reaction to then Senator Obama. but election day showed it all; he carried Florida (where I am from) and almost won my city in NE Fla. All of this is to say, that like PBO I have confidence in the majority of the American people. The small, loud, well-funded minority get a lot of attention from the lazy national media, but they matter little to most of us. The next election cycle is coming soon and people have seen directly what has happened to their lives with the republicans in office. Groups that the republicans could always count on to support them have been turning away. It is no longer “those people” that some scorned and so called “got what they deserved” it is now Everyone who works for a living who is suffering, needing public assistance for the first time in their lives, or having expected benefits taken away. The giant has awakened. I
I pray you are right. I need to be “talked down” this morning. I am VERY afraid we and PO cannot fight them. Did you hear what Mitch McConnell told Neil Cavuto on Fox. He made it perfectly clear that his people on the Super Committee will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER agree to ANY revenue increase…NEVER, NEVER, NEVER…..NONE. Hate to ask this: Will the president ‘give in’ again to save our country? There HAS to be a point where he and the DEMS say, “Do it. Go ahead…..it will be on your shoulders.”
Ezra Klein yesterday said that just because of what you cite, Democrats may be better off with the trigger than any deal they can make through the commission. And the trigger is unthinkable to me. This battle is far from over.
The tea party DID win one thing: no revenue increases. We can’t hide our heads in the sand on that. A potential for increases, but no guarantees. Deaniac’s excellent analysis notwithstanding, this is a potential time bomb. It also is what’s sticking in people’s heads who are not as engaged as we are. I’m hearing it from all ages, from good Democrats. No revenue increases = bad deal.
We have to constantly push the meme that Repubicans manufactured this crisis, they were willing to see the U.S. default in order to save corporate loopholes. This was the best Obama could get and the most important thing is to truly take away their keys in 2012.
I think the trigger is the best deal as well. Deep Pentagon cuts, end the Bush tax cuts, and the domestic discretionary cuts would wall off Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare recipients, Pell Grants, Unemployment Insurance, programs for the poor.
Time to play hardball. The GOP cares most about defense spending and tax cuts for their millionaire buddies. Poof, game over.
If it ends up that Dem’s go for the trigger, watch Republican. Heads. EXPLODE.
We’re sure that stuff is walled off from the trigger, right?
Actually, i think the tea partiers were just as if not more concerned with SS and medicare cuts, and having a short-term (6-month) debt ceiling increase than their precious revenues. For that reason, they considered themselves the biggest losers in all of this. If you look at the RW Tea-blogs you will notice that they are mighty angry that Obama was able to get this debt ceiling raised through Jan 2013.
I also think the “Good Democrats” that you speak of are being rather hypocritical since they failed to bring the Bush tax cuts for a vote in 2010 when they should have done so, at the President’s urging. Many of them were more concerned about preserving their seats in the midterms and their campaigns were probably being financed by some of those Bush tax-cut beneficiaries on Wall Street. So now is not the time for them to bitch and whine knowing fully well that Democrats have no control of the House.
57, I just wrote a post downthread about Stephanie Miller reading from Deanic’s analysis this morning on her radio show.
I LOVE Stephanie! Thanks. I’m getting through the comments.
I REST MY ‘FEAR’ IN THE HANDS OF GOD. HE IS IN CONTROL AND I ALWAYS PRAY FOR HIS WILL TO BE DONE. IT WAS HIS WILL THAT PUT PBO IN THE OVAL OFFICE.
I love Al Franken. I wish he was my Senator instead of McCain or Kyl. After the President, Franken falls just after Steve Benen.
Here is the candle link if anyone would like to light one for our President today.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=PBO
How anyone can see outcome of this fiasco as a win for the tea patsies is beyond me. I’ll admit the President got a bloody nose from all of this nonsense, but he absolutely bludgeoned the tea party, and he didn’t even have to call them out by name, some folks in the media was all to happy to to do that for him.. Thanks to the tea party, the congress now has a 2% approval rating. Unbelievable! The tea party’s mission was not to raise the debt ceiling, and cause the economy to crash. They managed to do some damage, but they failed. Thank God, that the President really does believe in ” Country First,” the Republicans just think it’s a campaign slogan
Thank you. The Tea Party is now fully exposed not only as a non-grass roots corporate entity, but as a delusional psychotic branch of government that is willing to destroy the entire country to have their cake and eat it too. What happened in the last few weeks will be the final undoing of this Tea Party in 2012. The media will no longer be able to protect them and pretend that this Tea party is simply a group of ordinary “real” Americans who are upset about bank bailouts.
“How anyone can see outcome of this fiasco as a win for the tea patsies”
because they take pride in their ignorance
Good morning Chips and TOD family! I have been in the back country out of all communication range for 5 days. It was hard to miss all that was happening but I knew the President would not let this country default and all that went with it. To me that was the most important thing. After we got home I read Deaniac’s analysis and thought it sounds like a very good deal. I think all the pundit and PL are just sorry they weren’t consulted. I am so thankful I can come here and to TOAITR to read what sane, thoughtful people have to say.
Thanks to all of you for all this great information. I love Al Franken. When he had his radio show he came to my town for a live show and for a night comedy show. I was at both. This man is very intelligent!!!! He is working for the people to get things done.
We am going to a birthday party for the President Wednesday night. Yes We Can!!!!!
Al Franken — could anyone have said it better? This is as good a reflection of how I feel that I’ve read anywhere.
Guys, don’t think we don’t have our work cut out for us. Some of us have morphed to the deal is GREAT. The deal isn’t great — it’s the best deal Obama could get, dealing with insane people. But it’s not a great deal. McConnell today is cheering because now and forevermore, there will be no debt ceiling increases without conditions, something that hasn’t happened before.
There are no guaranteed revenue increases. THAT would have made it a great deal and we have our work cut out for us selling this because of that. Franken says it perfectly. There are some legitimate concerns about debt reduction in a time of recession — I only wish the sellers of that message weren’t smarmy, insulting bastards like Paul Krugman. But it is an issue that we have to discuss. Austerity may chill the recovery — it has in the past. That’s not some crazy PL Obama-hating lie — that’s a fact. Government investment in jobs and safety net are what grow our economy out of recessions. The good news: Republicans own this MUCH more than Obama does, as long as we stay vigilant every. single. day. They’re out today saying how horrible it was of Obama to scare the old people — when they are the ones who manufactured the crisis. We MUST make sure that we keep getting that message through. It’s critical.
Obama did the best he could, even brilliantly with what he got. He truly believes that controlling the deficit will bring stability to the markets and help the economy. God, I hope so. However the precedent now is that conditions can be placed on raising the debt ceiling. That’s not great. Revenue increases are possible but not assured. Seniors are by and large protected — it’s amazing how hard it is to convince seniors of this. I’m selling it like crazy to my senior friends and family. I’m getting through but it’s not easy. And not all seniors have an Obama supporter like me to advocate for how this is good for the country.
I guess what I’m saying is that through the awful, insane attacks from the looney Left they are not without their legitimate concerns. See, Franken can voice them, acknowledge political reality and support the President all at the same time. In my experience, I listen first, acknowledge their concern and fears and then explain why this is in our best interests. It’s the best outcome when we’re dealing with people who want to destroy the government and obliterate the safety net. Remember who our enemies are.
The policy battle was as good as it was going to get. We have to work hard to win the political battle.
I agree 100%.
It still feels surreal that this country had to go through this whole last 2 months of this destructive, teabagger-driven, “ridiculous” and “disgusting” (what polled Americans called it) ordeal all just to raise the debt ceiling — for the FIRST TIME in history. It’s really hard to believe. And the teapublicans are extremely proud of themselves — the little pricks are positively gloating.
All I can say is I want these teabagger crushed, I want a crop of democrats that know how to fight, and I want the American public to wake up.
My concern is: What will “wake up” the voters in this country? The Repubs, along with the MSM and Fox and right-wing radio continue to out message the rest of us. Then people vote based on the constant slogans and talking points.
OMG, I am listening to the Stephanie Miller Show and she is making her point about the debt ceiling deal and she is reading from “The People’s View” (Deanic) article on Paul Krugman’s analysis yesterday.
Woo hoo!!!!!
Seriously?
Wow!
I heard that also and looks like Pragmatic Progressives are finally getting their voices heard.
Just before that she interviewed that Ari guy from The Nation and after listening to him, if there was anyway that I could get those minutes back I would. I raised a son and in all of his years growing up I never heard him whine and complain as much as that guy did in that short period of time.
What happened to Progressives?
:rolleye:
The most giving person in the world,is someone”Gives a Damn!”Thank You C
I agree, Leiza. It’s easy to destroy everything in sight, including the government, if you don’t give a d@mn. Saving important things like our credit rating and cuts to benefits in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid at the hands of a bunch of congressional “know nothings” and “don’t cares” is a monumental achievement.