Comments on: UPDATE III: Austerity à la America (US Vs. UK)

By: james huggins

james huggins — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:08:19 +0000

Myron P: I’m well aware of the past sins of the Republicans. I don’t care if it makes them look like the hypocrites they, and the Democrats, are. Obamacare is the current, greatest danger to our personal well being and must be defeated. Unfortunately the Republicans are all we have to carry this ball.

By: Bob Harrison

Bob Harrison — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:29:14 +0000

You know, as much as I dislike the European welfare states, it seems like the common people really are willing to pay for them. The US has some of the lowest taxes on labor in the industrialized world while countries like France and Germany have among the highest. They also suffer through Value Added Taxes as high as 20%, All while slashing corporate tax rates!
In the US we want a welfare state but we want “the rich” to pay for it. Democrats want to cut taxes for “95% of Americans” while creating massive new entitlements. We need to stop with this make-believe about how the top 5% can subsidize the bottom 95% indefinitely while maintaining economic competitiveness.

[European countries are also smaller and more homogeneous.]

By: Myron Pauli

Myron Pauli — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:56:09 +0000

James H: The last party to expand Medicare prior to 2009 was the Republicans so how can they attack Obamacare (e.g. Romneycare with a darker face) without appearing like hypocrites. And when they do attack Obamacare, it is because it “endangers Medicare” – e.g. Socialism A endangers Socialism B.

Goldwater, to his credit, was willing to stand up stubbornly for some principles. These Republicans care only about winning.

By: james huggins

james huggins — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:30:45 +0000

The Republicans ONLY control the House. So what. They are doing their usual act of rendering whimpering gratitude to the Democrats for letting them pretend to be members of the Washington elite. If the Republicans spent as much time thwarting the Democrats rather than trying to thwart the Tea Party they might get something done. By the way, when are they going to actually attack Obamacare?

By: Myron Pauli

Myron Pauli — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:14:19 +0000

Republicans giving “free market capitalism” a bad name with their hypocrisy face off against Democrats giving “foreign policy restraint” a bad name. The game of SHUTDOWN-CHICKEN clucking over 1% of the budget – it is just Kabuki posturing!

I agree with Paul & Kucinich that war spending is even worse than welfare spending because $ 1,000,000 spent on 100 welfare mothers gets circulated into the economy while spent for bombs on Pushtun mud huts does zero.. However, it is politically easier to just stop bombing Neanderthals than to cut Americans (rich, poor, or “middle class”) off the Oink-dole.

NEITHER party does anything about exponential spending because both parties crave POWER. The Republicans promise only to cut “WASTE” as if there is some $ 800,000,000,000 line item named “WASTE”. If the Republicans even try some petty cut like NPR or Planned Parenthood [more out of pique than to really curtail spending!], the Democrats scream as if some genocidal Gulag just sprung up which will end all civilization!

While a few LESS bombs on Khadaffi’s army would fund Big Bird, Amtrak, and all the pet lefty stuff – most Democrats don’t dare attack Nobel Peace Prize Messiah Obama’s War!

HYPOCRITICAL SHOWBOATERS UNITED !!!

By: Dan Jeffreys

Dan Jeffreys — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:31:18 +0000

Yes, the Republicans only control the House but the thing is, it wasn’t but just a few years ago THEY had both congress and the Presidency and we remember how much different THAT was (end sarcasm).

By: Robert Glisson

Robert Glisson — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:26:18 +0000

I read the breakdown provided by Steve Hogan. From what I gather, the Southern States voted overwhelmingly for the budget. The nay’s came mostly from the Liberal North. Even the outnumbered house Democrats that voted two to one over the Republicans and most of the Republicans that did vote no were from Liberal States. California Democrats voted ‘No’ more than Texas Republicans by double. I don’t see a shift to fiscal responsibility in the future.

By: MeMyselfI

MeMyselfI — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:33:03 +0000

Let’s see…

The Republicans control… what? The U.S. House of Representatives.

NOT the Senate.

NOT the White House.

Now how, exactly, can they hope to do more from such a lofty position of power.

THEY CAN’T.

What they did was a miracle.

You ALL need to be in this for the long haul. 2012 is the next victory. The fight over the next two budgets will set the stage for that victory. Shutting it down now over a few billion in cuts isn’t worth it. Shutting it down next fall – briefly – over TRILLIONS in cuts WILL BE WORTH IT. That, and only that, will focus the minds of the voters.

By: Steve Hogan

Steve Hogan — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:57:19 +0000

The vote breakdown is here:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2011-253

By: Robert Glisson

Robert Glisson — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:11:37 +0000

Greg: Will Conservatives grow up- NO. I just visited a close Conservative relative. As long as I dissed the Democrats and Obama, we were in agreement. The second I said, “Bush did the sam…” I had a fight “Well, maybe Bush didn’t do everything right; but… There is no hope for them.