The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    The House votes today on the payroll tax cut etc

    By Flavius on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 8:39am |

    TPM describes the process. Essentially it will dodge the Senate bill by resolution to go to conference. Reid has said he won't  but I think he'll have to swallow his pride. Otherwise the democrats will have the blame on Jan 2 when

    - the payroll tax reduction ends

    - unemployment compensation is cut

    - Medicare is crippled by imposition of a 30% cut in physicians pay—which will cause the docs to withdraw services.

    When/if those things happen, it shouldn't be because Reid refused to call some senators back to negotiate.  

    He should call some back to not negotiate. To, "just say No." Sherrod Brown and Patti Murray again I'd say. She's proved willing to say No and I have no doubt about him.

    Neither party can accept the consequences, so on Dec 31 Cantor will cave if we don't. And we shouldn't.

    Comments

    Here's the TPM link.


    by Donal on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 8:49am

    Thanks


    by Flavius on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 5:58pm

    We Dems need a break and I thing we got one...or two or three.

    The House repubs are clearly angry with their leaders. Otherwise, how could they nix a deal Boehner made with McConnell?

    The Senate repubs are clearly angry with Boehner.

    The Senate repubs are clearly angry with House repubs, period.

    Cantor and Boehner look like idiots or liars or both.

    The repub party on the whole looks and smells awful.

    And I think the entire mess can be laid at the door step of the 80 or so Tea baggers in the House.

    On the other hand the entire mess might be laid at the door step of the 2010 voters.

    And those voters have further injured the middle class and the poor.


    by Richard Day on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 9:56am

    I pretty much agree. But worry we're vulnerable to the charge that we're letting millions of people suffer because  Harry Reid isn'tt willing to interrupt the Senate's vacation.


    by Flavius on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 6:05pm

    I beat dead horses all the time.

    I did see an interesting comment from Martin Bashir.

    He was making the point that we dems always, always given in for the greater good.

    What greater good?

    Boehner lied but Martin pushes the scenerio where Cantor is Iago!

    I really got into that.

    Cantor tells Boehner one thing but tells the teabaggers something else.

    Then Cantor smiles and does his passive aggressive crap on cable.

    As a matter of fact I would take it further and make Cantor Richard III.

    We have a chance this time, to hold our ground and see the end to the teabaggers lust for power.

    We shall see!


    by Richard Day on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 6:39pm

    Whatever our past performance the question is how we play our cards this time.

    This will seem like a digression but humor me.

     At one point I was working for Bob  the comptroller of a large organization. Well over 50,000 employees. 

    His continual opponent was Gene, the head of Industrial Relations. Who would get involved in issues which properly we should have handled. Finally one of us asked Bob why he let Gene do this. .Bob put his two hands in front of him , right hand ahead of the left. Then made a motion of continually moving the right hand a few inches out in front, then bringing it back to the left hand and then  doing the same thing again.

    " Just playing out the rope"  he said.

    It would be encouraging to think that Obama and Harry Reid have been 'playing out the rope'. 

    We'll see.

     


    by Flavius on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 11:05pm

    YEAH!

    And it is an interesting contest to be sure. Is Barry a real chess player?

    It may sound quaint, but these are interesting times to be sure.

    And millions of people, the health and welfare of tens of millions of people will be effected by the outcome.

    I get too involved in the consequences. I get mad!

    We shall see.


    by Richard Day on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 4:35pm