tagged w/ mcconnell
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He was a monumental imbecile when dealing with the problems of the people of his district and the nation at large,
When it came to representing all the rights of his constituents, his methods were a blend of Mr. Bill and Defarge,
He was a liar and a cheater when it came to public dealings, all the money in his pockets came from corporate bribes,
He sold out his own dear mother, father, sister, daughter, brother, every ethnic group including all the Indian tribes,
Every two years at election time he'd sober up and take a plane back home where he'd recall the innocent days of youth,
Using tired cliches and homilies he'd bring the voters to their knees reciting lots of lies and calling bullshit the truth,
Reelected once again he'd hurry back in time to vote another increase in his salary in order to pay,
For improvements in his domicile, he piled it up and all the while a thinking person couldn't help but kneel and pray,
When considering the highways he had authorized through neighborhoods, the dams he built and all the fish he killed on the way,
When he reitred they put a statue up to honor his achievements, and they sang his praise although they weren't quite sure what he'd done,
And the pension he'd been drawing since he quit the halls of Congress was adjusted to increase when they elected his son,
He was a monumental imbecile when dealing with the problems of the people of his district and the nation at large.He was a monumental imbecile when dealing with the problems of the people of his... more
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Please let us all call out the main stream media for giving these horrible creatures a free pass. How can it take just a few months for the teabags to claim a new party when the GreenParty has been struggling for decades? How, just maybe our media is far more racists than we are willing to believe and they are willing to admit!
This piece in MotherJones should be used to bridge the gap back to reality. We need to call out these media maggots. Have we not witnessed a hugely out of proportion press presence of GOP/teabags over Democratic policy proffers? Why has the teabag nation been awarded autheticity? Is all of "lame stream" media (as sister Sarah would say) against progress? Do they all grab money from the bags on Wall Street?
Refuse the anger. Why the hell are we progressives so damn passive and forgiving?
* * * * WTF * * * *
http://motherjones.com/slideshows/2010/09/tea-partys-racist-signs/arrogant-kenyanPlease let us all call out the main stream media for giving these horrible creatures a... more
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Senate Democrats block Boehner debt ceiling plan after House approval
By Alan Silverleib and Tom Cohen, CNN
July 29, 2011 8:31 p.m. EDT
PART ONE...
Washington (CNN) -- Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the nation's the debt ceiling and slash government spending narrowly passed the House on Friday and then was blocked by Senate Democrats, setting up a weekend of negotiations to seek a deal that would avoid a potential federal default next week.
The Senate vote was 59-41 to table the measure, which effectively kills it unless Democrats decide to bring it up again.
Earlier, Boehner's proposal was approved by the House in a sharply polarized 218-210 vote that was delayed by a day while the speaker rounded up support from wary tea party conservatives. No Democrats supported the measure, and 22 of the 240 members of the Republican majority also opposed it.
Even though it was blocked in the Senate, the Boehner plan now is the Republican negotiating position for hammering out a deal with congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama to avert a possible government default next week.
Friday's House vote was a critical test of Boehner's control over his tea party-infused GOP caucus. The speaker was forced to quell a right-wing revolt over the measure after a number of members complained that it doesn't do enough to shrink the size of government and stem the tide of Washington's red ink.
Boehner, R-Ohio, managed to sway several of those members by including a provision requiring congressional passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution before the debt ceiling can be extended through the end of 2012.
In his floor speech before the vote, Boehner called the proposal imperfect but necessary, and he criticized Obama and congressional Democrats for rejecting all deficit reduction measures passed by the House so far.
"We've tried to do our level best ... but some people continue to say no," Boehner said, adding: "I stuck my neck out a mile to try to get an agreement with the president of the United States."
His voice rising to a shout, Boehner continued to cheers and applause from fellow Republicans: "It is time for this administration and the other party across the aisle -- put something on the table. Tell us where you are."
Democratic leaders vehemently object both to the balanced budget amendment and the requirement of a second debt ceiling vote before the next election. They argue that reaching bipartisan agreement on another debt ceiling hike during an election year could be nearly impossible, and that short-term extensions of the limit could further destabilize the economy.
Earlier in the day, Obama urged Senate Democrats and Republicans to take the lead in the congressional deliberations.
Boehner's plan "has no chance of becoming law," Obama said. "The time for putting party first is over. The time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now. ... It's important for everybody to step up and show the leadership that the American people expect."
"This is not a situation where the two parties are miles apart," the president insisted. But "we are almost out of time."
Obama -- sleepless in recent nights due to the crisis, according to a senior administration official -- urged Americans to contact their members of Congress "to keep the pressure on Washington." Phone lines on Capitol Hill were jammed Friday as people from coast to coast tried to weigh in on the debate.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has been pushing his own plan to raise the debt limit, though he will need to win over at least seven Senate Republicans to win the 60 votes necessary to overcome a certain filibuster.
Reid announced Friday morning that he intended to "take action" on a Senate bill by the end of the day. Later, he complained on the Senate floor that Republicans would effectively filibuster his proposal by requiring a 60-vote super-majority in the 100-member chamber to support the start of debate on it. It was unclear when Reid would attempt to hold that vote.
Reid also blasted Boehner's decision to include a mandatory balanced budget amendment provision in the GOP plan, calling the addition of "even more stuff in this right-wing leaning bill. ... It's really hard to comprehend."
CONTINUED...Senate Democrats block Boehner debt ceiling plan after House approval
By Alan... more
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For a group of so-called GodSquad folks, they sure do harbor a great deal of hatred for Our President.McConnell the prime motivator for the GOP is to ENSURE this is Obama's one and ony term as President...HOW ABSOLUTELY APPALLING. Just because THEY did NOT vote for him, does not mean it is not a true event. I find this group of people so vile and nasty, and about as hypocritical as the defintion deserves. the voters in these folks respective districts need an ey-opening event to scare the BeJesus out of them...I guess : "Show me a sign, Lord" is not something they take to heart. narrow-minded, mean, cruel, elitist and snobbery I truly believe this time will go down as THE ERA OF OBAMA. remember , he said CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN...I believe I shall get highFor a group of so-called GodSquad folks, they sure do harbor a great deal of hatred... more
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McConnell's debt plan: What's in it for GOP?
His proposal would give Obama power to raise debt ceiling without Republican support
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) proposed a new solution for the Obama administration to raise the national debt ceiling.By Gail Russell Chaddock
Staff writer
Christian Science Monitor Christian Science Monitor
updated 7/12/2011 11:55:41 PM ET 2011-07-13T03:55:41
Share Print Font: +-WASHINGTON — In a surprise move, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday proposed a “last choice option” to avoid default on the national debt that would require the support of just over a third of the House and Senate to raise the national debt ceiling.
The McConnell proposal , which requires special legislation to be adopted, gives the president expedited procedures to increase the debt limit by as much as $2.4 trillion that require only submission of a plan to reduce spending by a greater amount. There is no requirement that Congress actually pass those spending cuts.
But even if the cuts are never passed, the proposal has two political advantages for Republicans: It forces President Obama to lay out his proposed spending cuts in writing, a longtime GOP demand. And it absolves Republicans of responsibility for sending the nation into its first-ever default, as early as Aug. 2.
In exchange, Republicans give up all leverage on spending – riling many conservatives who elected a new GOP House majority to make tough decisions on spending, and diminishing Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.
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..Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) Nevada said at a press conference that he did not know much about the plan, but stated: "I am not about to trash his proposal. It's something that I will look at."
Video: Heat turned up in debt ceiling standoff (on this page)
“It’s an admission by Mitch McConnell that the votes won’t be there on the GOP side to do anything. They’re looking for a way out,” says Stan Collender, a longtime congressional budget analyst and partner at Qorvis Communications in Washington. “It puts the onus for raising the debt limit directly on President Obama.”
Little chance to override veto
With both sides in deeply entrenched positions – Republicans refusing tax increases and Democrats refusing deep spending or entitlement cuts without them – default on the national debt is an outcome that some congressional leaders are taking more seriously.
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.Sen. Pat Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania proposed legislation requiring the Obama administration to come up with contingency plans to prioritize payments to avoid default after Aug. 2. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has proposed invoking an obscure clause in Article 14 of the Constitution to give the president unilateral authority to raise the debt limit.
McConnell’s proposed legislative mechanism gives the House and Senate the option to defeat the proposed increase in the debt ceiling with a joint resolution disapproving of the president’s request that has little chance of success.
Either the resolution fails in either chamber – most likely in the Democrat-controlled Senate – in which case the debt limit increase goes forward. Or, the president vetoes the disapproving resolution, requiring a two-thirds supermajority to override the veto. In other words, it would take only 33 senators and 146 House members to sustain the presidential veto and increase the debt limit.
A way out?
So, why is the House minority leader making it easy for President Obama to get a $2.4 trillion increase in the national debt limit?
McConnell says the aim is to take the unthinkable prospect of national default in the next three weeks off the table.
“We have become increasingly pessimistic that we will be able to reach an agreement with the only person in America who can sign something into law, and that’s the president of the United States,” he told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday.
“What we are not going to be a party to in the Senate, I’m pretty confident, is default,” he added.
Conservative critics say it’s a way for Republicans to avoid taking responsibility for two unthinkable votes – either raising taxes or forcing the nation into default.
“It’s a classic game of chicken, and the Republicans say we’re willing to resolve this in an orderly way and here’s the formulaic mechanism we want to set in place,” says Michael Franc, who heads the Heritage Foundation’s outreach to members of Congress.
No deal, no Social Security checks?
“President Obama can propose a debt increase with smoke-and-mirrors spending cuts, and fiscal conservatives don’t get spending cuts anywhere,” says Chris Edward, director of the tax policy studies at the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank.
“What the Republicans should have done months ago was have reasonable cuts, pass them through the House and say: ‘This is what we want, and we’re not budging,’ ” he adds.
Forcing a plan
But Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), an anti-tax group, held off criticism on the grounds that the plan at least forces the White House to publish something like a plan to cut spending.
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.“The president has been allowed to promote imaginary spending cuts to which he would accede in order to get Republicans to agree to tax hikes,” said ATR president Grover Norquist, in a statement. “Republicans didn't bite. But President Obama, up until today, didn't have to disclose what imaginary spending cuts he was so reasonably prepared to accept.”
The plan also requires the president to make three separate requests for the full $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit that he has been requesting. That’s three big votes before the 2012 elections – votes Republicans expect will focus voter attention on big government and run to their advantage.
To enact McConnell’s proposal, Congress must first pass a law that authorizes the president to submit a request asking for $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit in three stages, with an initial request for $700 billion.
“One of the ways to deal with the budget is to deal with the budget process instead,” Mr. Collender says. “This is a bit of a throwback. It was inevitable that they would try to come up with some procedural gimmick.”
This article, "McConnell's last ditch ceiling plan: What's in it for Republicans?," first appeared on CSMonitor.com.
© 2011 Christian Science Monitor
.Sponsored linksMcConnell's debt plan: What's in it for GOP?
His proposal would give Obama... more
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Last October, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confessed that his “single most important” objective was to make “President Obama to be a one-term president.” In an interview on Fox News Sunday this morning, host Bret Baier asked McConnell if his motivations in the midst of the debt ceiling negotiations are still to defeat Obama. McConnell reaffirmed that it is indeed his “single most important political goal” next year:
BAIER: I received an email with a list of quotes on it. Republican candidates and leaders saying that bad economic numbers help Republican chances in 2012…So how do you respond to those Democratic lines of attack?
MCCONNELL: Well, that is true. That’s my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country. But that’s in 2012. Our biggest goal for this year is to get this country straightened out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FirI3_G_0JM
http://j.mp/o8q3GOLast October, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confessed that his “single... more
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The Republican Senate minority leader has been arguing that the outcome of the midterm elections confers a mandate on Congress to extend the Bush-era tax cuts, which are set to expire Jan. 1.
But the bipartisan opposition and an electoral mandate to extend the Bush-era tax cut or block all other legislation is at odds with recent polling of the American public -- those whom McConnell and Congress are supposed to represent.
A recent CBS News poll indicated that 53 percent of Americans want the Bush-era tax cuts extended only for households earning less than $250,000 per year.
Only 26 percent indicated they support extending the tax cuts for all Americans regardless of income level. Among Republicans polled, 41 percent support the White House proposal to extend tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 and 46 percent support extending all the Bush-era tax cuts.
A recent Gallup poll found 44 percent of Americans want to keep the tax cuts but set limits for wealthy Americans, and 40 percent favor maintaining the Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans. A majority in the Gallup poll (57 percent) would set the bar on taxing households at $500,000 rather than $250,000, which is the figure the White House prefers.
A majority of Americans believe the tax cuts should be temporary -- 45 percent, versus 37 percent who believe the tax cuts should be permanent.
In the AP-CNBC poll, 50 percent of Americans were in favor of expiring the Bush-era tax cuts for households earning over $250,000 and 34 percent favor extending the tax cuts for all Americans.
Apparently ignoring the signals presented in the polls (which politicians sometimes do), McConnell and 41 other Republican Senators said they would block votes on all legislation, including the nuclear arms reduction START agreement with Russia and an extension of unemployment benefits, unless an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts includes the highest income earners.
"Life is a series of choices," McConnell said in reference to linking a vote on the START treaty to extending all the Bush-era tax cuts.
His strategy of holding up legislation, and giving the White House a something-or-nothing "series of choices," may be working. The White House has said that it is "negotiating" a compromise tax deal in the next few days, which will extend all the Bush-era tax cuts, but not indefinitely.
Following the midterm election, McConnell and the GOP have been able to create a reality distortion field surrounding the tax cuts, and the White House and majority of Democrats are about to enter it.The Republican Senate minority leader has been arguing that the outcome of the midterm... more
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Dear Friend,
For 2 years, GOP leaders in Congress fought tooth and nail to oppose health care reform. They did their best to keep tens of millions without coverage, decrying any effort to help citizens as "socialist," "fascist" or some other equally baffling "ist." And incredibly, they are now talking about repealing it.
Well, four brave members of Congress are calling GOP leaders on their hypocrisy, demanding they practice what they preach, and calling on them to give up their government-sponsored health care. And we couldn't agree more:
Write Congressman Boehner and Senator McConnell today. Tell them if they want to repeal health care, they need to practice what they preach, and give up their own government-sponsored health care first.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/gop_healthcare_hypocrites/?r_by=-2120708-96Ci0nx&rc=paste1
Please sign this petition. I did with this comment:
It is amazing how the conservatives manipulate their words and try to make us all believe their only interests is for the Common Good and America. When we all know in reality the truth is that they could care less about America and WE THE PEOPLE. Their interests are purely corporate, in other words what's good for the corporations is good for them. So the likelihood of such conservatives like McConnell, Boehner, et al who vow to make health care strictly a corporate commodity, voluntarily giving up their own government sponsored health care… Yeah right, WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER AND PIGS FLY! Their hypocrisy is so thick it's a wonder that anything else can fit into their small unthinking brains. thinkingblue
Click Here To Sign http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/gop_healthcare_hypocrites/?r_by=-2120708-96Ci0nx&rc=paste1Dear Friend,
For 2 years, GOP leaders in Congress fought tooth and nail to... more
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Yesterday, a damaged and contrite Barack Obama held a White House press conference and took ownership of Tuesday's devastating election results. With the exception of a handful of issues, Obama extended a cooperative hand to the newly emboldened GOP, and suggested a willingness to compromise on everything from tax cuts to energy policy to provisions of his health care law.
Today, at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered his rejoinder. And the contrast couldn't be more stark: For just about every entreaty Obama made, McConnell just said no.
"We will stop the liberal onslaught," McConnell warned.
That was the basic theme of the speech. If Obama wants to get anything done, he'll have to embrace the GOP's views on spending, tax cuts, and just about everything else.
"We will make the case for repeal of the health spending bill even as we vote to eliminate its worst parts," McConnell promised. "We will vote to freeze and cut discretionary spending. We will fight to make sure that any spending bill that reaches the Senate floor is amendable, so members can vote for the spending cuts Americans are asking for. We will push to bring up and vote for House passed spending rescission bills."
"If the administration wants cooperation, it will have to begin to move in our direction," said McConnell.Yesterday, a damaged and contrite Barack Obama held a White House press conference and... more
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When Rush Limbaugh started president Obama's term off by saying he hoped that Obama would fail, it wasn't a shock to progressives because that's what he does, but the Villagers all were kind of laughing it off as just an entertainer having some fun. Why would somebody want the government to fail when America faced a complete financial meltdown which would be followed by a depression that would have gutted everybody? We've witnessed the Republican tactics of obstructionism and they've done all they could to stop progress from happening, but never clearly defined it as an attempt to make Obama fail, but McConnell is not holding back any longer.
""The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." - Mitch McConnell
Shouldn't Mitch be worried about how people are going to deal with the fraudulent foreclosure mess and getting people back to work instead of his party politics? McConnell is also posturing for the Tea Partiers, but when a country is struggling so much to recover mass job losses one would think that our politicians would do the best they could at trying to help struggling Americans. Not true with Republicans. They never cared about 'you." They only care about their real constituents, Big Business and about the 2012 presidential election.
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Read more:
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/mitch-mcconnell-admits-limbaugh-strategWhen Rush Limbaugh started president Obama's term off by saying he hoped that... more
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My fellow Kentuckians...Why is this man still in office?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has been blasting the Senate’s financial regulatory reform bill in recent days, falsely arguing that it “institutionalizes” bailouts for Wall Street. As Think Progress reported, McConnell’s reason for opposing financial reform seems disingenuous in the face of reports that he attended a private fundraiser with hedge fund managers and other Wall Street elites last week.
Yesterday, reporters pressed McConnell for details about his meetings on Wall Street. McConnell repeatedly refused to discuss the matter and claimed that he based his opposition to financial reform not on fundraising from Wall Street but rather on concerns from community banks in Kentucky:
QUESTION: How do you push back against this perception that you’re doing the bidding of the large banks? There was a report that you guys met with hedge fund managers in New York. A lot of people are viewing this particular line of argument, this bailout argument as spin –
MCCONNELL: You could talk to the community bankers in Kentucky.
BASH: I’m not asking you about the community bankers.
MCCONNELL: Well, I’m telling you about the community bankers in Kentucky.
QUESTION: Have you talked with other people other than community bankers?
MCCONNELL: Well, sure. We talk to people all the time. I’m not denying that. What’s wrong with that? That’s how we learn how people feel about legislation. But the community bankers in Kentucky, the little guys, the mainstreet guys, are overwhelmingly opposed to this bill.
QUESTION: What do you say to folks this is just meant to deflect attention from the fact your defending the large banks?
MCCONNELL: I’d say that’s innaccurate.
Watch it:
McConnell takes more money from the finance industry than any other sector. He has taken $1,147,924 for his current re-election campaign, including PAC contributions from megabanks like Citigroup and Bank of America.
Rather than confront these facts, McConnell has chosen to echo ready-made propaganda crafted by GOP public relations consultant Frank Luntz. McConnell’s talking points are even earning derision from media pundits. CNBC’s Ron Insana laughed when trying to explain McConnell’s views, and MSNBC’s John Harwood said that “Senator McConnell’s argument is a little silly when you look at the text of the bill.”My fellow Kentuckians...Why is this man still in office?
Senate Minority Leader... more
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Senators John McCain & Mitch McConnell held a town hall of sorts at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah, FL today. I say "of sorts" because only people in the medical field were allowed. The general public was barred from attending to prevent any of the ugly confrontations so common at other town halls across the country.
Press were also weeded out by Senator Mel Martinez's staff. Reporters and press were not told the details of the event. If you called the hospital to ask, you were referred to (R-FL) Senator Mel Martinez's office. Aides there would take your name, organization, and number and if they didn't like who you were working for, you did not receive a call in return with the details of the event.
Nothing like micro-managing the message, eh?Senators John McCain & Mitch McConnell held a town hall of sorts at Palmetto... more
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The GOP has a new mantra: if at first you don't succeed, find a scapegoat. If you still don't, find another one. From Michael Steele to George Bush, Republican failures are always somebody else's fault. But they don't really believe that sacrificing these guys will put their party on the road to victory. They just hope you will. But bad news, GOP: it's not them, it's you.The GOP has a new mantra: if at first you don't succeed, find a scapegoat. If you... more
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In the final vote, 40 Democrats, 33 Republicans and independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut voted ``yes.'' Nine Democrats, 15 Republicans and independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted ``no.'' John McCain and Barack Obama cast ``aye'' votes.In the final vote, 40 Democrats, 33 Republicans and independent Joe Lieberman of... more
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