I wish that people would stop calling this the cat food commission. Cats (except a few fat ones on Wall Street) are far to decent to support such an assault on middle class Americans. Also, Republicans think cat food is to good for the poor and middle classes, so they have rigged the economy so that it is priced too high for us. Dog food is all we can afford. In any case, the Dog Food Commission is DOA.
For some Republicans, there just aren’t enough tax cuts included in the catfood commission’s recommendations to be able to support it. Yes, ostensibly this commission was intended to actually reduce the deficit, and yes, to do so the country will need to increase revenue. Math that is just lost on members like Rep. David Camp (top Republican on Ways and Means, gawd help us) who just can’t stomach the revenue raisers that did manage to make it into the plan.
The other Republicans voting no, so far, are Rep. Paul Ryan, the incoming chairman of the Budget Committee, and probably Rep. Jeb Hensarling. Republican Senators Judd Gregg, Tom Coburn, and Mike Crapo are yes votes.
Among Dems, Kent Conrad is thus far the only guaranteed yes. Baucus is a no, saying "The Deficit Commission recommendations paint a big red target on rural America, and I won’t support anything that puts the debt burden on the backs of Montanans and other rural states, while others get a free pass." Joining him are Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who released her own, much better, plan and Andy Stern. Stern’s reasons are good ones: "In the end, there is not enough investment to create jobs, economic growth, and increase America’s competitiveness."
Officially, there will not be 14 votes, which would have been the required majority to take these recommendations to Congress… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Daily Kos>
In short there will be no formal recommendation, and therefore, no vote on the informal recommendation in Congress. I’m sure that Republicans will continue to cite the report, attempting to implement some of the more extreme measures against the American people. Nevertheless, this whole thing has been nothing but a dog and pony show… Dog and pony… no cat!
7 Responses to “Dog Food Commission DOA”
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Cat-NIPPED.
And what is that supposed to mean?
TWO words rhyme with “due” and start with “T”
One involves giving from you TO me
Until you think I have enough
If I complain, well that’s TOO tough!
Despite the grammatical flaws in the post, I agree that the Pet Food Commission has completed it’s work. Obama has never taken a tough stand against a Republican, and of the Democrats Conrad wasn’t very supportive of Obama’s initiatives. Conrad was more open to surrender to GOP pressure than even Obama was (http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/07/conrad-democrats-alone-cant-pass-health-care–1.html) and even tried to sabotage the entire bill (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/16/782892/-Kent-Conrads-Backdoor-Maneuver-to-Kill-Real-Healthcare-Reform). These four votes alone put Obama on the edge. I praise Schakowsky for attempting to alter the agenda to something more suitable despite the goal of the commission and holding out against it, and to Stern for remembering that working people still have a stake in our nation’s affairs.
The next act is how Obama reacts to this setback. If he’s smart, he’ll back off of balancing GOP dreams on the backs of the rest of us. If not, it’s time to begin to push for a replacement on the 2012 ticket.
Doh! It’s “its” not “it’s”!!!!
I am the King of Typotopia, but you made a good challenge for my throne. 😉
I think all they’ll try to do is fuck with social security. Watch and see the seniors come our and beat them to death. This was a total waste of time and money.
I think they will try to obstruct funding for everything America needs.