Any shutdown is Democrats’ fault
By Brian Kirwin | Friday, April 8th, 2011 | PolicyI’m getting fairly sick of the media spin about the Republicans in Congress being at fault if there is a government shutdown.
Any shutdown is the DEMOCRATS’ fault.
Completely. Exclusively. Totally.
The only reason we even have these temporary spending “continuing resolutions” at all is because we are 7 months into the fiscal year WITHOUT A BUDGET!
The Democrats, who ran the House, Senate and White House every minute of 2010, never passed a 2011 budget.
Had the Democrats done their job, pass a budget, we’d be coasting merrily along and working on passing a budget for 2012. Instead, since they FAILED at that job, we are governing by temporary spending extensions which are, ta da!, temporary.
Any shutdown is because the federal government has no budget, and hasn’t had one for nearly seven months, and that is exclusively the Democrats’ fault.
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About the author
The right wants to jeer him. The left wants to censor him. Moderates usually want both. Brian Kirwin is a political consultant and public relations strategist in Virginia Beach with a lightning-rod flair. Brian also serves on the VB Arts & Humanities Commission and frequently appears on Hampton Roads theatrical stages, if only to prove that all actors aren’t liberals. Kirwin’s columns stir up debate and hit the political scene with no punches pulled.
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64 Responses to "Any shutdown is Democrats’ fault"
See my in-depth analysis of this subject at http://kenscolloquium.posterous.com/the-democrats-are-clearly-incontrovertibly-an
Good luck with that.
It’s not true?
brian, you are right but the media will not report it that way.
if the Dems could pass Obamacare, the most divisive piece of legislation in decades, then surely they could have passed THIS year’s budget before they lost control of the House.
I think its the fault of every member of Congress who refuses to examine the real problems facing our budget: defense spending and entitlement programs.
Pull your heads out of your butts. Extend and Pretend is a bipartisan strategy wrt the budget. While Congress squabbles over $30 Billion in a transparently obvious attempt to gain some cred with uninformed voters, the deficit continues to be $1.5 Trillion annually with no end in sight, unless one chooses to believe Ryan’s ridiculous assertions about 13% revenue growth.
What a disgusting spectacle, and some of your worldviews remain trapped in the left-right thing, wherein exactly zero solutions lie.
We’re freaking doomed.
JJ, if we are “freaking doomed”, I suggest that you put an end to your depression. There is a gun show in Norfolk this weekend with lots of options available.
Tim….. a bit much
Meanwhile, a pathological liar with big hair positions himself as Republican presidential front-runner, saying all the right things but meaning none of them. It’s the republicans’ turn to be fooled by an “outsider” who makes big promises.
Why do people have a need to be lied to? It’s some pathology.
Tim,
Tell me your solution, or the Republicans’ solution; I’m all ears. Let’s have a debate.
The failure of the D’s and R’s to actually deal with the budget deficit is reflected here, among other places:
http://quotes.ino.com/chart/index.html?s=NYBOT_DX&t=&a=&w=&v=d12
Meanwhile, the administration tries to rally the nation around a military action in Libya, and the neocons start cheering “Commander-in-Chief!”; mission accomplished. Who cares about the deficit, the dollar, or the economy, we’re at war!
WTI is at $111.70. Any comments? Does anyone here care? Should I mention the guy working at the mall who told me he is having to decide whether to eat lunch or put gas in his car to get to work?
BK – that storyline might have gained traction…except that now the two sides have reached agreement on the cuts ..about $38 billion …but the Republicans are holding up the deal on a couple of ideological policy issues, support for Planned Parenthood and cutting EPA money used to enforce the Clean Air Act. Even people who agree with them on those issues probably don’t think they are worth shutting down the government over.
I think it’s foolish to say it’s either the Republicans or the Democrats fault if there is a shutdown. Neither side has been successful in their negotiations and as such both sides are at fault. I’m fine if you forget the difficulty of overcoming a filibuster in the years that Dems had control (whatever you might say about Healthcare, each and every budget has a fiscal impact and can’t be passed through reconciliation). But when two parties come together to negotiate a settlement and there is no settlement, it is often times the fault of both parties.
Unfortunately Steve is right. Right now we need to face some uncomfortable facts.
1. $38 billion may be about $62 Billion short of the mark but it is a start and at this point the best we can get. Go for the rest in the FY2012 budget.
2. Regardless of who is right or wrong, the majority of the press will blame Republicans and it will hurt, particularly in the Allen/Kaine race where federal employees, military and contractors will be a major voting block.
3. If the price of getting a resolution to this issue is continued funding for Planned Parenthood, we need to let the abortionists have their blood money and move on.
There is a time to fight, a time to negotiate and a time to accept the best deal you can get. Frankly, given control of 1/2 of Congress and a starting point in January of $36 billion in cuts, Boehner has actually negotiated a much better outcome than I expected. Let’s end this and move on to the next fight.
The Repubs proposed a CR that would extend government for another week and fund the military for five months but the Dems and Obama declined. The Dems are just politically posturing for a shutdown.
We all know how the “Useful Idiot” media will go along with the charade, and spin it for the Democats. It all depends on how the Democrats are polling.
It comes down to paying the military or funding NPR and Planned Parenthood. Harry Reid says that Planned Parenthood is about women’s health. Hmmmm. I thought Obamacare took care of that. Should we include this in the costs for federal healthcare?
$1.5T and they cannot even negotiate $30B. Even though negotiations mean Conservatives (or the right) give in.
Brian’s preference is a moment by moment budget that can be cut each time until it is down to zero. Of course, you can’t run a nation like that, but if you are a political consultant, who cares about governance? Not important. The spectacle occuring in are being held hostage by a small group of anti government zealots who label themselves the tea party, and the republicans, who used to be a party, are now simply reduced to carrying the tea party’s tea and crumpets for delivery when summoned. My gosh, Ronald Reagan must be rolling over in his grave at what has become of his party.
Mike, Runnymede is run by a small group of transvestite zealots who spit nickels at child molesters.. Disgusting and outrageous Gibberish? yes.. and about as accurate as your statements about the people involving themselves with the tea party movement.
So Mike, uh.. do you like little boys?
Actually Tim, that is completely uncalled for and inappropriate.
Peter, what majority of the press are you talking about? The opinions/editorial pages maybe; but the press simply presents the facts, something you should try to do.
John, way to present one side of the bill, you’ve left out the other half. Why don’t you state what the bill says?
James, you’re about as mature, well not you’re not as mature as anything. And unless Mike is a priest at a Catholic church, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Or are you making a proposition to Mike? Either way, shut up.
Its amazing the number of incorrect/inappropriate comments that get left on this blog. Don’t like or agree? Make up a fact, lie, or call someone a child molester. You guys are jokes. The Tea Party/Republicans have really become the laughing stock of our Country. Evidence: Donald Trump. Need I say more?
ToR, You’ve stated no facts yourself just alot of name calling. State your case.
Jamie J… There are no answers from any point of view that will satisfy those who are equal opportunity anarchists and view our system as being doomed. “Glen Beck” has been warning us about you people…
Tim,
Our system is doomed precisely because people like you seem unwilling to discuss reality, though I confess I’m not sure why. You see people in this thread talking about “the best we can get.”
We are printing money and lending it to ourselves. Do you guys understand?
What’s your plan to address the nation’s seemingly intractable deficit? I’d really like to hear it. We could discuss it like adults. Can we call cutting $30 Billion in a $1,500 Billion deficit an adult discussion?
Jamie, the reason those of us who consider ourselves to be moderate and centrist know the way out of debt; Senator Warner and his bi partisan group are working on that solution. This debacle over the last few weeks is simply political theater which reveals that the republican party, which was recently totally for deficits until it recently became totally against them, is stooping to do the tea party’s bidding in order to gain a shoret term political advantage. They will shut down the government to preserve and sustain their extreme cultural values, no matter the harm this action will do to the nation.
Deficit = weak dollar.
Wholesale gasoline is up Eight and a half cents….TODAY.
Deficit = weak dollar. Everyone knows this.
Wholesale gasoline is up eight and a half cents….TODAY.
This is what “the best we can get” gets us. Are you guys happy?
TimJ,
Isn’t the premise of the thread about shutting down the Government? You characterize Glenn Beck and anarchists as viewing our system as being doomed as something of a lunatic fringe while Democrats are saying Republicans are killing women with the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
Even you have to admit that running a $1.5 trillion deficit is radical. Maybe we should address instead of others’ mental capacity or stability.
There is one answer for those “equal opportunity anarchists”.
PAY DOWN THE DEBT
To do that, you must at least balance the budget but we’re not going to do it with the Democrats in Washington claiming Republicans are killing grandma, or women. I don’t quite understand how anyone can justify this type of deficit spending.
JJ- Because the deficit, while it’s an important thing (although mostly only important to Republicans when there’s a Democratic president, and vice versa) is not the ONLY thing. Our problem right now is not so much the deficit as it is a still slowly recovering economy, that’s just starting to see a little job growth. We don’t want to slow that modest growth by cuts in government spending. Not yet.
There’s a time to worry about the deficit. It will be when unemployement is back below 7%.
Look, it’s important to keep track of how high your water bill is getting. But, it’s stupid to worry about it when your house in on fire.
JJ – Its called the best you can get because by definition any other REALISTIC alternative is worse. I would love to see $100 billion in cuts from FY 11 followed by $500 billion in FY 2012. But that is not realistic and we have to start somewhere. If we start with a $38 billion cut in FY 11, it would be realistic to look for at least $150 to $250 in cuts for FY 12. If we work step by step, we can reach our goals. If we try to overplay our hand early (control of the House vs the Senate and the Pres.) we run the risk of losing what control we have and moving backwards instead of forward. Sorry if that is not good enough for you but it is the best we we can get. Anything else is either not realistic or a worse alternative.
Yes, and what happened about the normal republican strategy that quality growth and development will make the deficit manageable? Now, since republicans are doing the bidding of the tea party, we risk throwing the economy back into recession, which is the worst thing that could happen to us and the deficit. Vice President Cheney said deficits don’t matter when the Bush administration was running up deficits. I don’t agree with Cheney, deficits do matter, but so does job creation and ensuring the recovery is on sure footing. Throwing the economy under the bus to score political points with the tea party is simply outrageous.
Mike, A mind is a terrible thing to waste.. I have seen what crack can do to a person.. Same is true for dems and gop habits.. One has less of a crack problem but BOTH have a crack problem.. Tea Party movement is the AA of politics today and contrary to the way you portray the tea party movement, the people who call themselves Tea Party see you and your dems and yall and your republicans as two parts of the same problem.. You dems cannot sea the difference because you are, to use your own term, doing the bidding of Shumer, ried and the far left. Mike, you choose to attack the tea party just like rinos do so you are not alone, but you just don’t get it, like they don’t.. Pooor Mike.
Steve: a still slowly recovering economy, that’s just starting to see a little job growth
We deficit-spend 10% of GDP and get 2% GDP “growth,” and you want to continue doing that?
So you guys agree with Christina Romer?
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/bring-qe3-t-afford-not-more-romer-says-20110407-045249-959.html#mwpphu-container
“…lower dollar is good for ordinary families.”
“What I’d like is for the Fed to come at the unemployment problem with the same passion as when the financial system was in such distress,” she says.
“It’s a “mistake” for the Fed to end QE2 in June as planned, Romer continues. “The evidence is it’s been very effective. I don’t understand why we’d be dialing back that tool.”
Ms. Romer hopes to induce a wage/price spiral. Prices are spiraling, just not wages.
Consider this; watch the clip:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/marc-faber-everything-going-only-federal-reserve-there-no-inflation
Jamie,
You understand the physics of holes, right? Digging yourself out of the hole takes a lot of work and capital, as things start to improve it becomes easier and doesn’t require as much effort. BTW, your figures assume that we weren’t deficit spending before we went into the hole. That’s not right, we were. So only a portion of your 10% accounts for the 2% growth. And actually, according to this weeks Newsweek, our growth projection is 3% for this year. Not great, but better than most of Europe.
Shut it down. I’ll take my chances on who will take the blame…
BTW: If this was really about the deficit, we would not have extended the Obama(Bush)Tax cuts… This is really about John trying to make a politic case to help him on his run for the White House.
Shut it down… LOL
The deficit/debt has been put into hyper drive. In March 06 Obama dogged out the Republicans for extending the $8.6T debt, we’re now talking about raising a $14.2T debt. That’s $5.6T in five years. That’s out of control!
The unemployment rate has skyrocketed since. Everything the government has dealt with has turned out to be a total disaster, oil, climate change, EPA, etc. In government, jobs are a zero sum game so the less government is working on jobs the better.
@Peter – I understand the control of Congress and how important the 2012 elections are. But it’s time to have these discussions before we move onto the next self-perpetuated crisis.
@Mike – If you haven’t noticed, we’re not structured for growth anymore because all of our tax-and-spend politicians have shipped our jobs overseas. We’re in a recession, it’s just academia have defined it as not. And our “Useful Idiot” media screams the message.
“The Government Sucks at Managing Anything” It only drags on the economy, they by no means enhance it. They create jobs by taking money from others to create an unproductive service, or they make a productive service unmanageable.
Shut it down?
Come on guys, get real. I’m trying to get my business going. I can’t get started until the paperwork is done and a huge amount of that involves the federal government processing my paperwork.
You have to fill out form A and wait so that you can provide the number given in response to form A to file form B where the number given in response to form A is required etc etc.
I do not need a government shutdown which delays me from getting my business started.
I wish Republicans would keep social issues apart from financial issues. If I can not get my business started, I can’t pay my taxes and everyone depending on my being able to do so is going to suffer.
Steve,
If you use Newsweek as a primary source you have already lost the argument.
David,
What you should be asking is: I want to start a business (i.e. create wealth and spur economic activity) why is the federal government involved?
Yes, the irony of the republicans shutting down the government because they want the government to regulate a woman’s right to choose is beyond comprehension. I thought these zealots stood for individual choice and freedom of choice from government regulation of personal issues. Frankly, I believe in those concepts as well, but to me, I value my own freedom and liberty, yet do the best I can to avoid judging and condemning how others choose to determine their own acts. Hypocritical is the other way to characterize this action.
Mike,
Most of us (conservatives believe You should be free to make your own decisions and live your life the way you want. You however want us to pay for it. Be very careful when you use words like hypocrite.
Oliver,
Actually, in trucking, I welcome the involvement of the federal government. Without this involvement I would have to endure living with 48 separate fiefdoms with their own special rules.
Every state attempts to slant the rules to favor their own economies. It is only the involvement of the feds that keeps the playing field even.
Now, in dealing with the more level playing field, I have to get some federal paperwork done.
It took 39 comments for the thread to be hijacked by trucking again….
Dave,
Good answer, interstate commerce is actually mentioned in the constitution. But the question remains shouldn’t the federal government be regulating how the States regulate you? Identifying and equalizing standards, insuring reciprocity, leveling the playing field as you say. I have a Virginia license that is valid in all 50 states but I didn’t have to apply to the federal government.
Brian,
Oh my gosh, somebody involved with business expresses an opinion other then someone who’s principal business is expressing opinion. Oh, let me add your business is also a very deflated acting occupation.
Truth hurts.
Oliver,
Yes, the feds need to be involved in regulating the trucking industry. Unlike your ordinary license, the holder of a CDL (Commercial Driving License) is motivated for profit. The longer he drives, the more money he makes. Reasonable is reasonable. But if the feds were not involved, we would have to live with unrealistic expectations from EVERY state, and that includes California.
Well all I gotta say is we all better watch out if either party loudly proclaims on the Sunday shows that they had to pass the bill at two in the morning so they could find out what the compromise was.
These are the tactics used when they want to trick the populace.
Dave,
You miss my point, I acknowledge that the fed has a role but why do you need to ask permission from Washington (paperwork) to execute business in an arena where they have regulatory authority. The state of Virginia is perfectly capable administering those federal regulations on Washington’s behalf. It happens all the time. You argue for federal primacy when it is neater necessary or advantageous to you as an individual.
John,
I’ve written my objection to each of the posts I commented on. If you disagree with any of my objections let me know. I think you’ll find that what I stated the first time and reiterate here stands firm.
But you’re correct, I did use some name calling. Sorry about that. It’s frustrating reading one person telling another to commit suicide and one calling another poster a child molester. It isn’t very mature and it does make the posters (myself included) look like jokes. And I hope I’m wrong about Donald Trump, but the poll numbers…don’t look good.
1. Telling someone to commit suicide. Is that appropriate?
2. The majority of the press will not blame Republicans. Press will state the facts and then media personalities will place blame where blame is deserved based upon their opinions. Would you disagree?
3. The House Republicans did pass a bill that would do those things amongst others. I asked for him to state what the bill does, not what half the bill does. The debate does not come down to paying the military or funding NPR and Planned Parenthood. The debate is whether this is a financial/economical debate or an ideological debate. The Republicans stated that they wanted to reduce deficit funding which the Democrats agreed to, but now it has moved to ideology.
4. Calling someone a child molester. Again, is that appropriate?
I think I was pretty clear and fair in pointing out inconsistencies and inappropriateness posted in this blog.
David, the truth doesn’t hurt half as much as your myopocity.
Myopocity”…. Isn’t that corrected by using “rose colored glasses”?
Oliver,
OK, Virginia is capable. How capable is Virginia to rule when it involves interstate commerce?
Look at McDonnel’s toll-road proposal for example. He wants to toll interstate commerce at the border. Thankfully for us truck drivers, he can not do it on the interstates without the approval of the feds.
Politicians are always going to try and subvert the rules to obtain advantage for their constituents. When you are talking interstate commerce and state politicians, you need the feds to serve as referee.
BK,
What is “myopocity?” Were you trying to say myopicity, a condition of being myoptic? If so, so such word exist. You seem to like making up words as much as you like making up facts.
Dave,
I hope you are not saying that the federal government needs to be involved in every interstate transaction. They set standards that the states adhere to and enforce. Why do you as a small business person need to ask for their permission to engage in an act of commerce? You need to abide by their regulatory standards but administration and enforcement at the transaction level should not require prior federal approval. Your ability to make a living and create wealth is being held hostage by the federal government and you think it’s a good idea. I would consider going to work for someone else. Your instincts are not entrepreneurial .
HisRoc, all new words start somewhere. If I invented it, then I can decide how to spell it.
Kind of like the way you made up your fake name.
Well its the morning after.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDeVSoDl9Y&feature=related
100 Billion eh.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z-AxgueBRk&feature=related
I am saying that when it comes to interstate commerce, it is better to have one standard to go by then to have 50 distinct, separate and often contradictory standards to live by.
Entrepreneurial spirit? Did Ronald Reagan lack some of that? It was under his administration that the STAA (Surface Transportation Assistance Act) was passed. While trying to haul a load of interstate freight is still complicated, the STAA went a long way in making the job easier, and it helped to level the playing field.
So in the end, the overreach by the republicans on Planned Parenthood revealed for all to see the actual hypocrisy about cutting the budget. Planned Parenthood spends less than 3% of their budget for abortions and none of that service is supported by federal money. In fact, by providing other services, they keep low income families out of the emergency rooms, and actually save us money. For the speaker to have displayed such cowardice in the face of his caucus, and then to have to retreat, does not bode well for the next round.
I wish to celebrate the new compromise.
It looks like my paperwork will not be held up by a government shutdown.
My paperwork will have been completed by the time we next approach brinkmanship. I scraped under the wire, but my bleeding heart will still feel for the small businessman then trying to get started next time around.
I know from experience that a government shutdown can clog up the economy.
Mike, if abortion is so insignificant for Unplanned Nonparenthood, why is it the thing they defend the loudest?
The GOP failed.. We needed a shut down.. No representative semes to have the courage to show us how they raise campaign money but something stinks real bad right now..
Infinite amounts of money changing hands seem to be pervasive in this “new” government.. Taxpayer dollars still get sucked into the black hole of DC while the special interest lobbying and the checks being written for the next election continues.. Lobbyist won big last night and they will be writing a bunch of checks for re-elections.. Super pacs won huge.. Cutting $38.5B is a minor issue for them, the lobby profession is alive and well.. 527′s and 501c3′s are rewarding our representatives so well that re-election should not be such a fund raising challenge afterall.. The MSNBCGE TV stations may not have to provide valuable information to generate ad revenue but their parent corp will delve deeper into the black hole they and other large corporate special interests finance. Ask our representatives where the money is coming from and I doubt they will come forth and speak the truth.. The GOP did not have the guts to hold their pledge and if they did we would have had a shutdown and a REAL budget shootout on the hill.
James,
Our representatives in Congress need some time to consider the alternatives. Rep Ryan has put forth a real proposal to deal with a real problem. I am in the middle on this. I realize that the increasing costs of Medicare and Medicaid are a tsunami quickly approaching. But who is going to give ground?
No tax increases? OK, good luck getting all those seniors who vote disproportionately to agree to cutting their Medicare benefits that they are depending on.
Everybody wants everything, and nobody wants to pay for it.
I wish to point out that the trucking industry is not as psychotic as most of the American populace. We want improved infrastructure, and we are willing to pay our fair share of taxes to get it.
David, I will concurr the truck industry pays their fair share if not more. The problem is that in order to prevent losing lobby money and more, compromises were made that we in fact broken promises to constituents.. Maybe its last nights wine talking this morning but something smells fishy on the banks of the potomac this am and I am not calling out just one party.. As for Ryans proposal the time frame is way to far forward.
We have essential and non essential services. The non essentials should have been put on hold until sink or swim 100B was cut.. a paltry 100B that is. Jamie Radtke says 1000B and Rand Paul says 500B This time, not next year. The current crop of electeds lack the $$ for re-election and the lobbyists have been working the punchbowl to keep the DC ballrooms busy.
What is that stench coming from DC? Find it and you will find a moneytrail.
Simple Brian, it is the portion under attack. They serve poor women who need women’s health services, and the attack upon them by the rich republican politicians serves to prove their political hypocrisy on fiscal issues.
Mike what are you talking about rich Republicans ? Obama is the only candidate for President vowing to raise over a billion dollars.So are you saying that poor people are going to raise a billion dollars for Obama ? If they have that kinda cash to give they must not be so poor.
LittleDavid,
Either we deal with the reality or the reality will deal with us. Ryan’s idea that we have until 2036 to balance the federal budget is suicidal.
The accelerating collapse of the USD, for those of you who are paying attention, is the harbinger of our final payback for our budgetary reticence. If you’re a trucker, you know what’s happening to fuel costs and how they filter into the costs of everything we buy, including our food.
There is no free lunch. Borrowing 40% of the money we are spending at the federal level for three years in a row clearly indicates we think there IS a free lunch.
I am tired of all of political circuses. Get us back into the black in the budget.
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