Republicans who attack President Obama over the national debt were unwilling to create a bipartisan deficit commission with him. So the president has decided to go around them: He will issue an executive order on Thursday creating an 18-member deficit commission. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform will be chaired by Alan K. Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming, and Erksine Bowles, the former chief of staff to President Clinton who brokered a 1997 balanced-budget agreement with Congress. “There isn’t a single sitting member of Congress—not one—that doesn’t know exactly where we’re headed,” Simpson tells The New York Times. “And to use the politics of fear and division and hate on each other—we are at a point right now where it doesn’t make a damn whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican if you’ve forgotten you’re an American.”
Recent Comments
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
I don’t know what to think about this. I can’t get past my anger that Congress isn’t doing their job.
I read an opinion piece in the newspaper today written by Phillip Brownlee. It made sense, but the b.s. comments that were made were totally mindless. Those people (“You people”) seem to think that the economy took a nosedive the second Obama took office. They forget that the unemployment numbers started falling after 9/11, and that there were very, very few new jobs created during the Bush years after that. They b!tch and complain about the stimulus money, but they aren’t saying boo about the extra dollars in their pockets. Sure, we’ll be paying for it later in taxes, but taxes will go up, no matter what.
What people need to ask themselves is if they believe they’d be comfortable if nothing had been done. Other than helping corps and banks, what would the Republicans have done to help the economy? What would the country be like if NOTHING had been done? What would the unemployment numbers be, and how many people would be jobless with no unemployment?
I really get tired of these guys wailing and whining and saying they’ve never taken unemployment. Maybe they were never in a position to need to.
And why weren’t they b!tching about all the money spent on Iraq that was borrowed from China? That was okay?
Oh, wait a minute. This is a forehead slapping moment. As long as it was a Republican who did it, it’s okay. As long as it’s because of “war”, it’s okay.
Sheesh.
Oh some of those Republicans have and are currently taking unemployment benefits.
You see, Republicans are okay with our evil government giving out checks with their particular name on them!
These people don’t want anyone else to get anything – kinda like health care reform.
How dare Obama think that every American should have health care. What would that do to those old men wanting their Viagra pills paid for?
We have gotten used to the irrational republican statements over the past twelve or so years. I am beginning to hear some cooler, more rational heads coming out to say that it is time to stomp out the bs. I sure hope that those people can be successful in shutting up the nonsensical, nonconstructive part of their party.
And good on Obama for doing the end-around on the do-nothing republican senators. I’d love to get John Boehner in a room alone-with a chair, a rope and a table full of cream pies. I don’t KNOW that I could train him to shut his pie hole, but it would be fun to try!
Paula, I’d go for some water-boarding for him. 😉
That, and the fact that certain people got no-bid contracts and were raking in billions.
Who cares if our country is less safe or that we are bankrupt and owe our soul to China. Their buddies got richer and it is all good in their book!
Sad to say, these same people wrap themselves in the American Flag and thumping their Bibles to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Loyal patriots or domestic enemies?
It has long been an American tradition to blame whoever is in office for any economic problem, regardless of who was in charge when the problem began to go toxic. The current blame game is just the latest example.
It’s predicted we’ll have a Republican in the White House in January 2013. If that prediction comes true and the economy is finally recovered to the point employment is low, will that automatically be credited to the new president on the day s/he takes office?
Does it go both ways — credit and blame go to “whoever is in office”?
Only if there’s an R in the WH.
Even though Clinton “balanced” the budget and there was a surplus, he’s blamed for the economy tanking after Dubya had been in office several months. It was the same as it’s been with Obama, only in reverse. Life was rosy until Obama came along. Once he was in office, unemployment went from 0% to 10%, banks failed, and the country went to sh!t.
They only remember how and what they want to.
Republicans have selective memory, that’s for sure.
Maybe that explains why so many Republican men are fidelity-challenged? They can turn off their memory of taking those marriage vows for awhile.
Guess I cannot say that just Republicans are fidelity-challenged since Edwards has become the poster boy also. But at least the Democrats have cut Edwards loose and has given him no support.
On the other hand – Republicans have rallied around their poster boys and have engaged in the same selective memory game. That is, that forget all family values stuff until the next election comes and bring that big banner out proclaiming how morally superior they are to that Democrat over there.