‘It’s going to be pointless’

[babylonsister]

Posted with permission.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/its_going_to_be_pointless034007.php

December 09, 2011 8:00 AM
‘It’s going to be pointless’

By Steve Benen


The way the fight over the payroll tax break is going, lawmakers, their aides, White House staffers, and reporters should probably start revisiting their holiday travel plans. At this point, there are really only two points of agreement: (1) policymakers need to succeed by the end of the month; and (2) they’re nowhere close to an agreement.

Senate Republicans have now voted down four tax-cut bills in two weeks. In the House, matters are arguably worse.

Pivoting to challenge President Obama and Senate Democrats, House Republicans said Thursday that they would forge ahead with a payroll tax holiday bill that includes an oil pipeline opposed by the president and that looks to changes in social programs to pay for the tax cut and added unemployment benefits.

In a sharp answer to several failed bills produced by Senate Democrats that would cut an employee’s share of the payroll tax and impose a new surcharge on income over $1 million, the House Republican bill would pay for the extension through a mix of changes to entitlement programs and a pay freeze for federal workers.

House GOP lawmakers are so against extending a middle-class tax cut, they’re insisting on all kinds of goodies for themselves — adding that if their rewards are taken away, they’ll kill the overall proposal, no matter the consequences for the nation’s economy.

Indeed, the ransom note is starting to look like a spoiled kid’s list for Santa: Republicans want the Keystone XL pipeline and weaker toxic-air safeguards and a ban on future EPA standards on toxic-air pollutants and a premium increase for wealthier Medicare beneficiaries and a federal employees pay freeze and a reduction in the federal workforce and a sharp reduction in the maximum duration of jobless benefits.

And if they don’t get all of this, 160 million Americans will have less money in their paychecks starting on Jan. 1.

Could this House bill pass the Senate and earn President Obama’s signature? Of course not. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), literally the only Republican on Capitol Hill who’s been reasonable on this issue, said yesterday, “It’s going to be pointless if the House sends over bills that the Senate cannot or will not pass.”

The House GOP is a big fan of “pointless.”

Nine days ago, after the Republican leadership in both chambers endorsed a payroll-cut extension, the Wall Street Journal said the announcement “virtually assures that American wage-earners will continue to receive the benefit next year.” Let this be a reminder: when sensible policymaking is dependent on congressional Republicans being responsible, premature optimism is never wise.

[Cigar11]

1. Country First Republicans; What a JOKE!

[WI_DEM]

2. Keep the Senate in session on Christmas and I mean in session

No sneaking out for the day.

[LiberalEsto]

3. Did they secretly pledge NOT to cut taxes?

O hypocrisy

[Lifelong Protester]

4. I won't be happy until I see the cots being rolled into the capitol

and ALL of Congress kept there for the holiday. They need a big 'time out' at the capitol to see if they can wise up (I highly doubt that will happen) and have the repubs QUIT playing politics. Ha ha ha.

[tavalon]

5. Will this impact Social Security, this payroll tax holiday?

If so, I can't believe I would side with the Republicans, kill it.

[frazzled]

6. No.

And it's been explained a million times.

[babylonsister]

8. For you...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x829555

[tavalon]

9. Thanks

I missed that first time around.

[tavalon]

10. So is the money coming from the magical unlimited purse?

Methinks this is just a stupid way to run a government. We, as citizens have the responsibility to pay our fair share, including in payroll taxes so that Social Security doesn't come out of an amorphous "other" (which will never, ever, be the military budget - something I could get behind!). I think it's pandering to the shrinking middle class (at a cost to us all) to get votes. It isn't fiscally responsible.

[ieoeja]

7. Behave responsibly and just say "no" to extending this holiday.

I remember when the comeback to "tax and spend Democrats" was "at least we behave responsibly unlike the borrow and spend Republicans".

We didn't always win this argument. But, then, we didn't always lose either. And win or lose, we could at least hold our heads high and claim responsibility. Republicans could *never* make that claim and quickly changed the subject when it came up.

No more. We now have a litany of irresponsible, borrow and spend Democrats. Living in Chicago I've had the misfortune to have a front row to probably the worst of the bunch.


Mayor Daley was the first elected official in the United States to privatize an interstate. That shit has been repeated many times since. When he privatized the city streets, the people finally turned on him and a lot of his quislings in the city council. Chicago had it's biggest turnover in city council in more than a quarter century last election primarily because of the city street privatization.

Inmate Blagojevich, forced Metra to let seniors ride free, blocked Metra from raising rates to make up for the loss, initiated massive new spending programs and paid it for by illegally not funding state pensions. Those state pensions are now in a big hole with the Right predictably attacking state employees for it and useful idiots believing them. Fortunately, Illinois doesn't pay much attention to Lieutenant Governor primaries, so a good-government activist snuck into that position before Inmate Blagojevich decided to borrow the other time-honored Republican practice of stealing taxpayer money for himself. So when the neo-lib was impeached, the politicians were embarassed to find a guy they hated taking his place. And the activist did the most "unrealistic" thing he possibly could: he raised state income taxes. He is taking a beating for it, even though we are still slightly below the national average.

But it was the right. Thing. To do.

Someone asking about Chris Christie's popularity (maybe because he is a Republican governor in the northeast?) made me look into his opponent whom I knew had been thoroughly hated. Sure enough, Jon Corzine was a neo-lib who privatized an interstate highway and other typically rightist bullshit.

Most rank-and-file Republicans don't really like rightist policy. They just like rightist politicians. When a Democrat enacts rightist policy the Republican rank-and-file actually pay attention and express their disgust with the policy. I am always surprising this one "I'm an Independant But {insert rightist talking point de jour}" by agreeing with him almost every time he says something negative about a Democrat. Because almost every time he says something negative, it is when the Democrat is implementing rightist policy. Then I go on to piss off the "I'm an Independant But" by bringing up all the times Republicans tried implementing said policy, but were blocked by paleo-lib Democrats before the neo-libs came along and fucked us all.