Maybe Trump Better Start Making Those Deals
Sep 7, 2017 Political
All during the campaign Donald Trump told us that he loved to make deals, he was a great deal maker (everyone says it) and that he would win so much we would all get tired of winning. Perhaps Trump should start making those deals because I am nowhere near tired of winning.
I don’t think Trump understood how obstructive Democrats and establishment Republicans are. There are not really two parties, they are the uni-party. Different wings of the same bird, as it were. I think Trump believed he would be dealing with people who love the nation and are patriots rather than dealing with people who would just as soon see the nation fail than work with him (John McCain is a prime example). Trump had this mistaken idea that the very people who loved him as a businessman and begged him for donations would work with him to get things done. He was sadly mistaken.
Now Trump has worked with Democrats to extend the debt of the nation and to issue a continuing resolution along with disaster aid until December 15th. We all know what happens when Congress is backed into a corner around the holidays. They work long hours screwing us every way they can and then they take late night votes and pass things that we don’t want all the while claiming they did the best they could. The reality is they will pass anything in order to leave for the Christmas recess. That is where Trump should hammer them all (more on that in a bit).
[note]President Trump also agreed to look at getting rid of the debt ceiling altogether.[/note]
In any event, Trump agreed to this extension and I can see why he had to. The weak, spineless Republicans wanted to extend for 18 months (conveniently running PAST the next election) and Trump did not want to do that. He could not stay the course and risk shutting the government down when Texas needs federal aid and Florida and other coastal states will soon require a lot of disaster assistance. The liberals and their stenographers in the media would ride that pony all the way to the election. So Trump did what he had to do.
Here is where I think he can make hay. If the Democrats and weak Republicans start working on things toward that 15 December date Trump should let them know that he will not sign anything that is not what he wants including a tax cut (ideally a revised tax system). He should let them know that he is not afraid to shut the government down over the holidays and that he will require Congress to stay in session until they pass what he wants. It is time Donald Trump showed us his deal making skills.
I know there is a gentleman’s agreement between Trump and Schumer to end the debt ceiling all together. This is a perfect time for Trump to require Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution. He can tell them he is willing to work to eliminate the debt ceiling but only after we have a requirement for a balanced budget. That amendment should include some provision about how and when taxes can be raised so that they don’t start raising taxes each year to make ends meet (cutting spending is the goal).
Republicans are evidently shocked that Donald Trump worked with Democrats on this with some reports claiming they were quite surprised. Why are they surprised when none of them tried to work with the president to get things done? For months these Republicans have been screwing Trump and the nation by failing to take up his agenda, by failing to repeal Obamacare and in general by failing to do anything to keep the very promises they made to us when they wanted our votes. Donald Trump has been trying to get the Republicans to work with him but they are as unhappy that he won as the Democrats. The establishment wanted Hillary so they could play the usual games. Trump is not a politician and he is not playing their games.
We can help in this process by getting primary challengers for the limp wristed spineless Republicans in Congress and getting rid of them. Vote in true conservatives, people who will actually fight the evil on the left.
And Donald Trump needs to sack up and start showing us the art of the deal he claims to be so good at. If he is having trouble perhaps he should read one of his own books…
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: debt ceiling, Democrats, lies, schumer, trump
Time For Boehner And McConnell To Redeem Themselves
Mar 6, 2015 Political
Treasury Secretary Lew has informed Speaker John Boehner that the US will hit the debt ceiling on 16 March. Treasury would then be required to take extraordinary measures to keep government running and those measures would be exhausted by the final Quarter of the calendar year.
I am not a fan of raising the debt ceiling. I think that instead of raising the limit the amount we are spending should be reduced. The government is taking in record amounts of revenue from taxes but continues to spend more than it gets. Raising the ceiling would not (allegedly) involve new spending. Lew says that it would make sure that money is available to pay for things we have already obligated to. That just means we spent more than we had and now we need more to pay the bills.
This is the time for Boehner and McConnell to step up and redeem themselves over their poor performance regarding funding the DHS and Obama’s illegal executive action.
Boehner and McConnell should insist that getting rid of the illegal executive action (on immigration) by Obama is part of the deal. In fact, they should try to get everything they can as part of the deal. Democrats will balk and scream for a “clean” bill but they got a clean bill for DHS. Now it is time for them to step up.
The thing is these two spineless “leaders” will need to stand fast on their demands or the Democrats will own them once again. They need to be out forming the narrative NOW by telling people what they will do and that if Democrats do not go along they and ONLY THEY will be responsible for the government defaulting.
Put the onus on the Democrats and keep hammering them. Make it all about their unwillingness to compromise. Show them as the bad guys and associate all bad things that might come as being their fault.
I don’t want to see the ceiling raised. We keep adding to the mountain of debt we already have and it will not get better if they refuse to fix the problems that require them to spend more (ie out of control spending, unconstitutional programs, out of control welfare). If we can get a number of concessions for raising the ceiling then it will be worth it this time though if Boehner and McConnell had any guts it would not be necessary.
While I would like to see these two play hardball and ram this down the throats of the Democrats I am pretty sure they will end up looking like dumb and dumber when all is said and done.
It is likely they will raise the limit, give the Democrats everything they want, screw conservatives and the nation and end up telling us it was the best they could do and we should just sit back and take it.
These two could not lead a group of people out of a burning building so it is very unlikely they will actually do anything worthwhile on this issue.
Obama once said adding to the debt and burdening future generations with debt was unpatriotic. Obama and his Democrats, by that definition, are unpatriotic.
Unfortunately, a number of Republicans are unpatriotic as well.
One day we will be led by people who are not part of the establishment and who will get things under control.
Unless, of course, the current crop of morons kills the nation off before then…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: boehner, debt ceiling, demands, lew, lies, mcconnell, public relations, unpatriotic
Obamacare Is The Law
Sep 30, 2013 Commentary
This is the mantra we have heard from the left, a left that is employing all the Rules for Radicals in an effort to demonize people opposed to government intrusion into our lives. Liberals have called Tea Party members tea baggers, terrorists, radicals and anarchists in an effort to paint them as a fringe that must be ignored.
The true terrorists are the members of the government who impose things on us designed to take away or freedoms.
We have heard the left tell us that Obamacare is the law as if this means that it cannot be stopped or overturned. We have heard the brain damaged Harry Reid tell us that the opposition comes from people who can’t come to terms with the fact that Obamacare is the law and that the Supreme Court upheld it.
It is the law is NOT a valid reason to oppose an item or to work to have it changed. The left would have you believe that because this is the law that is the end of the story and nothing can or should be done to change it, period. We made a law and you have to follow it and since it is a law you have to follow it and it cannot be changed or revoked.
Really?
Slavery was once the law of the land. Separate but equal (Jim Crow laws) was once the law of the land.
These were all changed. The funny thing is that when people were working to change them Democrats acted as if they could not be changed because they were the law.
If we applied the same logic then that liberals like Reid are employing now then Obama would be a slave someplace or he would be required to eat at a different lunch counter.
These laws were all changed so for Reid to indicate that Obamacare is the law and that is that is disingenuous at best.
But let us look at something in the here and now.
Along with the Continuing Resolution the Congress must address the debt ceiling. The US has hit the statutory limit of how much it is allowed to spend. The claim is we will hit it in October but we already hit it and they are using gimmicks to keep us afloat.
BUT, the debt ceiling is a law. So, we can now tell Harry Reid and his sock puppets that the debt ceiling is the law and can’t be changed. We will be using their words against them and that will be a valid reason NOT to raise the limit.
If they want to claim that we can’t change something because it is the law then we need to hold firm on the debt ceiling because it is the law.
Ball is in your court Harry. I expect you will fetch it and take it to Obama while you sit at his feet but it is your ball nonetheless.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: debt ceiling, jim crow, lies, obamacare, Reid, slavery
The Impending Financial Doom
Aug 15, 2013 Political
In July the federal government had a $98 billion deficit which means the government spent 98 billion dollars more than it took in. People with even the most basic of math skills know that this means we incurred more debt and therefore, our debt amount went up by 98 billion dollars.
But that did not happen, at least on paper. The US Treasury reports that we had a 98 billion dollar deficit for July but the national debt remained EXACTLY the same every day of the month. They said we spent more than we took in but that the amount of debt we had did not increase. This is impossible and the accounting tricks being implemented will lead to catastrophic economic doom.
Treasury Secretary Lew said he has implemented the standard compensatory measures. Those generally involve stopping the government’s portion paid to employee’s retirement and using the money in employee’s Thrift Savings Accounts (TSP), at least the portion in government securities, to pay the bills (along with other hocus pocus measures). This could be offsetting the deficit numbers and making it look like the debt did not increase but it only looks that way.
This might look good on paper and it might solve a short term problem but the money must be paid back and when it is paid back it will be another huge hit to the national debt.
Another problem is that by doing this the Treasury Secretary is going above the debt limit established by Congress and signed by Obama. It might not look like it on paper but he has exceeded the limit and is using compensatory measures to make it look like he is not. The problem is that he is hiding the fact that the debt ceiling has been passed in hopes that it will be raised and he can pay back the money.
If there is a prolonged fight or the ceiling is not raised then we will be in default and all those places he moved money from will not get paid.
Yes, this has been done in the past. These compensatory measures are usually for a very short time while legislation is being worked out and signed.
The problem now is that the debt has been the very same since the first day of July. Not only did the debt not increase in July but it has not increased in all of August. This means he has hidden debt for a month and a half and if the course remains unchanged it will be well over two months (closer to three) before the situation is resolved.
In all that time nearly 300 BILLION dollars in debt will be incurred and need to be replaced.
Make no mistake folks, we are in default. The fact that the numbers on paper do not reflect it does not change the fact that we have spent more than we have and more than we are allowed to by law.
Treasury is robbing Peter to pay Paul right now but Peter will need to be paid back. A default on all that retirement money that employees have paid in will not be well received.
Right now the country is using fuzzy math to hide the fact that the debt ceiling has been crossed and we are in default.
When it comes time to pay the piper all hell will break loose.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: corruption, debt ceiling, fuzzy math, impending doom, july deficit, lies, national debt
Will The GOP Cave Yet Again?
Jan 6, 2013 Commentary, Political
Let’s clear up a few things. Obama did not lower taxes, he raised them. He did extend the tax cuts that George Bush enacted but he did not lower taxes for anyone. In fact, the taxes he extended were the ones he opposed before he was president. The only thing he did was to raise taxes.
Also, the holiday from 2% of Social Security taxes was allowed to expire so about 77% of income earners will see a decrease in take home pay. To be fair, the cut was temporary and had to end eventually. The funny thing is that many Obama supporters do not understand this and are all upset that their taxes went up. They did not truly go up since they only went back to what they were before the TEMPORARY decrease.
Having written this, Obama is fresh off his claimed victory in the fiscal cliff negotiations. The table was set for this and the outcome was predetermined. The whole thing was theater for the uninformed and allowed each party to sling accusations at each other while getting to the desired outcome.
Republicans were worried about being blamed if everyone’s taxes went up and Democrats were only interested in raising taxes on the alleged wealthy in order to play class warfare. The reality is though, that the only people who lost in the deal are the taxpayers.
Obama left DC and returned to Hawaii to continue his vacation, one that cost taxpayers about 7 MILLION dollars. While he was busy playing golf he threw down the gauntlet and indicated that he would be pushing an extreme liberal agenda including more tax increases, more spending and unconstitutional gun control.
Obama told the GOP that he would not negotiate the debt ceiling and that he wanted it raised. He also said that any cuts would have to be offset with tax increases.
John Boehner gave in and took a lot of heat. He survived a coup attempt and retained the role of Speaker but he must be aware that he has a fractured caucus and that conservatives are not happy.
Mitch McConnell has indicated that there will be no further tax increases and Boehner has stated that he will address the real problem, spending. All of this sounds good but we have seen this movie before. They talk tough but as soon as they run into opposition from the left they cave.
The debt ceiling is rapidly approaching. By Mid February or early March they will, once again, have a credit problem. They will all meet to discuss raising the credit limit once again while ignoring the real problem, spending. There will be tough talk but in the end they will scream that the US can’t default and they will raise the limit. Spending will not be addressed and we will run against the ceiling in the future.
This is a never ending game they play and America is tired of it. We need to get spending under control and the Republicans have only one weapon with which to do that, the debt ceiling. Republicans need to specifically lay out what is to be cut and by how much and that needs to be agreed to before any increase in the debt limit can be allowed.
As far as I am concerned, the debt ceiling should not be raised. They should cut spending to get to where we need to be and they should continue to cut until they balance the budget and begin paying down the debt, period.
That is unlikely to happen with the spineless crowd in DC so spending cuts, immediate ones not the ten year ones, need to be enacted BEFORE the debt limit is increased.
The GOP has this one chance to get it right. If they capitulate and allow the Democrats to abuse them once again then it will be time to replace them with others or to start a new party.
It is time for the GOP to show it has testicular fortitude and stand fast on spending cuts with NO tax increases.
Maybe they can get a new backbone under Obamacare…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
[jpsub]
Tags: boehner, debt ceiling, mcconnell, Obama, spending, taxes