More polling results from ABC News/Washington Post show — once again — that House Republicans are in deep trouble in their positioning. From our friends at “The Fix“:
When asked for their opinions on a wide range of possible ways to bring down the national debt, raising taxes on the wealthy – in a variety of forms – is without question the clear winner.
The biggest loser? Touching entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and SocialSecurity.
More than seven in 10 respondents in the Post/ABC poll – 72 percent – said they favored the idea of raising taxes on those making $250,000 or more to help shrink the debt.
While, not surprisingly, 87 percent of Democrats supported such a move, so did 54 percent of self-identified Republicans. And, nearly six in 10 people said they would support raising taxes on oil and gas companies, including 55 percent of Republicans who agreed with the idea.
Those numbers suggest that the notion that any tax increase is anathema to the party base – a belief that seems to be guiding much of House Republicans’ negotiating strategy to date – may be misguided or, at least, overstated.
We’ve been saying it over and over and over again — House Republicans are absolutely on the wrong side of this issue where the general public is concerned, but they remain so petrified of angering the Tea Party that many are following the blind lead of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor…right over a cliff.
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right off the cliff . . .
Cantor and the TP folks are acting like spoiled children, threatening to pack up their toys and go home if they don’t get their way. Worse, they either don’t understand the consequences of their desired course of action, or even worse, they don’t care.
For some reason, liberals don’t get it – the conservatives’ and TP’s anti-government, anti-tax position is religion for tthem. It’s like asking a Catholic to accept Wicca or a Jew to believe – just a little bit – in Jesus as G-D. When liberals – including Obama – come to understand and accept this simple truth, the mystery of their actions and a process for dealing with them becomes self evident.
One thing you cannot do is negotiate with them. Second, they will never be appeased.
The House Republicans are playing a cynical game with the future of the public. They know that one very important reason the economy remains sluggish is the lack of confidence voters have in their personal economic well being. Certainty would benefit the economy because voters would know where they stand, even if they didn’t like every part of a compromise. By maintaining their position on the debt ceiling debate they are feeding the public’s uncertainty which, if they succeed, will probably result in less economic activity and perhaps a renewed recession. The Republicans believe that will help them in the next election. Their strategy is despicable, shameless, and deserves retribution at the ballot box in 2012.
McConnell is still the only Republican who is willing to say what is going on…”The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
No matter how much they screw this country that is their ultimate goal, and it is disgusting.
From Eli at FDL
Eric Cantor isn’t about to let a little old thing like history deter him.
(based a mix of cuts and revenues) but House Republicans can still block any increase in the debt ceiling unless they get what they want.
Unfortunately, in the short term, it looks like the President will have to either cave to the Tea Party Republicans in the House, or lay off millions of federal workers, or worse.
After the stock market dives 700 points in one day, the House Pubs may have a change of heart, but don’t count on it. These guys are suicidal.
From March, ’11 Harper’s Index (which I can’t source cause I cribbed this from another place)
And –
Percentage of Congress that doesn’t give a flying dog turd for anyone else but themselves and their careers: 100%
This is just my silly contribution to an already silly time to illustrate how silly this country has become.
Got a tough issue to discuss in Congress – fight a partisan battle, get your polling data, feed the media talking points, obfuscate facts, mangle reality to a point only a select few know what is happening, sell a solution that looks like shit, smells like shit and tastes like shit – but is called a great deal by everyone because the alternatives are even worse.
Rinse.
Lather.
Repeat.
Sheesh.
They better watch out because those ONG industries need more of their private capital diverted to the government and those farmers and ranchers …. same for them too …. lets divert more of their income to the government for redistribution.
Heck the ONG and AG industries have limited impact on job growth or retention in Congressman Gardner or Congressman Tipton’s districts.
from being in the best country in the world then you can pay your fair share, and stop crying foul like a pussy.
Grow up and pay. Stop being a syphon, stop thinking you are better than everyone else, and be an American.
Using the free and public works of our forefathers and the core strength of our free nation, you base your claim to more of our earnings to fund your failing redistribution policies via the “fair share” strawman.
I have a brilliant idea for you, follow my logic below and try not to get too upset at the direct use of language offensive to you. I think you’ll like the outcome I suggest as the leftists response.
Situation: So how are those hot breakfast, lunch and dinner programs doing at DPS? With a 43.5% graduation rate I suspect you must be missing abound 50% of the 14-18 year olds.
Obvious Leftist response: In order to make things fair and promote social justice you should use this data to cite the need for a new government program to assure the 56.5% of those 14-18 years olds who are dropouts get their “fairshare”.
Likely Conservative response: well if they are really that hungry, then it just might drive them back to participate in the FREE cradle to 20 education the government is already providing them.
Not sure what you think the cradle to 20 program is, but I couldn’t find anything about it.
There is a Promise Neighborhoods program that includes a cradle to careers program within it, but it hasn’t been funded yet and doesn’t have shit to do with basic nutritional requirements for academic learning.
So, the likely Conservative response you gave would be typical, speaking out of your ass about something that doesn’t exist?
If it doesn’t support Norquist and that GOPT’s contention that they represent what the American people demand, it’s echo chamber or flawed polls. The reason every talking head on Fox uses the same exact words as every other talking head on Fox every week is because they all spontaneously thought exactly the same in exactly those words. Everyone spontaneously decided that Obam has an “obsession” and that there is no such word as “rich’, just “job creator” as in you can get fat from eating too many job creator brownies
Yes, ‘Tad, you must be the one who isn’t living in an echo chamber, chamber, chamber…
Who said this?
Some alarmist MSU Democrat, right?
The answer is here:
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu…
deliver sound and fiscally responsible policies in managing the nations finances. This includes balancing the budget and using appropriate debt capacity.
You continue to fight to divert more private sector capital for government redistribution and others will take the opposite track. The baby boomers have two choices, load up their great grandchildren with debt to cover for the mistakes on their watch or suck it up for the good of the nation.
What conservatives are so ashamed to mention is the Debt Ceiling is for money already spent, which has been raised several times in the last decade and twice in 2008, where was all this grandstanding then?
I think everyone agrees that our debt is a serious problem that needs serious solutions and quickly. But saying either you hack programs for the poor or you default on your obligations is self serving garbage and does not deserve to be in the USA that I live in.
Exxon made how many billions last year, why should I be paying to help them earn money. Are they helping me earn money? Not last time I went to fill up my car. Why should I have to pay for their airplanes, yes a tax deduction is exactly that, me paying for their airplane.
I am so sick and tired of this; the rich are job creators crap, and they have earned their money. They earned on the backs of middle class and poor. OH yeah not like I want to increase their taxes to 90% how about back to how it was in 2000, I am pretty sure people were still able to make a boat load of money, and oh yeah the federal budget was in surplus.
Shut up and welcome to the United States of America, where we actually want to help those that have a difficult time helping themselves. If you have a problem with that get the hell out.
according to today’s GOPT, he was full of it, too. Besides serving most of his two terms while already suffering early stage dementia, of course. They could chalk it up to that.
We are in control of this process. Would liberal Democrats even being talking about deficit reduction without Republicans forcing them to? No.
You will never out-conservative the conservatives, but we are loving watching you try!
.the current occupant in the White House talked about it during the ’08 campaign, and was criticized about it once he took office:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/0…
Oh, is CNN too “lefty” for you? Well is The Wall Street Journal OK?
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/…
So, I call bullshit. The reason that the average Repub ignored this is because they were still butt-hurt from the 2008 election.
Now, it could be much MUCH worse right now – we could be following McCain’s plan!:
John McCain, deficit dove
http://www.economist.com/blogs…
(Note the link – hardly a leftie site…)
The Republicans talk about the defeicit but, based on past history, have done nothing to curtail it.
Who was the one president, during your life time, who presided over the transformation of deficit into surplus? Who was president and which party was most in control of congress and economic policy when that surplus disappeared, almost overnight? Why are we living in 2011 while you and your buddies are clearly living out the alternate reality of George Orwell’s 1984 with Fox providing the up is down, peace is war agit-prop?
Multi millionaire elected government official married to widow billionaire bought himself a $7 million yacht, then skipped out on paying taxes.
Second, is John Kerry running for something? Pretty sure he’s not going to try to primary Obama and he isn’t up for election until 2014. Is he playing a particularly influential role in the debt ceiling negotiations? No? So what’s your point ‘Tad? Wait…Never mind. I’m really not interested.
If this is supposed to be a shock to us lefties or something, it was widely reported in the both the “lame stream” and “librul” media at the time. Back in July 2010. He was embarrassed and agreed to pay the taxes. Not his most shining moment. Not much new since then. There wasn’t exactly a leftie stampede in his defense. Are we supposed to feel like you’ve really scored on us or what? Most of us don’t have posters of Kerry a hanging over our beds or anything.
‘Tad’s completely outfoxed
usyou liberals yet again. Oh, the humiliation . . .Guess I’ve got no choice now but to go down to the court house and change my registration to “Republican.”
Now, . . . Hey Obammy, where’s my tax cuts? . . .
Pelosi, Pelosi, Waters, Frank, Sharpton — Hey, this is actually kind of fun! . . .
More tea please, baby! . . .