On one hand, total government shutdown was averted as Congress finally passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through September. Yay? Actually, it's more meh. It locks in place most of the precious manufactured crisis' automatic budget cuts. So we get unnecessary economic harm this summer... But at least not a complete economic collapse.
Wait, did I speak too soon? Probably not, but nonetheless expect more doomsday talk as yet another debt ceiling fight. Oh joy, here comes yet another manufactured crisis! (/snark)
And in case that's not enough Congressional melodrama for us to swim in, there's even more today. The House (again) passed Paul Ryan's Medicare busting, student aid slashing, and European style austerity worshipping budget plan. However, in a surprise move, Joe Heck decided not to vote for RyanCare this time. I guess another vote for such a radical budget would really hurt one's "moderate" reputation.
Just before the vote, another Nevada Representative actually spoke on the matter. Here's Steven Horsford explaining his personal experience with the very life saving programs that Paul Ryan and the "tea party" want eliminated.
And Horsford is not alone in saying this. Jamelle Bouie reminds us of the reality behind the latest G-O-TEA spin on RyanCare 3.0.
[... I]f you consider last year a referendum on budget policy, clear majorities expressed their support for President Obama's economic approach, giving reform-minded Republicans ammunition for their views. In a CNN poll released just after the election, 67 percent expressed support for a deficit reduction plan that balanced spending cuts with tax increases. Likewise,in a December poll from the Pew Research Center, only 32 percent said debt could be reduced without raising taxes.
Despite this, Republicans continue to stick to the policies articulated by Paul Ryan and other hard-right conservatives, with little awareness that they may be a problem for voters. Yesterday, RNC chair Reince Priebus -- the same figure who wants Republicans to do more to appeal to the middle class --dismissed the need for substantive changes to the party’s economic policies. "We're not losing the issues on the math,” Priebus said. We're not losing the issues on spending, and debt, and jobs, and the economy. Those are total winners for us."
The simple fact is that this isn't true. Middle class voters don't trust the GOP to look out for their interests, and have voiced this with low ratings for the party (to say nothing of last year's election results). But, as we've seen this morning, Republican leaders will continue to push the policies that cost it the White House and a number of Senate and House seats. Indeed, at this point, it's hard to know if there's anything that will spur the GOP to change course.
Exactly. The American people are not as stupid as some Republican Party leaders like to think we are. News flash: President Obama won the last election because of crap like this! Oh, and by the way, so did Steven Horsford.
Yet again, Congressional Republican leaders are trying to create even more manufactured crises in order to shove destructive budget cuts and "right wing social engineering" down the throats of the American people. When will they ever learn that the American people are sick & tired of this bullshit?
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