Shutdown Sequel?

Since today is #ThrowbackThursday, we figured now is a good time to jump back into the Nevada Progressive archives. Today, we're traveling back to October 2013. Remember what was happening then? Or perhaps more appropriately, remember what wasn't functioning back then?

We do. And we remember how and why the great Shutdown Shitfest of 2013 finally came to an end.

Fortunately, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Agent Orange) finally stood down last night after his "Plan Z" went nowhere fast. And Ironically enough, that was largely thanks to mounting 21st Century Know Nothing opposition. But in pushing themselves to complete irrelevancy and Speaker John Boehner to total embarrassment, they only succeeded in giving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) the opening they needed to resume talks and seal the deal. [...]

After all, Fitch is now threatening to lower America's credit rating. And world leaders have warned of the economic repercussions of Armageddon. So we finally got to see "Game Over".

Yesterday, Rep. Joe Heck's (R-Why?) staff refused to answer questions regarding the Armageddon deadline. But now, it doesn't matter. House Republican "leaders" are declaring defeat, and a floor vote will soon be scheduled.

For the past three weeks, Congressional Republicans from Nevada and elsewhere have pushed the nation to the brink of disaster. And yes, it's led to some awful consequences. But now, it's all coming to an end. Republicans are being forced to drop their crazy demands... Because it's just plain game over.

After that month from Hell, Congressional Republican "leaders" vowed never to go there again...

Yet now, there's a chance they will actually go there again. But why? Oh, that darned President Obama is planning to clean up the mess they exacerbated by refusing to do any kind of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).



While he isn't publicly endorsing it, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) isn't ruling out a Shutdown Shitfest Sequel, either. And we all remember how he and other Republican "leaders" played coy in the run-up to the first Shutdown Shitfest last fall.

Just like last fall, the G-O-TEA base wants one. But unlike last time, they don't have Obamacare to claim as a bogeyman any more. So now, their fearmongering stand-in will be the President's planned executive action on immigration.

In fact, their fearmongering has already begun. They've gone after #BorderChildren. They've gone after DREAMers. And now, they're going after abused women.



Oh, and of course, they're screaming about "TER'RISS!!!" and "JOBS!!!" while they threaten to hold the federal government and national economy hostage over something they promised to do before refusing to do it. Sure, that makes plenty of sense. #Not

And now, we're left to wonder if G-O-TEA opposition to any kind of positive executive action on immigration will lead them to force us into a sequel we had hoped would never come to fruition

Yo, Dean

Yo. Yo! Yo?

No really, Yo. It's the hottest mobile app to hit the app stores this week. And it's reigniting debate on whether Silicon Valley is entering the next golden age of high tech innovation... Or another "bubble" that's this close to bursting (a la the 1990s' ".com Bubble").

We must admit, Yo has us thinking. What's the difference between "a simplistic yet revolutionary idea" and just another crazy fad that will expire once its 15 minutes of fame are up?

Back in 2011, we were thinking about this as well. Back then, Senator Dean Heller (R) unleashed perhaps the most ridiculous gimmick ever to roam Capitol Hill. It's an austerity powered train wreck that would wreck our economy if enacted. And Senator Heller refuses to let go of it because he thinks "it polls well".

In 2012, Senator Heller then tried to one-up himself with a gimmick that's so outrageous it's unconstitutional. But because "it polls well", Heller keeps riding this one trick pony whenever he thinks it will throw his name back into headline news.

Senator Heller still refuses to give up either ridiculous gimmick. Instead, he's taking his "No Scruples No Sense" hobby horse out for another ride... To the point of voting against much needed budget legislation. Oh, and only 2 of the most radical G-O-TEA Senators (Rand Paul [R-Kentucky] & Mike Lee [R-Utah]) joined Senator Heller in his pointless filibuster over his unconstitutional proposal.

It's debatable whether Yo is useful. However, it's not really debatable whether Senator Heller's fiscal gimmicks are useful. They're not. And there are far better ways for Senator Heller to be spending our time.

Now, if only there was a way for us to condense this message into a "yo" to send to Senator Heller...

Surrender

Last week, he expressed optimism. He was refusing to give up. And really, it's hard for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) to surrender a fight he's sure he can win.



But late last week, he came up one vote short. Even though Senator Dean Heller (R) and a few other Senate Republicans have called on their colleagues to renew the federal extension of unemployment insurance (UI), just enough Senate Republicans stood in line to block UI extension. Why? Apparently, they believe it's
"immoral" to help the 1.6 million Americans who desperately need this lifeline and undo the $1.76 billion worth of economic activity states have lost since the UI extension lapsed.

Instead, G-O-TEA disciples on Capitol Hill have been yearning for yet another manufactured crisis. This time, they wanted to try to skip the bill that they themselves agreed to late last year & again early this year. And since they either didn't remember or weren't bothered by the final result of their last manufactured crisis, they started hunting for the "sweet spot" of painful & unnecessary drama.

But now, that's all changed. Why? Someone must have encountered that pesky thing otherwise known as reality. And all of a sudden, House Republican "leaders" will allow a clean debt ceiling floor vote.

This week, the G-O-TEA has to surrender to reality. Republicans simply didn't have the votes for any ransom demand, and they didn't want to face another Shutdown Sh**fest like backlash. So now, the debt ceiling will be taken care of and the government will remain open. But then what?

That's a good question, yet we probably already know the answer. Since Republican "leaders" will likely face a "TEA" fueled rebellion over this debt ceiling surrender, they will then try to win the 'baggers back by vowing to block any & all other attempts at sane & rational governance. And that may very well mean they'll aim to kill the federal UI extension for good.

Here's why that would be an epic mistake. They already proved that the 'baggers aren't needed to pass legislation. So why not just pass the UI extension already and give our economy the boost it needs?

The federal budget deficit continues to fall, but economic inequality has yet to. And the few Members of Congress who have investigated for themselves know that poverty is still a serious problem in this nation.

So why hold up such a modest effort to curb extreme poverty? What's there to gain from letting millions of Americans needlessly suffer? We now know Congressional Republicans will surrender when they know they're guaranteed to lose another fight over unnecessary & ridiculous drama. So why not surrender this so that these Americans will no longer have to suffer?

Manufacture This!

And we're back. No really, we're going back. We're going all the way back to last October. Remember when we were approaching the brink of Armageddon?

Apparently, Congressional Republicans have either forgotten their own manufactured crisis... Or they remember, and they already want a sequel. Oh, yes. That's right. They're going there (again).

The GOP's apparent desire for another debt ceiling fight is confounding after the party forced one last fall and surrendered one day before the deadline without extracting any concessions. President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders insist they won't negotiate or give up anything to raise the debt ceiling, and Republicans raised (or suspended) the borrowing limit twice last year without extracting any policy concessions -- after initially threatening not to both times.

It's also notable because Republicans and Democrats wrapped up a $1.012 trillion spending bill last week, which passed on an overwhelming bipartisan vote. The debt limit has to be raised in order to finance that spending.

The remarks from Boehner's office and other top Republicans suggest that leaders will have a hard time persuading their members not to pick another battle, even if it is futile. The Speaker said last year on Oct. 6 that the House was "not going to pass a clean debt limit increase" because there weren't enough votes to pass one. Ten days later, he brought up a clean debt limit hike and it easily passed the House, with mostly Democratic votes. Democrats don't take GOP threats of default seriously after they've proven they aren't willing to shoot the hostage.

But wait, there's more! Not only are Republican "leaders" caving into G-O-TEA Culture Warriors' demand for another manufactured crisis, but they're also launching yet another attempt to sabotage Obamacare (aka the ACA/Affordable Care Act). This time, they're demanding the repeal of a key provision of the ACA that stabilizes the insurance market and prevents health insurance premiums from skyrocketing. Oh, and this very risk corridor provision that G-O-TEA politicians now (falsely) decry as a "bailout" was actually originated by Republicans when they proposed Medicare Part D 11 years ago!

But wait, there's even more! In case this latest anti-Obamacare political stunt isn't enough hypocrisy for you, there's also this. Remember that Ryan-Murray Budget Deal that attracted plenty of Republican votes? And remember how "Ryan-Murray 2.0" had to include earmarks in order to pass (for real, this time!) earlier this month? So now, those very same Republicans who (twice) passed a budget, then added a little "pork" to make the second passage easier, now don't want to pay for their own spending? They don't even want to pay for their own beloved/hated earmarks?

How does any of this make any sense? Here's a clue: It doesn't. Congress can't pass a new budget and order new federal investment, then deny the very mechanism needed to pay for the investment. This would be like me going to the grocery store, filling my cart with all sorts of yummy goodies, then refusing to provide my credit/debit card at checkout because "I just can't afford all this." That wouldn't make sense, and neither would Congress refusing to pay for its own damned budget.

And that's why this latest & greatest G-O-TEA manufactured crisis is destined to end like the previous ones did. And we all remember those. Why is the G-O-TEA so hell-bent on losing more elections? And is this why House Speaker John Boehner (R-Sautéed to Golden) & Rep. Joe Heck (R-Known for His Constituent Service) refused to take questions from the constituents outside Las Vegas Country Club last Friday?

The Year of Manufactured Crises

After all the huffing and puffing and strutting and screaming, it happened. A deal was struck. The votes were rounded up. And after weeks of mindless speculation, Congress' latest and greatest manufactured crisis finally came to an end.

How many times have we had to talk about it here? Frankly, I lost count some time in March. However, I remember that our very first conversation of 2013 was about "The Fiscal Cliff"... And what the end of that manufactured crisis revealed to us about how Congress would (not) work in 2013.

Even while "The Fiscal Cliff" has been averted, this is still just a temporary solution. G-O-TEA extremists will be demanding whole pounds of "fiscal flesh" when the debt ceiling is taken hostage yet again again up for debate. So there will be another round of insanity to witness in the new Congress this spring.

Yet even with that being said, it may just end up being a bunch of meaningless Sturm und Drang. Why, you ask? Remember that for most of the past decade-plus in Congress (that is, when Republicans have controlled the House), Republicans have operated under the "Hastert Rule" of only bringing legislation to the House floor if it has the support of most of the Republican caucus. However, that did not happen last night. Instead, this bill passed despite most House Republicans opposing it. And in letting this happen, Boehner implicitly admitted that budget solutions can now be reached by actually reaching across the aisle for a change and bringing in Democratic votes (as opposed to simply grinding Congress to a halt just so he can engage in "tea party circle jerks").

This may be the key to unlocking the potential for better productivity in the new Congress. Both President Obama and Harry Reid see it. We'll just have to see how long House Republicans try denying this "new rule"... And how long we will have to endure the next round of meaningless "tea party circle jerks" before something (else) is actually accomplished.

Actually, it is the key... But it's yet to be used to solve anything other than manufactured crises. Instead, we've seen Congress stuck in epic gridlock thanks to endless G-O-TEA intransigence.

Comprehensive immigration reform (CIR)? Oh, no. They can't do that. It's too "big and complicated" for one bill (despite the fact that the Senate passed one in June).

Farm bill? Oh, no. They can't do that. They'd rather let American consumers suffer unnecessary higher food prices than let the working poor eat.

ENDA? Oh, no. They can't do that. They still refuse to accept that LGBTQ Americans exist, let alone contribute to the American Economy. [...]

Time and time again, Republican "leaders" have chosen cheap and crass political games over real governance. It's why major policy goals, such as CIR & ENDA, are about to be left unmet. And it's why we doubt this Congress can even "succeed" at such basic tasks as passing longer term budgets.

After all, some Republican politicians are now bragging about their vision of "government that does less". Why would they want to abandon that vision to allow for a government that actually functions properly?

Never mind that we actually have real crises to solve. Because Congressional Republican "leaders" long ago lost control of their Crazy Caucus, they've manufactured crises, such as "The Fiscal Cliff", the Shutdown Shitfest, and a slew of near default debacles, in a desperate attempt to mollify them. It hasn't worked. Instead, it's revealed just how reckless and feckless the G-O-TEA has become.

We've said it before, but we must say it again today. Sharron Angle likely has more control over the Nevada Republican Party than anyone who's actually supposed to be a "leader" in Carson City or DC. As much as Brian Sandoval would like to deny it and John Boehner would like to hide it, that's the awful and crazy truth that we saw unfold over the course of this year. 

Never mind that Sharron Angle currently holds no elected office and has no official position with the Nevada Republican Party. She and her "TEA Party, Inc." BFFs have provided the ideology that's now the heart and soul of today's Republican Party. And as a result, many Republicans are still defending their crazy actions. [...]

It doesn't matter that this whole Shutdown Shitfest made for absolutely awful economics. And it doesn't matter that it ultimately made for crappy politics. For today's G-O-TEA, all that matters is that crazy is in charge. And that's what caused this whole crazy fiasco in the first place.

Ultimately, this and the other manufactured crises came to an end. Senator Harry Reid (D-The Boss) was able to find just enough not-so-crazy Republicans to force "leadership" to stand down at the 11th hour of each and every manufactured crisis of 2013. Yet with that being said, this string of crises has taken its toll on the nation. America has been forced into an era of austerity, and people are suffering as a result of this series of budget cuts. Even now, even more American families are about to become victims of the next round of austerity madness.

And speaking of austerity madness, the big 2014-15 Ryan-Murray Budget Deal is on track to pass the Senate today. It easily overcame a G-O-TEA led filibuster on a 67-33 vote. For the record, Senator Reid voted for cloture while Senator Dean Heller (R) voted to sustain the filibuster.

Even though this budget deal offers plenty of austerity, a number of Republicans (including Heller & Rep. Joe Heck) still oppose it. Why? It doesn't have enough austerity to please the Crazy Caucus, so expect another round of battles in the ongoing G-O-TEA Civil War as 2013 comes to a close.

And what about the new year? Believe it or not, 2014 may begin with (drumroll, please) yet another manufactured crisis over the debt ceiling thanks to continuing teabagger angst over the Ryan-Murray Sequester Remix. So this shitfest over manufactured crises built upon voodoo economics and political hogwash may not actually be completely over just yet. Happy Holidays!

Season of the Scrooge

It's here! It's here. And it's arrived just in time for the holiday season.

Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) reached a budget deal yesterday. And so far, Congressional Republican "leaders" are signaling their approval. So are we free and clear for a 2014 (& 2015!) budget?

Not so fast. Already, G-O-TEA "movement leaders" like Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), and the usual "Tea Party, Inc." agitators have been arguing against the nascent budget compromise. Why? It's a compromise! It would ever so slightly raise federal investment in the economy above Sequester levels. They still want more economy-busting austerity, not less.

Oh, and it's not just the radical right railing against the Ryan-Murray deal. Progressives aren't happy with this budget proposal, either. While it would raise 2014 federal investment from a severely austere $967 billion to a somewhat less austere $1.012 trillion (and $1.014 trillion in 2015), it would do so while screwing over public servants and kicking the long-term unemployed where it really hurts. So even as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) has signaled his tentative approval, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) might as well have held her nose when she gave her statement on the tentative budget deal. And grassroots outrage is building over the possible end to the last lifeline available to those hit hardest by The Great Recession.

So both the activist right and the activist left are protesting the budget compromise. And while no top Democrats on Capitol Hill have threatened to blow it up, some Republicans are already starting to go there. While it's far from inevitable, a Shutdown S**tfest Sequel also isn't out of the equation just yet.

Unfortunately, what's starting to look probable is that at least some hard working Americans are about to get scrooged. And Congress has the gall to channel the spirit of Scrooge during the holiday season. What makes this even worse is that we're not even shocked any more.

Less Isn't More

This morning, we cut past the BS and looked at the reality behind the "Obamacare SCANDAL!!!" hype. Surprise, surprise, there's really "no there there". And what's making matters even worse is that Congressional Republican "leaders" are using this as an excuse to ditch basic governance in a last ditch effort to score more political points going into the 2014 Election Cycle.

Don't believe us? Believe the Republicans boasting of their own record of failure!

“I ran on a government that did less,” said Representative Reid Ribble, Republican of Wisconsin. “I felt the government was overreaching, and the citizens that sent me didn’t want me to be overaggressive in writing new laws. The Affordable Care Act launch is actually demonstrating the ineptitude of the federal government in handling these big programs.”

The 113th Congress has passed all of 55 laws so far this year, seven fewer at this point than the 112th Congress — the least productive Congress ever. House and Senate negotiators will meet on Wednesday to try to come to terms on a farm bill, but they remain far apart, especially on food-stamp cuts that the House is demanding. The leaders of the House and Senate budget committees will also meet this week, and they appear to be closing in on a modest deal that would set spending levels for the next two years while relieving some of the pain from the across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. [...]

“Republicans are using their political attacks on the Affordable Care Act as cover to do nothing else,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Comprehensive immigration reform (CIR)? Oh, no. They can't do that. It's too "big and complicated" for one bill (despite the fact that the Senate passed one in June).

Farm bill? Oh, no. They can't do that. They'd rather let American consumers suffer unnecessary higher food prices than let the working poor eat.

ENDA? Oh, no. They can't do that. They still refuse to accept that LGBTQ Americans exist, let alone contribute to the American Economy.

Ending the nonsensical austerity regime that's only served as a solution (or more accurately, a problem) looking for a problem? Oh... Maybe?! Capitol Hill is buzzing today over talk of a possible budget deal. While it still wouldn't completely end the austerity madness that's gripped Capitol Hill (and hurt the rest of the nation), it would ease the pain a little. And frankly, even this represents major progress for this Congress.

So is it possible that the 113th Congress can finally pass a longer term budget and drop the austerity laced crack pipe? Perhaps, but let's not get our hopes too high. After all, we're still talking about the 113th Congress, the Congress that's now on track to beat the record of "Least Productive Session of Congress Ever" (set by the 112th Congress last year). And as Salon's Joan Walsh reminds us, Congressional Republican "leaders" will face intense pressure from their 21st Century Know Nothing base to put up a(nother) fight rather than compromise over anything. They'd rather force America into a Shutdown S**tfest Sequel than admit defeat.

So this is what we're facing as 2013 comes to a close. Time and time again, Republican "leaders" have chosen cheap and crass political games over real governance. It's why major policy goals, such as CIR & ENDA, are about to be left unmet. And it's why we doubt this Congress can even "succeed" at such basic tasks as passing longer term budgets.

After all, some Republican politicians are now bragging about their vision of "government that does less". Why would they want to abandon that vision to allow for a government that actually functions properly?

So much for that old saying, "Less is more"...

The Cost of Silence

Today marks a major milestone. And no, we're not talking about Cyber Monday.

Today marks 25 years of the world commemorating World AIDS Day. And yes, this also means we can celebrate 25 years of progress. Since the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, more people have been surviving as detection and treatment have improved.

However, today is also a day to note what still must be done to save more lives. Just here in the US, over 1.1 million people are living with HIV... And 18% of them don't even know it. And while the plurality of these people are gay and bisexual men, women, communities of color, and even heterosexuals are far from immune from HIV. And to make matters worse, infection rates are rising rapidly among Americans aged 13-24.

So what can we do about this? Clearly, we can't forget that AIDS is still around... And still hurting people. In recent years, far too many of us have been lulled into a false sense of complacency. After all, "it's not a big deal any more" since "it can be treated".

Yes, it can be treated... If it's detected early enough. And even then, life as one knows it forever changes upon contracting HIV. We can't forget that more people have been able to survive HIV contraction due to the "cocktail" drugs now available. And let's just say that those "cocktails" are neither cheap nor easy.

That won't be changing any time soon. Sadly, the current austerity regime has forced budget cuts upon federal HIV/AIDS assistance & prevention programs. This has only led to further pressure on private AIDS charities that were already being greatly pressured by the aftermath of the Great Recession.

We have seen progress in the last 25 years, but that progress only materialized after we as a society realized we could no longer allow our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to suffer in silence. We can't afford to let people fall back into that trap of silence 25 years later. We can't afford to undo the past 25 years of progress simply because it's "too inconvenient" and/or "too expensive" to save lives.

Today, we need to think about the cost of silence. And then, we need to speak up and take action. Oh, and we need to educate. The last thing we need now is silence.

Grow Up

We have some good news this morning. Believe it or not, the US economy (as measured by GDP) has grown 2.8% so far this year. And the catch? It has only grown 2.8% so far this year.

Gross domestic product rose at a 2.8 percent annualized rate after a 2.5 percent gain the prior three months, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 2 percent advance. Consumer spending climbed 1.5 percent, the smallest increase since 2011.

The biggest gain in inventories since the first three months of 2012 risks holding back production in the current quarter, which began with a 16-day partial shutdown of the federal government. Jobs data tomorrow are projected to show hiring slowed in October, helping explain why Federal Reserve policy makers are pressing on with stimulus.

“Growth is steady but not that great,” Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York, said before the report. “The shutdown will have a temporary effect on this quarter’s growth.”

Wonkblog's Neil Irwin dug into the numbers some more and found that an improving housing market, steady corporate investment, and increased state and local investment boosted GDP. Meanwhile, federal budget cuts and fearful consumers held back growth.

So the economy is growing... But it's growing more slowly than it should because of ongoing austerity. This is why the Federal Reserve has been holding back on "tapering" its bond buyback stimulus program.

And keep in mind that this was just before the Great G-O-TEA Shutdown S**tfest of 2013. We can't help but wonder if this was on Jon Runyan's mind recently. He was a top NFL offensive tackle who played for the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Diego Chargers... Before getting elected to Congress in the G-O-TEA Wave in 2010. But all of a sudden and just before his 40th birthday, Rep. Jon Runyan has announced he's retiring from Congress.

Why?

[... O]ne New Jersey Republican said Runyan's frustration began early this year when conservatives blocked a vote on aid for superstorm Sandy – a storm that hammered his district – and continued during the recent government shutdown, which he opposed. Another GOP source said he had become frustrated with Washington's gridlock.

[Democrat Aimee] Belgard pointed to those same incidents in announcing her run.

"We have more political gamesmanship and irresponsible discord than I can ever remember in Washington," Belgard said in her announcement. "We need a change from the ego-driven politics that shutdown the government and brought our nation to the brink of default."

As we discussed yesterday, G-O-TEA Culture Warriors are having way too much fun grinding Congress to a halt and holding back economic recovery. While they play with their austerity fetish and refuse to accept the America of the 21st Century, the rest of us are wondering why we can't already give this economy a chance to heal and put more people back to work. Apparently, this was even becoming too tough for a former star football player to tackle.

As usual, Congressional Republican "leaders" are dismissing Senator Harry Reid's helpful advice. That may turn out to be a big mistake. Their obstruction agenda isn't impressing anyone. It's time for them to grow up.

Crazy Silly Stupid

So they're still not paying attention. They've had multiple warnings. But instead of taking heed, they're just tripling and quadrupling down on the crazy.

Of course, we're talking about Congressional Republican "leaders"... And their sordid relationship with the 21st Century Know Nothings who demand all crazy all the time. And this time, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) accidentally told a little too much truth about G-O-TEA plans for the next year.

"Everything we do in this body should be about messaging to win back the Senate,” Sessions said. “That’s it. If you don’t want Benghazis to happen or you want an investigation for Benghazi, if you want an investigation on the IRS as opposed to the excuses that [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid [D-Nev.] is all about, if you do not like what’s happening at the [National Security Agency], then you gain the Senate.”

While Democrats did praise Sessions in the Roll Call story, the fact that the Republican controlling the flow of legislation into the House is primarily focused on "messaging" and wresting control of the Senate from Democrats suggests that the comatose pace of business in Washington will remain ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.

So Congressional Republican "leaders" are making bold statements about their awe-inspiring plans to accomplish... Absolutely nothing. Wow.

OK, we were perhaps a little too harsh. Congressional Republicans have accomplished something so far. They have succeeded in forcing more austerity on the nation. Never mind that austerity has led to less economic growth and continued weakness in the labor market. They're set to demand more starving families for the holidays!

Seriously, when did Republicans suddenly start following European trends this closely? Inquiring minds want to know.

But in the mean time, we just have to ask why Republican "leaders" think austerity is such a "great accomplishment". It hurts people. Yet all they do is manufacture more crises and create more unnecessary drama to demand more of it.

Why not consider pursuing great accomplishments that actually help people, like comprehensive immigration reform, action on workplace discrimination, climate action, and programs that allow for more job creation (instead of less)? They may not like what Senator Harry Reid has to say, but he is offering them some awfully good advice at exactly the right time.

Again, it's Republicans' choice to keep or ditch "The Stupid Party" label.

Pay Attention.

Here he goes again. In an interview with Chris Geidner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) essentially told House Republican "leaders" to stop the epic obstruction and accomplish something. Here's how it went down.

Senate Majority Ldr. Harry Reid: "I think the House is going to have to capitulate" on ENDA, immigration & other bills.

Despite the Senate's action on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), the House hasn't passed anything (except an amendment to deport DREAMers in June). Despite the Senate's progress on ENDA, House "leadership" won't even admit workplace discrimination is a problem in America. And despite Senate Democrats' repeated requests for budget negotiations throughout this year, it took another G-O-TEA induced manufactured crisis to end 17 days of unnecessary drama and kick-start those long awaited budget negotiations.

See the pattern here? We do, but they don't seem to. But wait, can't they at least see the writing on last night's election results?

Apparently not. Even in the wake of an embarrass defeat in Virginia and a pyrrhic victory in New Jersey, the G-O-TEA seems to be proceeding with business as usual... Which of course, means nothing is accomplished.

Civil rights activists are trying hard to change this dynamic. But can it be changed in time to make something happen in the 113th Congress? Is there enough time left this year?

“In the effort to repeal [the military's ban on out LGBTQ servicemembers], the gay rights movement very effectively humanized the real impact discrimination was having,” prominent gay advocate Richard Socarides tells me. “Some of that can be replicated here. But it will take a long time. Individual Republicans might be convinced, but do you think the House GOP leadership is going to hold a historic vote in favor of gay rights? Very unlikely.”

Indeed, there’s no telling whether the House GOP leadership will ever get around to heeding the RNC autopsy’s call for evolution on gay rights to make the party more attractive to young voters, or whether enough individual GOP lawmakers will ever care sufficiently about the issue to seriously pressure the leadership.

A long time, indeed.

And that's not all. AFL-CIO is going all in for CIR with new TV ads (see above) targeting Republican House Members who've yet to match their pro-reform rhetoric with actual votes. So of course, these ads are airing here in Southern Nevada (cough- Joe Heck- cough).

If Republican "leaders" in DC were smart, they'd pay attention. They'd pay attention to the changing electorate. They'd pay attention to the economic reality on the ground. They'd pay attention to Senator Reid's repeated warnings. And they'd pay attention to those pesky Virginia election results.

So will they pay attention? Or do they truly want the reputation of being "The Stupid Party"?

Consequences for Their Inaction

And now, he's (still) speaking. After a hectic, wild month full of manufactured crisis and unnecessary drama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sat down with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow for an interview. And let's just say he didn't hold back when he was asked about the current state of "the other side of the aisle".



Long story short: It's a hot mess. But we already know that. The G-O-TEA has embraced its image as "The Party of Bats**t Crazy".

Yet what have G-O-TEA politicians accomplished with their month full of crazy? They pushed the nation to the brink of economic ruin. They set up a "monkey court" to do nothing but derail health care reform. And they have finally succeeded in making the entire federal government massively unpopular.

Are these really things they should be proud of? Why are they boasting about Congress' record low approval? Why have they been so giddy over creating America's government shutdown and near-default experience?

Congressional Republicans have an opportunity to fix this manufactured crises and restore Americans' faith in our system of governance. They can finally agree to finish the job on comprehensive immigration reform. They can finally do something to end wrongful workplace discrimination by passing ENDA. And they can finally match their "#4jobs" rhetoric with real action by ending the austerity regime that's been harming our economy.

So why won't they do any of this? I sense this is why Senator Reid is so frustrated. And this is why so many Americans are furious.

Sooner or later, there will be consequences for their inaction. Are they that unaware of this basic reality?

A (Rather Deep) Hole

It looks like the rude comments continue to flow from G-O-TEA land. At least this means Jim Wheeler doesn't have to be alone.

So what has the pundits aghast now? Oh, it's just another Republican who's ungrateful over Senator Harry Reid (D) offering their party a political life preserver at their time of need. Of course, this was also when Republicans were threatening to drown America to death, so Senator Reid was also able to stop an unnecessary catastrophe just in the nick of time.

So what did Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) say? Get a load of this.

For his part, Coburn had some choice words for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. [...]

"There's no comity with Harry Reid. I think he's an absolute a--hole," he said.

How pleasant. And it's so fitting considering Senator Coburn is a "strong defender of moral values."

Of course, Senator Coburn tried to cover his @ss equivocate by saying he has "great relationships with other Democrats"... Just not the Senate Democratic Leader who recently reached out to the Senate Republican Leader to end the latest and greatest manufactured crisis that Republicans like Tom Coburn were cheering for. Wow, that makes plenty of sense. (/not)

So Senator Coburn should not have been surprised by Senator Reid's office's response.

"Nothing says 'comity' like childish playground name-calling, especially from a senator who has not sponsored a single piece of successful bipartisan legislation during his entire Senate career," Reid's spokesman Adam Jentleson told the Hill. [...]

Coburn would reportedly like to meet with Reid, but Reid's office has not yet received an invitation, according to the Hill.

"Since this is the second time in the last year or so Senator Coburn has had to apologize to Senator Reid, he knows where to find him," Jentleson told the Hill.

Coburn also called Reid "incompetent" in July 2012.

So what is Senate Coburn's definition of "comity"? Is it this? Might it be this? Or does have no grasp of the actual meaning of the word?

This month, Congressional Republicans dug themselves and their entire party into a rather deep hole by forcing an unnecessary manufactured crisis. Here's some helpful advice for Senator Coburn and the rest of the G-O-TEA: Stop digging!

Cuts Aren't Smart

No one can say we didn't try to warn everyone. As the latest and greatest G-O-TEA induced manufactured crisis was underway, we were warning of the consequences it would have on an already fragile economic recovery. And now, we have a better sense of just how fragile our economy was going into the manufactured crisis.

Since that very crisis delayed the release of the official US unemployment numbers, we had to wait until this morning to see them. But now, we know that the American labor market added 148,000 jobs (non-farm) last month as the unemployment rate slipped slightly to 7.2%. The good news here is that all those jobs were added. In addition, it looks like the unemployment rate did not drop as a result of dropping workforce participation (as it has occasionally before).

Yet with this being said, these numbers indicate continued slow recovery and meddling jobs improvement. And remember, this is before the latest and greatest manufactured crisis kicked in.

We've talked about this before. Austerity is holding us back. It's difficult for the economy to grow if the federal government keeps cutting investment in the nation. That means fewer sales and fewer jobs.

After all, investment begets growth. So why is the fiscal conversation in Washington revolving around cuts and contraction? Wonkblog's Neil Irwin has been asking the same question this morning.

The sequestration policy of automatic spending cuts that went into effect in March really are having an effect. It hasn't showed up much in the jobs reports in ways that can be easily measured (though federal government employment excluding the Postal Service is down 73,000 jobs over the last year, a 3.4 percent decline).

But the workhorse economic models used in places like the Congressional Budget Office and Federal Reserve and private sector forecasters all show that the spending cuts should ripple through the economy and translate into less economic activity, and the soft job growth of the last few months fits that story to a tee.

Perhaps the best evidence for federal spending cuts as the culprit behind weak growth is this: It's the only culprit left standing when you consider the other possibilities. Financial markets have been on a tear, and business and consumer confidence has been strong this year (at least until the October shutdown). Consumers have made major progress reducing their debt burdens. The housing market has stabilized, and is no longer a drag on the economy. [...]

In other words, there's every reason to think this should have been a good year for the American economy. Yet here we are back in the doldrums, experiencing the same ambling pace of recovery that has been all too common since the technical end of the Great Recession in the summer of 2009. Americans can probably look to Washington to assign blame -- and that's before the tumultuous last few weeks exact whatever toll they will exact on growth.

So why are G-O-TEA politicians demanding even more austerity? And why is anyone in Washington taking their seriously as "smart fiscal policy"? It's not. In fact, this is the stupidi-TEA that's holding us back.

Risky (Unfinished) Business

Ah, so he's at it again. Over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) offered more helpful advice for Republicans. And he didn't stop there. He also had a warning for them.

“I don’t blame the American people for being upset. What we have here in America today is a crisis created for no reason, other than to satisfy the shrill right-wing Tea Party. … And I would hope that this crisis as some Republican members of Congress have said, you can look at Roy Blunt, a Republican of Missouri, Lindsey Graham from South Carolina. I’m paraphrasing, but they said this was a terrible waste of resources,” Reid said of the shutdown that could cost the economy $24 billion.  ”All it did is hurt Republicans. … I hope they’ve learned a lesson. The American people will not put up with that. And if this happens again, I don’t think it will, but if it does, I think the House of Representatives will go Democratic.”

“There was so much pushback against this silly, stupid thing they were trying to do,” Reid said, of the House GOP’s repeated attempts to repeal Obamacare even before the shutdown. [...]

“I believe the polls that show 18 [House] Republicans … if the vote were today they would lose. So they, I hope they’ve learned their lesson. If they haven’t, they really aren’t thinking too well,” the majority leader said. Democrats currently hold 200 seats in the House, and 218 is needed to assume the majority.

So what's Senator Reid talking about. Just look at the polls. Republicans' poll numbers have fallen fast as a result of their latest and greatest manufactured crisis. Who could have guessed this would end so badly for Republicans? (/snark)

But wait, there's more. CNN just released a new poll showing how far Republicans have fallen just this month.

The latest CNN/ORC International poll found that 54 percent of Americans think it's a bad thing that the GOP is the majority party in the House, while only 38 percent think it's a good thing. In December of last year, a CNN/ORC showed that 43 percent thought it was a bad thing that Republicans controlled the lower chamber.

[House Speaker John] Boehner fares even worse in Monday's survey. Sixty-three percent want the Ohio Republican replaced as speaker, compared with 30 percent who would like him to continue holding the post.

It's the latest in a recent run of bleak polls for Republicans, who appear to have been damaged deeply by the recent budget and debt fights. Polls across the board showed that Americans largely blamed the GOP for the government shutdown, giving Democrats newfound hope of taking back the House in next year's midterms.

Americans want to see a government that works. They want a government that's actually open. And they want a government that can actually fix problems and accomplish things.

But now, Congressional Republicans are renewing their threat to block the rest of President Obama's agenda. And here, we're talking about a longer term budget agreement, a farm bill, and comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). These were all supposed to be areas of broad, bipartisan consensus. So what happened?

Their TEA-fueled opposition to both President Obama and sensible tax reform has caused immense gridlock in Congress. Never mind that both CIR and progressive tax reform have broad public support. Because they're so dead-set against one, they plan to torpedo the other... Along with a longer term budget agreement and a farm bill!

And Republicans wonder why they've become so unpopular? They're now saying they don't want to do anything else if President Obama won't just give them Social Security cuts along with extra austerity on top of that. In addition, even the Republicans who were originally pushing for immigration reform are now claiming CIR is "dead on arrival" because President Obama hurt their feelings when he pushed then to do their job and reopen the federal government.

Again, how can any Republicans still be wondering why their party is polling so badly? This is why. If their party continues to guzzle down so much "TEA" and shut down the government over political temper tantrums, more Americans may just conclude that it's just too risky to let the G-O-TEA keep this ability to grind the nation's business to a halt.

Harry Reid: The Force to Be Reckoned With

(Also at Daily Kos)

Back in July, local pundit extraordinaire Jon Ralston caused a stir when he asked who was really on the ropes. Ralston questioned BuzzFeed agreeing with a newspaper clip from an old boxing match that reported Harry Reid had his opponent on the ropes (and then defeated him). Ralston really should have known better. After all, he typically does.

Harry Reid (D-Searchlight Strong) is one mothaf**kin' bad@ss. It's never a good idea to cross him. And don't ask why. Really, "That's a clown question, bro."

(But don't worry, I'll still explain below how and why Senator Reid fought until the very end to reopen the federal government without rewarding the G-O-TEA hostage takers.)



Senator Harry Reid may not always be the loudest voice in the room, but he knows how to make his point. He's been counted out before, but that's always turned out to be a huge mistake. Senator Reid can be patient. But when one goes too far in testing his patience, watch out.

We know this here in Nevada. He faced a rough upbringing in the hardscrabble, rural southern tip of Nevada. He faced death threats from the mafia. He faced challenges from the old school political establishment in this state. And yes, he faced an unprecedented effort by "Tea Party, Inc.", to destroy him in 2010. But each and every time for the past 35+ years, he beat them back.



And this year, he's been prepared to do the same again. While he went to great lengths to limit the damage of past budget deals, he and his staff acknowledged they needed to fight hard to stop the insani-TEA once and for all.

Remember, Harry Reid discovered a car bomb threat from the mob. If he could deal with that and live to tell, he could very well defeat some mere "schoolyard bully".



While the "schoolyard bully" had succeeded in whipping the 21st Century Know Nothings into a frenzy, he had no realistic plan to deliver on what he had promised. All he had was hot air. And while that hot air threatened Armageddon, it served no purpose but to delay the inevitable.

While the 21st Century Know Nothings were being whipped into a delusional frenzy, Harry Reid worked with Nancy Pelosi and President Obama to whip nearly all the Democrats (including all the Senate Democrats!) into one consistent position: Stop the Insani-TEA. And by doing so, they pushed back all the G-O-TEA's crass political tactics that were meant to muddy the waters and force concessions out of President Obama.

That was the key difference here. While Congressional Republican "leaders" were preening for the cameras and trying desperately to "win the next media cycle", Obama, Reid, & Pelosi were thinking ahead and planning their strategy to turn back the G-O-TEA at every twist and turn. And as a result, they were able to wear out the Republicans and force the cooler heads on the other side of the aisle to admit defeat.

Sure, Harry Reid doesn't look all that scary at first glance. But beneath the surface, he's a proven and experienced master legislator who has the skills to beat down any kind of sweet, hot air.



That made the difference this month. And this is why Nevada's Senior Senator is still a force to be reckoned with.

It's Finally Over.

Now, it's final. After all the weeks of worrying, it finally happened.

So why aren't Nevada Republicans happy? After all, they got their austerity. What happened to their "fiscal conservatism"?

Earlier tonight, Senator Dean Heller (R-What?) voted against the bipartisan budget deal brokered by Senators Harry Reid (D) and Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to pay the nation's bills and reopen the federal government. Why? He said he "wanted to support a deal". So why couldn't he? Why couldn't he do what even Republican Governor Brian Sandoval and other prominent Republicans have begged him to do?

Simple: He fears the wrath of the teabaggers. Apparently, Senator Heller cares more about pleasing the 21st Century Know Nothings than doing what's needed for the nation and state. And apparently, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Why?) feel the same way. They all dragged this pointless fight over nothing far longer than needed and only succeeded in causing economic harm.

But now, it doesn't matter. The House finally passed this budget deal with a margin of 285 to 144. Rep. Amodei voted against reopening the government, while Rep. Joe Heck (R-Huh?) finally voted to reopen the government.

So in the end, Rep. Heck realized he had to stop punishing his own constituents for reelecting Senator Reid and President Obama. We'll give him credit for that. We'll also give him credit for noticing the recent poll numbers showing him vulnerable in the wake of all this unnecessary economic pain.

But again, why did Heller, Heck, and Amodei string this out for this long? Did they really fight this long for extended austerity and something that's already in Obamacare? What was the point of this?

And in the end, they all held out for nothing. They got none of what they claimed they wanted. And except for the final vote from Rep. Heck tonight, they failed to deliver what even Nevada's Republican Governor admitted we needed.

So what was this about again? Oh, what the hell. It's finally over.

Dean Heller Voted AGAINST Reopening the Government.

The Senate just voted on cloture for the Reid-McConnell deal to reopen the federal government and pay the nation's bills. It's now clear that the bill has broad, bipartisan support. Yet despite this and despite the need to avoid a disastrous debt default, Senator Dean Heller (R) voted to filibuster the bill to end the manufactured crisis.

Funny enough, it's about to pass anyway. And Senator Heller must have known it was going to pass. And he voted against it anyway? Whatever happened to his "fiscal responsibility"?

5:00 PM UPDATE:

The first procedural vote (for cloture) on the bill to reopen the federal government passed 83 to 16. Obviously, Senator Harry Reid (D) voted for his own bill. So did all the other Democrats. Even most of the Republicans joined him and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to end the filibuster so this bill can pass (and the government can reopen).

However, Senator Heller joined a handful of hard-core G-O-TEA Senators against paying the nation's bills and reopening the government. What point was he trying to make?

Whatever the case, it doesn't matter. The bill is easily passing without him. Is Senator Heller trying to look irrelevant?

5:10 PM UPDATE:

Senator Heller also voted against final passage of his home state colleague's hugely bipartisan bill to reopen the federal government and pay the nation's bills. It doesn't matter in terms of the whip count, as it has more than enough support to pass. Senator Heller is just using this as an opportunity to pledge allegiance to the 21st Century Know Nothings.

Sad...

(And by the way, it passed 81-18 and is now heading to the House.)

Are They Happy Now?

We told you so. It's over. No really, it's game over.

As expected, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) finally reached a deal. And here's what's in it.

Many concessions that tea partiers attempted to extract from the Obama administration in exchange for reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling are not expected to be included in the bill. Conservative Republicans had, over the course of the budget fight, demanded a one-year delay to Obamacare, a delay or repeal of the act's tax on medical-device manufacturers, and a "conscience clause," which would have allowed employers to block their employees from buying health insurance that covers birth control. None of those measures are expected to appear in the Senate's bill. The only concession Republicans seem to have won is a slightly stricter set of rules for verifying the incomes of Americans who are receiving subsidized health insurance under Obamacare.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the final bill won't include a GOP proposal that would stop the Treasury Department from using extraordinary measures to raise the debt ceiling. But it will include back pay for federal employees who missed paychecks during the shutdown and establish a committee taskedwith working out a longer deal ahead of the new January 15 and February 7 deadlines. The bill also reportedly includes a provision that could make it harder to use the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip: At the next deadline, Congress would be required to pass a bill if it wants to block the ceiling from increasing. Otherwise, the ceiling would go up automatically.

The House is expected to vote on the proposed bill first, which would allow the Senate to skip some of its cumbersome procedures and quickly move to a final vote. Politico calls this "an extraordinarily risky play" because the majority of House Republicans are expected to oppose the bill. However, Robert Costa of the National Review reported that Boehner has agreed to pass the bill with mainly Democratic votes. There's still a chance that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could go rogue and filibuster the bill in the Senate, dragging out the debate past the October 17 deadline, but his office has not said whether or not he will do so, according to the Wall Street Journal.

So Congressional Republicans nearly forced America into Armageddon... To slightly tighten income verification rules that were already in the Affordable Care Act? Are they happy now? Their antics likely cost this nation far more than whatever we'll save under the new ACA subsidy rules.

Oh yes, and they get us more austerity. Never mind that it's led to less growth and more job losses. Republicans embraced austerity and declared it their "victory". And as a result, we're stuck with another three months of it.

So Republicans essentially shut down the federal government and threatened to turn America into a deadbeat nation over a nearly inconsequential tweak to the Affordable Care Act and continued government funding at austerity levels? They could have accomplished the same thing three weeks ago without a government shutdown and credit default scare!

Are they happy now? Are they happy about the lost jobs, lost economic growth, and lost credibility they forced upon this nation? Oh, and are they happy about their own mounting political losses?

We just have to wonder...

Game. Over.

On Monday, we looked close to a deal. And early Tuesday morning, an end seemed to be very near. But when House Republican "leaders" interrupted Senate negotiations with another dose of their crazy drama, they pushed America to the brink of Armageddon.

Fortunately, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Agent Orange) finally stood down last night after his "Plan Z" went nowhere fast. And Ironically enough, that was largely thanks to mounting 21st Century Know Nothing opposition. But in pushing themselves to complete irrelevancy and Speaker John Boehner to total embarrassment, they only succeeded in giving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) the opening they needed to resume talks and seal the deal.

Never mind that Senator Dean Heller (R) is dismissing the likely deal as a "nothing sandwich". As long as he declines to filibuster (and so far, he is), that "nothing sandwich" that only saves the nation from ruin can pass. With so many House and Senate Republicans signaling surrender, it's finally "game over" time.



After all, Fitch is now threatening to lower America's credit rating. And world leaders have warned of the economic repercussions of Armageddon. So we finally got to see "Game Over".

Yesterday, Rep. Joe Heck's (R-Why?) staff refused to answer questions regarding the Armageddon deadline. But now, it doesn't matter. House Republican "leaders" are declaring defeat, and a floor vote will soon be scheduled.

For the past three weeks, Congressional Republicans from Nevada and elsewhere have pushed the nation to the brink of disaster. And yes, it's led to some awful consequences. But now, it's all coming to an end. Republicans are being forced to drop their crazy demands... Because it's just plain game over.