House GOP is Worthless -- Beholden to Major Donors over 98% of American People!

UPDATE:  4:20 p.m., 31 Jan 2012 from CNN Email:


The House of Representatives won't vote on any plans to avert the fiscal cliff on Monday, leaders have told members.


President Barack Obama said earlier in the day that an agreement to avert some of the automatic tax increases and spending cuts appeared to be "within sight," and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said a deal was "very, very close."


There would be little practical difference in settling the issue Monday versus Tuesday, sources said. One exception: If lawmakers approve a bill on Tuesday -- after tax rates have technically gone up -- they can argue they've voted for a tax cut to bring rates back down, GOP sources said.

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Today's House Republicans are proving they are the worst members of Congress in leadership ever as they obviously don't take their oaths seriously preferring to bow to big donors over the American people.  Vote them all out in 2014!  Never thought I would say that but the House Republicans are worthless and a drag on our economy.

Negotiations are ongoing in the US Senate after the House GOP abdicated their Constitutional responsibility to be the main force behind budget bills.  Guess the Senate GOP didn't get the word from the Koch Brothers and other big donors that they could not negotiate like the House who lined up with the wealthy donors.  In fact organizations from the Koch's like Americans for Prosperity are telling the House GOP to let the economy go over the cliff.  How much have the Koch's invested in seeing our Government go over the cliff.  They seem to be doing everything in their power to tank the economy and have a willing House to go along.  IMHO the Koch Brothers and other major donors should be investigated along with members of Congress on exchange of votes for money.  Am I accusing the Republicans in the House of selling out for donations?  You could say that -- call it a hunch but the way they are acting they are not putting the American people first.

Now those poor babies in the House got their feelings hurt because President Obama dared to go after the lazy, good for nothing Republican Representatives who have the distinction of being the worst House in over 70 years.  When you refuse as a House to pass a bill unless it has majority support in your Conference ignoring the Democrats as potential votes, then nothing should shock anyone out of these House Republicans except honesty which they have a problem with today.

Republicans Lash Out At Obama, Even As Fiscal Cliff Deal Close At Hand 

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks about the fiscal cliff, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington.

Brian Beutler December 31, 2012, 2:27 PM 11834
Republicans reacted immediately and with tremendous hostility to President Obama’s remarks at the White House Monday afternoon, and accused him of jeopardizing a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden had been nearing agreement on legislation to avert broad tax increases and spending cuts next year, say aides with direct knowledge of the negotiations. 

But the evolving framework is unsatisfactory to members of both parties, including members of Democratic leadership, and one Democratic aide described the whole process was “hanging by a thread.” 

That was before Obama’s remarks, in which he boasted that the nascent plan would protect major progressive priorities, and attacked Congress for threatening to derail it before the end of the day when all of the Bush tax cuts expire. Obama also issued a key demand regarding an issue at the heart of the remaining differences between the parties.

“Revenues have to be part of the equation in turning off the sequester,” Obama said. 

That may be a non-starter for Republicans. 

As of early Monday afternoon, the Dems’ latest offer, which is still changing, would lock in the Bush era tax rates for income up to $400,000 per individual filer, ($450,000 per family). It would set identical thresholds for capital gains and dividends taxes, which would rise from 15 to 20 percent. 

The estate tax would climb from 35 to 40 percent for estates worth $5 million or more. And two tax expenditure limitations — a personal exemption phase out and a limitation on itemized deductions — would be instated. The former would be set at $250,000. The deduction limit — called Pease, after the late Rep. Don Pease (D-OH) — would reduce the value of tax deductions above $250,000 in income ($300,000 for joint filers). 

Altogether this would raise about $600 billion in revenue above the current policy baseline, according to another source familiar with the negotiations. 

The key sticking point, however, is the sequester. Democrats have rejected a GOP offer to delay the sequester by three months. They want to extend that deadline by a full year. But Republicans have rejected Democrats’ request to defray the over $100 billion cost cost with revenue. President Obama, as he indicated at the White House, insists on at least splitting the difference and paying for part of the sequester delay with new revenue and the rest with spending cuts elsewhere in the budget. 

It’s not clear whether Republicans can accept that demand. 

Negotiators hope to include a permanent patch to the alternative minimum tax, and extend a variety of business tax credits for a year. They also hope to extend emergency unemployment benefits — a $30 billion spending measure — and current Medicare physician reimbursement rates, but remain at odds over whether and how to pay for them.

But Biden’s latest offer does extend by five years expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit that were part of the 2009 recovery act. 

Senate Democratic leaders will have the final say over any deal amenable to McConnell and the White House. But it’s hard to imagine them rejecting an offer amenable to the President. If Senate Republicans and Democrats come to terms on a deal Monday, the real question will be whether House Republicans allow it to come to a vote, and whether it would pass. 

It is not going unnoticed even in Republicans circles that the House GOP are bought and paid for by rich donors with their continuing stubbornness in protecting the wealthy while at the same time could care less about the Middle Class who will face tax increases that would hurt much more including loss of  unemployment benefits then tax hikes on the wealthy Republicans.  

Are Republicans trying to tank the economy?  It sure looks like it from where I sit.  How much do the Koch Brothers stand to gain from this?  Did they short stocks in expectation of going over the cliff to make money and make sure the GOP House was going to do their bidding.  Shame on the spineless House GOP.  They have zero credibility to go with their zero ethics.  Only reason they are still in power is because of gerrymandering which was the worst over.

If you are a Republican, time to consider supporting a Democrat against them because this group of Republicans have proven they cannot govern and don't care about the majority of us.  This is a perfect example of the Koch Brothers taking over the House with the Tea Party who refuse to follow rules or do what is best for America.  They act like spoiled selfish brats instead as part of the 'my way or no way' crowd.  Nothing else matters as long as they get their way!

From Howard Fineman at Huffington Post:

Another reason for Global By Crisis (GBC) is the Tea Party GOP. No politician likes to raise taxes (or at least they don't want to be seen as liking to raise taxes). And it is true that tax cuts can stimulate the economy -- until they crush it with government borrowing. But the Tea Party has turned this fundamental truism into a fanatical, nihilistic dogma. Which means that the harder they are pressed, the harder they resist, because they think they are channeling Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams (the revolutionary, but perhaps also the beer), Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp all at the same time.

The Tea Partiers are giving checks and balances a bad name, but they can effectively use the Constitution and the rules of the House and Senate to gum up the works, which is another reason why we are now in a permanent state of "crisis" in D.C.

This perpetual state of crises needs to end and looks like it is going to have to wait until 2014 when maybe we can get some sensible people elected to the House instead of the spineless House GOP we have today who put donors over America.  Going to be tough with gerrymandering but Republicans can help make a difference by ousting Republicans from their seats which they think they own with all the big money flowing.  Tough job but it is worth a try and time to get started on identifying seats that can be picked up by Democrats as this group of Republicans have abdicated their right to govern by not governing and playing politics with the American people.  They didn't learn one lesson from the election as they high five themselves.  The House GOP risk the full faith and credit of the United States for their big donors like the Koch Brothers which should should label them traitors to the American people IMHO!