Rep Eric Cantor (R-VA) Interviewed by Wall Street Journal

House majority leader Eric Cantor and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan discuss the debt ceiling deal and the political fallout:




This is a must see video with Rep Cantor discussing how Obama negotiates and lends credence to Obama being 'my way or no way' and if challenged gets mad and throws a fit.  This is an excellent interview!

Karl Rove: The Debt-Ceiling Debate and 2012

This article talks about the debt ceiling outcome and how it is going to affect the political landscape going into the 2012 elections.  So nice to read an article that is not 'the sky is falling' as I have been seeing in comments on articles.  All kinds of name calling from the 'my way or no way' crowd of both parties.  These people must have had an easy life getting everything they wanted the way they want everything with no compromises as adults.  Acting like little kids starting with Obama who when they don't get all the want, picks up the ball and goes home.

The only difference I am seeing in the rhetoric is the ideology involved.  It amazing to read some of the comments on Huffington Post AOL because you probably have the best cross section of right and left on that site.  Some of the comments are humorous while others make you shake your head and wonder what planet these people are from.  The one thing that is constant is that there are a lot more people on the site with common sense from both sides then either the far left or far right wants to admit.

There is another fact starting to enter into some posts and that is a general disgust with the way Obama has run the Government.  Those comments are coming from both sides as they think he is failing miserably and is spending too much time campaigning.  Some have even taken up he wastes too much money flying Air Force One around the Country so that is becoming a bi-partisan issue.  It did not go unnoticed by the left that he didn't get involved until near the end and then grandstanded in the WH Press Office.  You could have knocked me over with a feather when I started reading the left saying the same thing I was saying.  When you throw in that the Democrats didn't wanted to pass it in December so the Republicans would have shared ownership, you stand back and watch the posters get even madder at their leadership.

While getting to the point of raising the debt ceiling was nerve wracking, the aftermath has made me laugh.  You have people taking credit for what happened that opposed the debt ceiling threatening to primary people.  Do they realize on both sides how dumb they look?   Looks like some more from this article that can be tossed into the debate on some sites.  It is so funny now to toss out something and watch both far right and left sides attack -- you know then that the agreement was good as the common sense people understand.

Libertarians and Paulbots need to find new mantra for their posts as you can spot them in a NY minute.  Johnny Carson once described a NY minute as:  "it's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn."

Rove has some good insights and understands a lot of things like budget cuts cannot happen unless Republicans control the Senate and the White House.  Democrats in the Senate won't even do a budget and Obama always has that phantom plan that is never seen.  Read in another article in the Wall Street Journal today from Senator Portman who thinks Obamacare is the reason the Democrats are not doing a budget because it would out the cost and how bad it is.  Looks the Wall Street Journal is getting back to where it was before Murdoch took it over -- back to a mix of business and their great editorial pages.

By Karl Rove
August 4, 2011

The Debt-Ceiling Debate and 2012

Neither party really won, but the GOP has a better case to take to the public.
After big events like Tuesday's debt-ceiling vote, Washington goes into overdrive to declare who won and who lost. But politics is more complex and less binary than that. In this case, neither party helped itself with the public during this struggle. 

But Democrats hurt themselves most of all. They made a huge strategic mistake by failing to raise the debt ceiling late last year when they still controlled Congress. 

Instead, Democrats tried to make the GOP complicit in their spending excesses. On Dec. 8, for example, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explained his decision not to tackle the debt ceiling until the new GOP House took office by saying he wanted to "let the Republicans have some buy-in on the debt." This ended up giving the GOP months to leverage the debt ceiling into a battle over spending cuts. 

President Obama paid the highest price during this long confrontation. By the time he signed the debt ceiling, he had enraged his own party, issued demands that were routinely ignored, reinforced his reputation as being obsessed with raising taxes, and failed to produce a concrete plan of his own. 

At the start of last December, Mr. Obama's job approval rating in the weekly Gallup poll was 47% approve and 45% disapprove. Last week, it was 40% approve and 52% disapprove. If the election were held today, Mr. Obama and his party would be swamped. 

For Republicans, the outcome was far more positive. House Republicans adroitly shifted the debate's focus from how much to raise the debt ceiling to how much should spending be cut. They achieved this even while the other two centers of power in any legislative struggle—the Senate and the White House—remained in Democratic hands. 

In doing so, Republicans achieved roughly two-thirds of the spending cuts sought in the budget the House passed in April, cuts which would have gone nowhere in the Senate without the debt-ceiling battle. 

Both GOP congressional leaders emerged with enhanced reputations. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's weirdly convoluted proposal to allow the president to raise the debt ceiling by asking Congress for permission actually helped lubricate discussions at a critical moment. The House GOP needed the prospect of something worse to provoke greater unity in their ranks. And giving Senate Democrats the hope of a Republican proposal that provided a way out kept Democrats from solidifying behind their own proposal. 

John Boehner had the even more difficult task of fashioning a consensus among potentially fractious House Republicans after voluntarily giving up two of any House speaker's most potent tools—the blandishments of earmarks and spending increases or thinly veiled threats to jerk committee assignments or deny campaign assistance. Instead, Mr. Boehner used patient explanation of his proposal's merits and the policy realities. 

The main danger for Republicans is that while 76 of the 87 House GOP freshmen voted with Mr. Boehner, a substantial minority of GOP activists did not want the debt ceiling raised regardless of what the consequences were for the economy. A dispirited base could generate costly primaries and depress turnout. 

(snip)

Entitlement reform in the current political context can be achieved only by having a Republican Senate and a Republican president join the Republican House. This is not ideal, since reforms of this magnitude are better done in a bipartisan manner. But there doesn't appear to be any alternative. The crisis is real and the need for action overwhelming. 

And so the GOP must take its case to the people in 2012 in the hope of earning a mandate. The prospects for this are much better than they were before the debt-ceiling debate—a clash from which Mr. Obama and his party might not fully recover before the election. 

Read more at the article on WSJ.com on Wednesday, August 3, 2011.

If Republicans stay home because this debt ceiling was passed or are part of the faction led by DeMint and Palin who want to primary 'yes' voters, than those Republicans are just being stupid and hardheaded.  We will take the Allen West's and the James Langford's of the Congress any day of the week over the 'my way or no way' attitude.  Found it amusing that some members of the Republican Study Committee think it is too big now since a lot of people didn't vote their leadership position even though there was never a vote whether to support or not support the debt ceiling compromise.  Guess they should put out a sign:  No Common Sense wanted!

Tea Party groups Target Cong Allen West (R-FL)

Is Tea Party National leadership out of control?  There is little doubt left after they threatened they are going to primary Allen West who just days ago was a favorite of the Tea Party. Who are these people?  Listen to this audio with Laura Ingraham's interview with Colonel West and make your own decision if you don't think the Ron Paul Tea Party movement is out of control.

This website and myself as an individual stand firmly behind Colonel Allen West of Florida who has shown he puts American First along with his constituents first not the National Tea Party leadership. To go in a few days from being the darling of the Tea Party to a defector from the Tea Party is one of the most ludicrous attacks I have ever witnessed in all the years I have been around politics.

Listen to Colonel Wests' Own Words:

Tea Party is schizophrenic: Rep. Allen West 

The State Column | Staff | Friday, July 29, 2011 

Florida Republican congressman Allen West seemed to avoid commenting on whether the Tea Party was responsible for the political gridlock in Washington, saying Friday that he would not comment on on the movement’s role in the debate over raising the nation’s debt limit. 

“One minute they’re saying I’m their Tea Party hero, and three, four days later I’m a Tea Party defector; that kind of schizophrenia I’m not going to get involved in it,” Mr. Allen said on Laura Ingraham’s show Friday. 

“I won’t raise taxes. I will reduce spending, and I won’t vote to raise the debt ceiling,” Ms. Bachmann said on Thursday. “And I have the titanium spine to see it through.” That said, with Wall Street ending its worst week in a year, pressure is growing on congressional leaders and the White House to reach a deal before Tuesday. The current debt ceiling is $14.3 trillion and a failure to increase it by next Tuesday has triggered warnings from the Obama administration and others of global financial chaos, which could manifest itself in a major drop by indexes on Monday if investors do not anticipate a deal is close. 

In a Facebook post to Tea Party Republicans, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin defended the movement’s role within the debate, saying Republican lawmakers should stand firm in their opposition of raising the nation’s debt limit.  

The Florida Republican’s comment came just hours before the House voted in favor of a debt plan put forth by House Speaker John Boehner. The House voted Friday in favor of passing Mr. Boehner’s debt plan, which included a Balanced Budget Amendment, 218 to 210. Still, Tea Party leaders urged the movement’s members in Congress to resist calls for increasing the debt ceiling. “We cannot rob from our children and grandchildren’s tomorrow to pay for our unchecked spending today,” Ms. Palin wrote. Minnesota Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann echoed Ms. Palin’s support, telling supporters to continue their cause and to push against calls from congressional leaders to increase the nation’s borrowing limit.

What happened to the Tea Party people who were correct about the deficit and runaway spending that we applauded when they were speaking on the Mall in DC and had some common sense? They obviously are back in their states in their local Tea Parties.  The national leadership has morphed into arrogant, my way or no way group of people who if don't vote their way, they will come after you. Paulbots are alive and well in the National Tea Party movement as are what appears to be Democrats because the National Tea Party is threatening to primary Republicans and not a peep about the Democrat candidates. Connect the dots.

This paragraph from Rich Lowry of National Review reflects the sentiments of a lot of common sense Republicans who are not establishment and not Tea Party but have been activists for years working in campaigns to send good people to DC who will represent their whole district and state and will put the Country before reelection:

The tea partiers in Congress will have to make their own bows to statesmanship. If David Gergen is ever on CNN praising them for their supposed responsibility, they might as well not have come to Washington in the first place. They should never become house-broken. On the other hand, they can’t let tactics become destructive to their ends, or oppose anything that doesn’t meet a test of absolute purity. 

Excerpt:  Read More from Rich Lowry at the National ReviewLowry's statements above made me burst out laughing when he mentions Gergen praising the tea partiers in Congress.  So true!

Speaker Boehner to the Senate: End This Crisis

July 29, 2011 6:30 P.M.End This Crisis 

At moments like this, the arrogance of Washington is most evident not in its actions, but in its inaction.

These are challenging days for our country and its people. 

Americans are worried about jobs. They’re worried about our economy. And they’re worried about our debt. The debt-limit crisis, thrust upon our citizens this summer, has intensified these anxieties. 

The U.S. House of Representatives has now sent to the Senate not one, but two bills that would bring the crisis to an immediate end. 

Reflecting the will of the people, both bills passed by the House would cut trillions of dollars in spending, advance the cause of a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to balance its budget, and impose caps on future spending to stop the expansion of government while we give our economy a chance to grow and create jobs. 

Both bills also raise the debt ceiling for President Obama past the end of this year, averting the possibility of a damaging national default. 

At moments like this, the arrogance of Washington is most evident not in its actions, but in its inaction. 

In the face of a debt explosion that threatens the future of our country, the Senate has not passed a budget in more than 800 days. The House passed a historic one in April. 

In the face of a government shutdown this past spring, the Senate produced no solution and initiated no bill. The House did. 

And to date, faced with the possibility of a national default that could destabilize our already shaky economy, the Senate has sent the House nothing, while the new majority in the House has acted twice. 

The House demonstrated not arrogance, but leadership last week when a bipartisan majority — including many who came to Washington opposed to raising the debt ceiling under any circumstance — passed the Cut, Cap, & Balance Act for the greater good. 

The House demonstrated not arrogance, but leadership today by passing the Budget Control Act, bowing not just to the will of the American people and their desire for a timely and responsible end to this crisis, but also to the Constitution, which gave us the reality of a bicameral legislature. 

The legislation passed by the House this evening is not perfect, but it is a positive step forward in the effort to cut spending, clamp down on the growth of government, and reduce our debt. 

The bill was constructed on a commonsense framework that was pre-negotiated last weekend with the bipartisan leadership of the Senate, in an honest and sincere effort to bring the crisis to an end. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats walked away from that framework over the course of this week. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is a good man. His character is not in question. But the fate of this legislation, and possibly our economy, hinges on his ability to reason with the president, and with his caucus. 

The people’s House has spoken — not once, but twice — presenting the other chamber with legislation certified by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office as cutting trillions of dollars in spending over the next decade while providing an immediate increase in the national debt limit.
In contrast, in the six months since President Obama formally requested that the debt ceiling be raised, the Senate has passed nothing. 

Time is now of the essence. The quickest way for Congress to eliminate the possibility of default and ease the growing turmoil in our economy is for the Senate to take up the House-passed bill and send it to the president today. As Senate Democrats themselves noted today, a House bill that has been sent to the Senate and then tabled is “still pending” — meaning it can be taken up and passed at any time. 

Both parties have been entrusted with power in Congress. Neither party has been authorized to take risks with the full faith and credit of the United States. 

For the sake of our country, and the sake of our economy, the House has passed a responsible bill that can pass the Senate. Now it’s time for our colleagues in the Senate to pass it, send it to the president, and bring this crisis to an end. 

— John Boehner is speaker of the House. 

Source:  National Review 

Will the Senate and Obama listen or will they up the rhetoric?

Went to National Review for some updated commentary and once again was not disappointed.  Now you can read the real facts about what is about to happen:

What Happened? What Now?July 29, 2011 12:36 P.M. By Kathryn Jean Lopez 

I am hearing some optimism about this morning’s move. It relies on this understanding of events: 

House GOP leadership had two problems last night. One was obviously getting his plan out of the House, getting Cap, Cut, Balancers on board. The second: John Boehner needed to give Harry Reid something that he could change. It’s now the Balanced Budget Amendment. 

That second point is a positive spin on what really happened: The whole GOP caucus simply did not buy Boehner’s optimism about forcing Reid to pass an unamended bill. And so by adding the BBA language, the House forfeits the possibility of Harry Reid passing the Boehner bill and sending it to the president untouched. 

So what does the new path look like? This tweaked Budget Control Act will pass the House. The Senate will strip out the BBA language. It will pass the Senate. When it goes back to the House, Boehner loses some of his caucus again, but Pelosi will have to get some of her members on board. If this is such a crisis moment, Democrats are the party in power. Boehner negotiated with his caucus and got an imperfect bill that the Democratic Senate could work with — with a statement of principles in it including the BBA. Then the Democrats, who do run Washington, after all, will have to step up to the plate. 

Ball’s in your court, Harry Reid and Barack Obama, in other words. 

Enter the commenters …  

Read More at National Review from Katheryn Jean Lopez

This is a brilliant plan to put the ball in the court of Obama and Reid who have assured Americans that without raising the debt ceiling, the United States will default at midnight on 2 August.

Would hope after all of this that some people in the Congress actually understand that the Democrats still run Government with the Senate and White House in their hands.  We can change that in November 2012 but we have a long way to go before that happens.  Time for Republicans to play it smart and keep backing the Senate and Obama into a corner with passing these bills even if the Senate tables them on the orders of Obama.  Then take it to the people how obstructionists that the Senate and Obama are with their refusal to do what is best for the American people by getting the deficit under the control.

It is a tailor made campaign issue that needs to keep being pushed:

House Leadership passed several bills on the debt ceiling that the Senate wouldn't even vote on  electing to table instead.  Is this an example of bi-partisanship that Obama and Reid claim they want?  

Then we always have "Where is the Senate budget?"

This afternoon is  much brighter then it was yesterday at this time.  There is an old saying where there is a will there is a way and the House Republican Leadership are living up to that saying.  No one has worked harder than the Republican House Leadership and its members to try and put a bill together that both sides should want to pass.  The catch -- Democrats got so used to getting only Democrat bills rammed through the Congress for Obama to sign in 2009/2010, that now they balk at any Republican ideas to lower the deficit in a meaningful way.  The Democrats need to grow up and quit acting like spoiled brats.

Will Common Sense Prevail in the House on the Debt Ceiling Vote?

Senator DeMint has finally proven to many Republicans that he has a lot rhetoric but never offers a plan of his own.   His threats against those in the House voting for Boehner plan were not something I would expect out of a US Senator.  Asked a good friend what other Senator would do this and he came up with LBJ and maybe John Kerry.  That's not someone a Republican Senator would want to be compared with IMHO.  DeMint telling House Members if they vote for the Boehner plan to raise the debt ceiling, they will be out of power for years is totally irresponsible.  He called a Tea Party Rally for yesterday and maybe 100 showed up to protest the Boehner bill -- they seemed to be as many reporters as Tea Party people for his rally:

Today's (7/28/11) Tea Party rally outside the Senate -- the "Hold the Line" rally -- attracted a few dozen activists, and about as many reporters. Here's a shot of Jim DeMint addressing the crowd, more members of which were in the shade to the right. 

Could this poor turnout along with the irresponsible Republican Study Committee's emails urging conservative groups to turn out their people to call Congress to tell them to defeat the Boehner bill have turned the tide in support of the Boehner bill?  Have some members of Congress finally realized that all these threats from DeMint and the National Tea Party leaders mean nothing in the long run.  What means something is that the United States does not default.

When DeMint steps up to the plate with a plan, I might listen but until then he needs to stop grandstanding and interfering in the business of the House.  With some of the candidates he and the Tea Party Express pushed in 2010, it kept us from having more votes in the Senate.  Do you realize how bad it was to have a DeMint Tea Party candidate defeated in AK with a write-in?  Looks like we are on the same page as The Wall Street Journal who seems to have their 'groove' back in their articles:

Strangely, some Republicans and conservative activists are condemning this as a fiscal sellout. Senator Jim DeMint put out a statement raking the Speaker for seeking "a better political debt deal, instead of a debt solution" (emphasis, needless to say, his). The usually sensible Club for Growth and Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation, are scoring a vote for the Boehner plan as negative on similar grounds.If the Boehner plan fails in the House, the advantage shifts to Harry Reid's Senate plan. (my emphasis)

But what none of these critics have is an alternative strategy for achieving anything nearly as fiscally or politically beneficial as Mr. Boehner's plan. The idea seems to be that if the House GOP refuses to raise the debt ceiling, a default crisis or gradual government shutdown will ensue, and the public will turn en masse against . . . Barack Obama. The Republican House that failed to raise the debt ceiling would somehow escape all blame. 

Then Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced-budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the tea-party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor.

This is the kind of crack political thinking that turned Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell into GOP Senate nominees. (my emphasis) The reality is that the debt limit will be raised one way or another, and the only issue now is with how much fiscal reform and what political fallout. 

Read that paragraph from the WSJ  and wanted to start applauding the Journal for telling the truth.  Two of the worst candidates that Republicans have ever nominated came courtesy of DeMint and the Tea Party Express.

Quit Club for Growth yesterday for several reasons one being they have way overreached compared to when Senator Toomey was in charge, and their aligning with Sen DeMint left me no choice because I don't share his political ideology of 'my way or no way' so I asked for no more emails and no more of their snail mail newsletters which are a waste a lot of money.  One person quitting is not going to make a difference, but I wanted them to know that at least one person stood on their own principles and realizes that sometimes you have to compromise whether you like it or not.  That is something that the DeMint crowd cannot get through their heads as they truly believe only they have all the answers, but have no plan to present.  Kind of like all the rhetoric surrounding the Senate budget -- lot of talk and no substance.

Speaker Boehner has not been shy in saying this plan is far from perfect but once it passes the House, then its the democrats on the hook.  That should be clear to anyone with the least bit of political savvy which is missing in this 'my way or no way' culture among some members of Congress.  As for the National Tea Party Leaders, their voices have far less clout then they had a year ago before they started with the threats against Republicans.  Get that Republicans not Democrats.  Never have witnessed anything like it and the head of Tea Party Nation, Judson Phillips, who is being sued for breach of contract by a Las Vegas hotel, is calling for Speaker Boehner to step down.  Who is going to listen to him?

When article after article starts talking about facing reality, it is telling Republicans in Congress to get to get their act together and as Eric Cantor said "Quit whining and vote."

Reading this article from the WSJ has me sitting me nodding my head in agreement starting at the very beginning of Republicans opposing the Boehner bill playing into the hands of Obama.  They nailed the article right there by stating the truth.  Sometime today, we will know the truth if common sense prevails in the House versus the 'my way or no way' ideology.

• JULY 27, 2011

The GOP's Reality Test
Republicans who oppose Boehner's debt deal are playing into Obama's hands. 

The debt-limit debate is heading toward a culmination, with President Obama reduced to pleading for the public to support a tax increase and Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid releasing competing plans that are the next-to-last realistic options. The question now is whether House Republicans are going to help Mr. Boehner achieve significant progress, or, in the name of the unachievable, hand Mr. Obama a victory. 

Mr. Obama recognizes these stakes, threatening yesterday to veto the Boehner plan in a tactical move to block any Democratic support. The White House is afraid that it will pass the House and then become the only debt-ceiling vehicle if Mr. Reid can't get 60 votes for his own proposal in the Senate. This would short-circuit Mr. Obama's plan to blame the GOP for a U.S. credit downgrade, any market turmoil, a possible default, and the lousy economy too.
***
Under the two-phase Boehner plan, Congress would authorize $1 trillion in new debt in return for $1.2 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade. Most of that will come from caps on domestic discretionary spending over 10 years—the Pentagon and homeland security are exempt—with automatic spending cuts if the caps are breached. While one Congress cannot bind another, the proposal would at least guarantee real reductions in fiscal years 2012 and 2013. 

In the second stage, the House and Senate would convene a 12-member joint select committee with a deficit reduction goal of $1.8 trillion by November. The majority and minority of both chambers would each make three assignments, and any plan that secured seven votes or more would get an up-or-down vote in both chambers with no amendments. 

The danger for the GOP is that the committee could end up proposing tax increases, since the committee's only remit is the deficit, not the larger fiscal landscape or the size of government. A poorly chosen Republican nominee could defect, and any structural change to entitlements almost certainly can't pass the Senate. 

Then again, unless the plan passed, Mr. Obama couldn't request the additional $1.6 trillion debt ceiling increase that he would soon need. The political incentive is for a reasonable package, and many Senate Democrats also don't want to vote for tax increases before 2012. 

The debt-limit debate is heading toward a culmination, with President Obama reduced to pleading for the public to support a tax increase and Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid releasing competing plans that are the next-to-last realistic options. The question now is whether House Republicans are going to help Mr. Boehner achieve significant progress, or, in the name of the unachievable, hand Mr. Obama a victory. 

Mr. Obama recognizes these stakes, threatening yesterday to veto the Boehner plan in a tactical move to block any Democratic support. The White House is afraid that it will pass the House and then become the only debt-ceiling vehicle if Mr. Reid can't get 60 votes for his own proposal in the Senate. This would short-circuit Mr. Obama's plan to blame the GOP for a U.S. credit downgrade, any market turmoil, a possible default, and the lousy economy too. 

 (snip)

It's true that the Boehner plan doesn't solve the long-term debt problem, but Mr. Obama won't agree to anything that does. The GOP plan also may not prevent a U.S. national credit downgrade, but it has a better chance of doing so than Mr. Reid's. The Boehner plan is the most credible proposal with a chance of becoming law before the 2012 election.   

(snip) 

Excerpt:  Read More at The Wall Street Journal 

Fred Barnes: Reagan and Boehner, Two Peas in a Pod

This article by Fred Barnes is so true and matches my memories of Ronald Reagan as President -- always thought of him as the President who was willing to take his gains in increments and then all of a sudden the Democrats would realize he had won the day and got most of what he wanted.

That should be a lesson to some conservative ideologues who want it all now or nothing.  They probably should not play poker -- Reagan was the master of the winning poker hand against the Democrats.  Smile on his face, good natured, not threatening and all of a sudden he had what he wanted when he started off.  He gave a little to get a lot eventually.  He was in no hurry and willing to take his time because he knew with a Democrat Congress he would have to play it smart.

These two paragraphs by Fred Barnes sum up President Reagan and why he was able to get so much accomplished because he didn't just say NO!

Lots of politicians are smart. Reagan was wise. He knew that, in politics, you never get everything you want in one swoop. You take what you can get now and, if all goes well, come back for the rest later.  

It’s fine to stand on principle. You’d be hard pressed to name a Republican leader who was more principled, as a conservative, than Reagan. But Reagan applied his principles over the long run, and that’s why he achieved so much.

This should be a lesson to those Republicans who are against raising the debt ceiling under any circumstance.  If they asked themselves what would Reagan do, they wouldn't like the answer.  It is also why when some of them use Reagan to bolster their side, they are not being honest.  He was a man that put Country first, Party way second, and re-election at the end.   That's how it should be so when Obama tries to channel Reagan he fails miserably as well.

Reagan was his own man who loved America and always did what was best for all Americans and our Country.  His upbeat personality made him likable because he didn't go around threatening fellow Republicans in public if they didn't do what he said.  He would be appalled at what he would see from some Republicans today who call themselves conservative Republicans when they are more Libertarian than Republican.

Fred Thompson is correct -- GOP got what it wanted -- Don't Push It!  Paul Ryan Backs Boehner Plan!  John Bolton: Former ambassador John Bolton has just released a statement of support for John Boehner’s debt ceiling plan, arguing that the speaker of the House’s plan is good for “all conservatives, especially those concerned with American national security.”  

Those are just a few of conservatives with their comments on the Boehner plan.  Are they going to be called names and RINO's by the Tea Party and some members of Congress now?  That seems to be the mantra of some so-called conservatives who put themselves and their ideology first.

President Reagan was right in the 80's and his philosophy is right today.  When you don't control the Congress and the White House, you take your wins and live to fight another day which the House Republican Leadership understands well.  Shame on the ones who are more beholden to the Tea Party for their reelection then they are at putting America first.  We didn't get in this hole overnight and we are not going to get out of it overnight.  We cannot afford to lose the credit rating and default?  Those members who put the wishes of the Tea Party first don't have a clue about how Ronald Reagan governed and most likely don't care.

Reagan and Boehner, Two Peas in a Pod

5:34 PM, Jul 27, 2011 • By FRED BARNES 

What would President Reagan do in the debt limit battle? That’s unknowable, but we do know what his goal would be: get the best deal possible under the circumstances. Reagan never let the perfect or the unattainable keep him from achieving the good.

Reagan spent the 1980 campaign promoting a 30 percent, across the board tax cut on individual income. It would be phased in over three years, starting in 1982.

Since Democrats controlled the House by a sizeable margin, Reagan couldn’t get exactly what he wanted. True, he could have held out for a 30 percent cut – and probably gotten nothing. Instead, he trimmed his tax proposal to 25 percent over three years, starting in 1983, and Congress passed it in 1981.

Reagan’s tax cuts weren’t the only reason the economy soared, but they were a big one. And those cuts turned out to be a down payment on a further reduction in tax rates in sweeping tax reform in 1986. If he hadn’t compromised five years earlier on tax cuts that lowered the top rate to 50 percent, it’s unlikely he’d have succeeded in cutting it to 28 percent in 1986. 

Reagan faced a similar situation on national security. In the campaign against Jimmy Carter, he’d advocated a tough stance against the Soviet Union that included an expensive military buildup. Most Democrats were opposed. 

He made a deal, if only a tacit one. Democrats would go along with a surge in defense spending and Reagan would accede, to some extent anyway, to higher domestic spending. Deficits grew, but the groundwork was laid for winning the Cold War. 

Now, back to the debt limit fight. Would Reagan support the Boehner plan for cutting spending while agreeing to a hike in the debt ceiling? I think so. He would see it as the best deal that’s attainable at the moment. Sure, he would favor deeper cuts, lower spending caps, and a balanced budget amendment, too, but he would recognize those can’t pass now. He wouldn’t let his pursuit of them keep him from achieving something substantial now. 

By first grabbing what he could, Reagan opened the way to driving tax rates down later to the level he wanted all along. The result: an economic boom that lasted for a quarter century. He accepted a tradeoff between military and domestic spending. The result: we won the Cold War.

... 

Source:  Weekly Standard

The Real World: Costs of Republican Intransigence

This article is well written and to the point.  Some Republican members of the House and Senate need to understand they represent all their district and/or state not just the Tea Party.  The threats coming out of some members like Jim DeMint in the Senate made my blood boil with his comments in an email from World Net Daily and is exactly what Koffler is talking about.

DeMint has NO plan but he is threatening the House Members to vote 'NO' on any debt ceiling rise or they will be out of power for years.  What's he going to do, join with the National Tea Party leaders to take out Republican incumbents that don't vote the way he wants.  For $29.99 you can also join the World Net Daily campaign to fax all House Members using DeMint's comments.  NOTE:  Wrongly identified the cost of faxing at $29.99 to Jim DeMint originally when it should have been Joseph Farrah of World Net Daily:

Farah was referring to Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina who told ABC News today that Republicans who support raising the debt limit without first passing a balanced budget amendment and massive across-the-board spending cuts will be out in 2012.

"You're gone," he said, "destined to be swept out of Congress by a wave of voter anger. Based on what I can see around the country not only are those individuals gone, but I would suspect the Republican Party would be set back many years. It would be the most toxic vote. I can tell you if you look at the polls, Democrats, Republicans, independents, they do not think we should increase the debt limit."

Farah says DeMint is absolutely right. 

If he is so powerful, why couldn't he get a vote on the House debt bill which the Senate tabled.  There is a reason he is not in leadership as we are seeing right before our eyes -- he only has one agenda 'my way or no way' which is also the agenda of Obama.  Now DeMint is also telling House Republicans what to do?

Bad way to run government because in negotiations are the name of the game so often and no one usually gets everything they want.  You make the best deal possible and live to fight another day.  We should be thankful we even have the House because without the Republican leadership, a Pelosi house would have given Obama a blank check which many like DeMint have conveniently forgotten.

Did DeMint and others along with the National Tea Party actually think that winning the House was going to be the way to ram their conservative agenda through with Obama in the White House set to veto.  If it was, naive is the word.  So is DeMint going to use the debt ceiling to raise more money to defeat Republican incumbents who don't do what he says?  Time will tell.

This is one Republican not wanting to risk the credit rating of the United States to score political points and understands that we only control one leg of the three legged stool to get things passed and signed into law.  Looks like we elected a group of people who don't understand how government works and are part of the 'my way or no way' crowd which doesn't work for either side and is not 'The Real World.'  The people with backbones are going to stand up and be counted by voting for the House bill while others continue to whine and run to the media.  I have called several offices of Republicans to give them my support on getting the cuts necessary to raise the debt ceiling and not take a chance of what could happen with default.

The Costs of Republican Intransigenceby Keith Koffler on July 27, 2011, 10:16 am 

The GOP is set to self-immolate. Which is fine for starting Arab Springs, but real bad for governing and gaining power in the United States. 

Republicans have before them two options – one by House Speaker Boehner and the other by Senate Majority Leader Reid – that extend the debt ceiling without raising taxes. 

Obama will sign either one in order to avoid a default, you can be sure. Republicans are in the drivers’ seat. And they’re going to throw it all away because the cuts aren’t enough.

I have a plan. It's not a good plan, but it is a plan.
Photo by Keith Koffler

Republicans are right to seek a deal that makes vast cuts in spending. President Obama has raised spending to a 25 percent of GDP, the highest ever.  

But they are wrong to insist on their perfect world in which entitlement reform and discretionary spending cuts solve the deficit problem without any tax increases at all. Because unfortunately, the United States is part of the Real World. 

Let me describe The Real World: 

Republicans do not control the Senate or the presidency. 

This is not because God made Obama president and Harry Reid majority leader.   

The American people did. And God is not going to interfere and make Obama and Reid do serious entitlement reform and major cuts to spending. If Republicans want these changes, they need to elect Republicans to at least one of these positions in 2012. 

In the real world, the amount of taxes currently collected by the federal government, at about 14.5 percent of GDP, is currently at its lowest level since the presidency of Harry Truman. The last year of the Reagan administration, it was just above 18 percent. Did you know that? 

That’s not to say that taxes shouldn’t be right where they are, and that Obama isn’t seeking an increase in taxes so he can keep spending as high as possible on the health reform law and other “investments” – aka “spending” – that are the things that really get him out of bed in the morning. 

Excerpt:  Read More from Keith Koffler at The White House Dossier Blog

It is so refreshing to read these articles from someone who is not afraid to tell it like it is.  Shame that some Republicans are not facing 'The Real World' and prefer to live in their fantasy world where they control everything.  Sorry to burst DeMint's bubble but as has been said before he costs us some seats in the Senate along with the Tea Party Express by getting involved in primaries when they should have stayed out.

Then we have the DeMint backed Senator Lee of Utah who won't vote to raise the debt ceiling until a balanced budget amendment is passed which means a NO vote for a long time.  No way is a budget balanced amendment passing the Senate this year or next but like his mentor DeMint and others they will risk taking control of the Senate to grandstand by saying they will vote NO about raising the debt ceiling without even reading the bill.  One of GOP candidates voted no after signing a pledge to vote yes on the Cap, Cut, and Balance -- Michelle Bachmann followed the lead of her mentor Ron Paul to vote NO against her own pledge.

We call on House Republicans to stand tall and pass the best bill they can get that Obama and the Senate will get on board.  It is not going to be perfect -- far from it, but if they don't pass a bill and the United States defaults, then the House will be blamed.  Forget entitlements for now as they are not going to be part of this debt ceiling bill because there are not enough votes in the Senate.  Just be happy there are no new taxes and time to vote as Majority Leader Cantor has said instead of whining.

Fortunately, most thinking members of the House are not willing to take that chance and we expect a bill to be passed out of the House that the Senate can vote on and Obama can sign if Obama doesn't move the bar again. Those Republicans voting to increase the debt ceiling will be our heroes for putting America first and not default despite pressure from the Tea Party who has vowed to defeat them.  They will have put Country before Party and their own reelection.  Now that is what you call sacrifice.

Jake Tapper: Is Aug 2 Still the 'Drop Dead' Deadline?

The rumblings about August 2nd not being the 'Drop Dead' started last week and now have gotten so strong it is out in the open.   Why did Geithner pick August 2nd -- was it just out of thin air?  Do we know anything to be the truth from the Obama Administration?

The biggest question of the day is whether August 2nd was chosen because of Obama's birthday extravaganza/fundraiser in Chicago for his birthday on August 3rd.  Sources are reporting he will skip the event so there is definitely one good upside to missing August 2nd especially when you discover that it is not the 'Drop Dead' date after all.

There is no vote in the House today on the debt ceiling bill as Boehner and House members are rewriting the debt ceiling bill since the scoring on savings came back so low.  Cannot wait to see the new bill.  The House was smart to send the bill to the CBO for scoring instead of trusting the Democrats.  Turns out there were very few actual big savings so they went back to the drawing board for a new bill.  The media calls this the Boehner bill but when this bill that comes out will be the works of more than John Boehner who just happens to be the negotiator.  Unlike the Democrats all bills from the Republicans actually go through Committees before reaching the floor.

Is Aug. 2 Still the 'Drop Dead' Deadline?July 26, 2011 7:43 AM 

Is Aug. 2nd still the "drop dead" deadline for the debt debate? 

It depends what you mean by "drop dead" deadline. 

It does not appear that date any longer will be the day will be the one when the U.S. officially no longer has the ability to pay its bills. 

On Aug. 3, the federal government will have $32 billion in payments to make. Will the U.S. government have the money to make those payments? Previously analyses said no. 

Now, however, analysts at Barclays Capital Research say incoming revenues to the U.S. Treasury have been a little stronger than projections -- on the order of $14 billion.
So Barclays now says the government will have enough funds to pay its bills until Aug. 10.
But August 2 is the last day that the government will be able to borrow money. Treasury says the government will still hit the debt limit on Aug. 2, meaning it will have reached its capacity to borrow any new money. As of Aug. 3, the U.S. government will only be able to pay bills based on cash on hand. 

Even if Barclays is right, the Aug. 2 deadline could remain for ratings agency S&P, which has warned of a downgrade. The markets could react at any time. And on Aug. 4, Treasury will need to roll over roughly $90 billion in old debt. 

So Aug. 2 remains a deadline for when a lot of things the government doesn't want to happen -- things that could hurt the U.S. economy -- could happen. 

-Jake Tapper 

Source:  ABC Political Punch

Some members of the Media tabbed this the Boehner bill because it places all the blame it on one person especially a Republican Speaker even when others have a hand in writing the bill.  They knew it would inflame some of the National Tea Party people who would then attack Boehner threatening to primary him in his Ohio election.  Didn't bother to read my email from the Tea Party group attacking Boehner as that has become their mantra.  

It is one thing for the American public to call Congress but for someone who has little knowledge of how Government works to grandstand, is ridiculous and shows why the Tea Party should remain local and do away with national leadership who would rather take on Republicans than Democrats.  Where was the outrage from the national tea party people when the Democrats refused to vote on the actual Cut, Cap, and Balance bill?  Crickets chirping in my email from their groups.  Now they don't like the House bill which is being rewritten as I type after the scoring came back but it is everyone call, call, call and my inbox is filled with rhetoric against Speaker Boehner.  

Tea Party national leaders are not doing the American people any favors with their continual attacks on Republicans and totally ignoring the Senate Democrats and their obstructionists tactics on everything from the House budget to now the debt ceiling bill.  What is their agenda?  Senate conservative Republicans have told some of the National Tea Party people to quit going after Republican incumbents and concentrate on Democrats being defeated.  That should not even be a question.

When you pull back the curtain on the National Tea Party groups, you find Rupert Murdoch and the Koch Brothers financing -- not a bunch of grassroots people.  These billionaires are trying to fundamentally change the way Government has worked for years but the WHY? is left unanswered.  

One Way Street Obama on Debt Crises

UPDATE:  Chris Matthews, MSNBC had this to say about Obama's speech:

Excerpt:  But Matthews also said he thought Obama shouldn't even have made the speech at all.
"The President should not have gone on national television to give a political address," he said.

You could have picked me up off the floor when I read that!  When Matthews gets that Obama made a political speech, then you know how bad it is for Obama as this was the pundit who Obama gave a 'thrill up his leg.' 

*****

This is all you need to know about the Obama and Democrats plan to understand it is all about politics and how to win an election and nothing more as it is filled with gimmicks on cuts:

One key difference in the plans was that the GOP measure would require additional action to deal with the debt before the 2012 election. Democrats have sought to avoid another round of debt debate before that crucial vote.

Where is the OBAMA PLAN that he touts?  Have the Democrats even seen his plan or is it a figment of his imagination.  Maybe he wants a vote on his imaginary plan to have the details filled in after the 2012 elections.

Once again the Democrat Party and its leader Obama have put their own elections and political gain above what is best for America.  Will the American people finally understand that the Democrat run away spending is bankrupting the Country?  No longer does the mainstream media control what people see and read as the internet has brought a whole new dimension to news.  You can get various news feeds along with blogs to find out the real truth of what is happening.  There is even a "unofficial" blog from a White House Reporter, The White House Dossier by Keith Koffler that sends out breaking news and details what is happening in the White House.

No longer can Obama and the Democrats just go to their buddies in the White House Press Corps form the alphabet networks, MSNBC, CNN, and the major newspapers like the NY Times and Washington Post for starters to get their spin because today even some of those media outlets now have reporters willing to tell the truth -- Jake Tapper (ABC) and Chip Reid (CBS) come to mind.  Times are changing and not many reporters want to get caught in White House spin that turns out to be false.  We still have the Obama loyalist though like Piers Morgan of CNN who blames Republicans for everything:

CNN's Piers Morgan Rails Against Republicans for Not 'Compromising,' Slaps Anti-Tax Hike Stand as 'Crazy'

By: Brent Baker

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 8:48 AM EDT

Acting as if he were trying out for a MSNBC gig, Piers Morgan used his half hour of CNN’s prime time, following President Barack Obama’s 9 PM EDT speech on the debt ceiling and House Speaker John Boehner’s response, to hit his guests from the left, presuming Obama holds the reasoned moral high ground while Boehner represents an obstinate and selfish position. 

Once again thanks to Morgan, CNN was spinning out of control last night.  Just when they had a tiny bit of credibility back, Morgan blows it with his partisan rant against Republicans.  He may turn out to be one of the worst hires by CNN yet and that is saying something.

Now we have the President urging 'compromise' when he wants to ram the Dem plan (which one?) with no changes down the throat of Republicans.  How would he even know what plan it is when he thought the Gang of Six plan was for the debt ceiling not the framework for a budget which also seems to be falling apart after Obama opted in with his opinions.

Obama can say whatever he wants in his speeches, but the fact remains that this runaway spending was done by his own agenda and the Democrats ramming bill after bill through the House and Senate in 2009-2010 which brought us to this point.  Republicans had no say for two years and yet he considers them the problem of getting the deficit under control?  Personally think he doesn't care if the budget is way over the top as long as he can reward his donors for their support.

Obama urges 'compromise' as he pushes Dems' debt plan 

By: Susan Ferrechio and Brian Hughes | Chief Congressional Correspondent Follow her @susanferrechio | 07/25/11 8:05 PM 

President Obama used a prime-time television address Monday to urge compromise during a bitter struggle over raising the nation's debt ceiling, even as he firmly backed a Democratic plan and dismissed a GOP proposal. 

One week before the nation reaches a debt ceiling that, if not raised, would lead to what Obama warned would be dire financial consequences, the president made a direct appeal to the American people to urge Congress to reach a deal. "The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government," Obama said, while urging support for a plan put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that Republicans have rejected. 

"It is a dangerous game we've never played before and we can't afford to play it now," the president said. "We can't allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington's political warfare." 

But in a response that immediately followed Obama's appeal, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, accused the president of seeking a "blank check" to continue Washington's "spending binge" that has driven debt to stratospheric levels. 

Boehner also said that he and the president had reached a deal in principle last week, before Obama changed the terms. "Unfortunately, the president would not take yes for an answer," he said. 

Earlier Monday, Republicans and Democrats in Congress had put forward competing plans to raise the debt ceiling. 

....

Senate Democrats crafted a bill that would raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion and make a $2.7 trillion dent in the nation's deficit without imposing tax increases. 

"All in all, it's an offer that Republicans can't refuse," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "If they oppose this, why? It's got everything they've asked for." 

Reid said his plan would be on the Senate floor on Monday, with a vote on it scheduled for later in the week. 

But Republicans swiftly rejected the Democratic plan, saying it is full of budget gimmickry and does not achieve the savings or spending reforms necessary to bolster the economy and stave of a credit-rating downgrade. 

For instance, it includes $1 trillion in savings from the planned winding down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And Republicans want a bill that significantly reforms Social Security and Medicare. The Reid plan does not address entitlements directly. 

Republicans expect to put their own plan on the floor Wednesday. It would increase the debt ceiling in two installments and make significant spending cuts each time. 

The first debt-ceiling increase would amount to about $1 trillion and would require new spending caps that would cut $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The second debt-ceiling increase, which would be required by spring, would have to include $1.8 trillion in savings from a variety of sources, including entitlements. 

Congress would appoint a bipartisan committee to come up with the $1.8 trillion in savings. There could be no increase in the debt ceiling if Congress does not approve those savings.
The GOP proposal also calls for both the House and the Senate to vote on a balanced budget amendment.

Excerpt:  Read more at the Washington Examiner

Would Schumer be so kind as to tell us why Republicans in the House cannot refuse this Democrat bill full of smoke and mirrors when the Democrats won't even allow the House passed bill for the debt ceiling to be voted on by tabling it due to a procedure vote along party lines?  Schumer needs to sit down and take a deep breath before he rushes to a microphone and makes a fool of himself again.

Boehner: The President Wants a Blank Check; Krauthammer: Obama Address was a Campaign Speech; Obama Tried to Channel Reagan

Going to start off this morning with Speaker of the House John Boehner's Response to the Obama 'Campaign' Speech.  No one has worked harder than John Boehner to get this done but everytime he thinks they are near an agreement, Obama changes his mind which looks to a lot of us that Obama doesn't want an agreement.  Obama has never negotiated in good faith on the debt ceiling which is becoming more clear by the day.  Obama has one thing on his mind -- reelection and how he can fool the American people again.  This speech by Boehner that responds to Obama's speech details what has been happening:

Boehner’s Response: The President Wants a Blank Check
by Fox News Insider
July 25, 2011




NOTE: If you can stomach watching Obama's campaign speech, it is at the end of this post.

Will admit that I did not watch Obama's speech last night because frankly I didn't figure he would have anything new to say except to continue to blame Speaker Boehner and House Republicans.  Thought it would be better to view it in the morning. Wasn't wrong -- it was a campaign speech as he cannot help himself as he needs to blame everyone else. Think he believes his own press clippings that he was the 'annointed one' because he has to be the biggest narcissist that anyone has seen in politics.

It is never what is good for the Country but what is good for his reelection -- has been that way from Day One. Even stimulus and bailouts were geared to how to help his big donors. Never how can I help the American people as a whole. His answer to Red State America was to sick the EPA on us even more and when a disaster happened in Texas and Oklahoma, take months to approve disaster assistance.

The House and Senate had a framework agreement which Obama turned down on Sunday because he changed his mind on what he wanted at this late date. Obama is not fit to occupy the office of President when he gives a campaign speech on such a serious issue. Don't think he cares if we default because he will just blame the House which is filled with Representatives from every state who are not going to take the blame lying down when they know Obama is the problem.

The word out of the White House is Obama has been studying President Reagan on how to talk to the American people. News for Obama, he is no Ronald Reagan because Reagan spoke from the heart and if he had to compromise for the good of the Country, he would. This occupant of the White House is all about reelection and nothing more. Obama is treating default like the Clinton/Republican stand-off of government shut down which is two totally separate issues and if Obama cannot understand that, then he shouldn't be President. All this is nothing but posturing by Obama is score political points for his reelection campaign. His speech last night which is at the bottom of the article was more rhetoric to try and sway the American people that only he knows best.

Obama wasn't involved in debt ceiling talks until recently as he has been flying around the country on the taxpayers nickle attending fundraisers for his campaign. You would never have seen past Presidents out campaigning/fundraising with a debt crises looming. They would have been right in DC involved in the talks. Not Obama -- he came flying in with weeks to go on the talks giving his demands which keep changing.

Obama walked out of one negotiation session he called for at the White House, and then stormed into the White House Press Office Friday Night furious at Boehner and Republicans to gave a press statement which showed his anger at Boehner for quitting the talks after they were going nowhere.  Obama had changed what he would accept once again.  He said he would VETO the Cut, Cap, and Balance bill out of the House before he even knew the details of the bill. That should come as no shock as he signed the Obamacare bill without anyone reading the bill to see what was in it -- typical out of liberal Democrats.  Does Obama not want to sign a Republican debt ceiling plan?  He never did provide one of his own -- all he provided was demands on what he wanted not what was good for the Country.

It seems like Obama has held more press conferences in the last few weeks than all year as he tries to convince the American people that it is the mean old Republican's fault as they won't listen to him. He acts like a spoiled brat that keeps taking his basketball and going home when he doesn't get his way.

This article about Charles Krauthammer's comments last night showcase what is wrong with any negotiation involving Obama -- it is all about politics and his reelection which leads to most people's conclusion that he doesn't care about the Country.

Krauthammer Reacts to Obama Address: This Was a Campaign Speechby Fox News Insider
July 25, 2011 

After Monday night’s address by the president and response by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Bret Baier and his political panel reacted. Steve Hayes and A.B. Stoddard weighed in, A.B. saying that when it came to the president, his speech was “exactly what [was] expected.” Hayes suggested that the president’s remarks completely ignored the progress of the last few days. 

The critique most noteworthy, however, may have belonged to Charles Krauthammer who said he believed Obama’s speech was a purely partisan campaign speech. 

“He kept using the term ‘balanced approach,’ which is a word tested in the polls to appeal to Independents.” 

Krauthammer also pointed out the comparison Obama tried to make to President Ronald Reagan in the former commander in chief’s ability to sway Americans on a particular issue. 

“Remember what he said to Eric Cantor? ‘You call my bluff, I’ll go to the people?’ This is his attempt … let’s see if it works.”

******

Speaker Boehner's Speech as Prepared for Delivery

Good evening. I'm John Boehner. I serve as Speaker of the whole House -- of the members of both parties that you elect. These are difficult times in the life of our nation. Millions are looking for work, have been for some time, and the spending binge going on in Washington is a big part of the reason why. Before I served in Congress, I ran a small business in Ohio. I was amazed at how different Washington DC operated than every business in America. Where most American business make the hard choices to pay their bills and live within their means, in Washington more spending and more debt is business as usual. I've got news for Washington - those days are over. President Obama came to Congress in January and requested business as usual -- yet another routine increase in the national debt limit -- we in the House said 'not so fast.' Here was the president, asking for the largest debt increase in American history, on the heels of the largest spending binge in American history.

Here's what we got for that spending binge: a massive health care bill that most Americans never asked for. A 'stimulus' bill that was more effective in producing material for late-night comedians than it was in producing jobs. And a national debt that has gotten so out of hand it has sparked a crisis without precedent in my lifetime or yours. The United States cannot default on its debt obligations. The jobs and savings of too many Americans are at stake.

What we told the president in January was this: the American people will not accept an increase in the debt limit without significant spending cuts and reforms.

And over the last six months, we've done our best to convince the president to partner with us to do something dramatic to change the fiscal trajectory of our country. . .something that will boost confidence in our economy, renew a measure of faith in our government, and help small businesses get back on track.

Last week, the House passed such a plan, and with bipartisan support. It's called the 'Cut, Cap, and Balance' Act. It CUTS and CAPS government spending and paves the way for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, which we believe is the best way to stop Washington from spending money it doesn't have. Before we even passed the bill in the House, the President said he would veto it.

I want you to know I made a sincere effort to work with the president to identify a path forward that would implement the principles of Cut, Cap, & Balance in a manner that could secure bipartisan support and be signed into law. I gave it my all.

Unfortunately, the president would not take yes for an answer. Even when we thought we might be close on an agreement, the president's demands changed.

The president has often said we need a 'balanced' approach -- which in Washington means: we spend more. . .you pay more. Having run a small business, I know those tax increases will destroy jobs.

The president is adamant that we cannot make fundamental changes to our entitlement programs. As the father of two daughters, I know these programs won't be there for them and their kids unless significant action is taken now.

The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today. That is just not going to happen.

You see, there is no stalemate in Congress. The House has passed a bill to raise the debt limit with bipartisan support. And this week, while the Senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and Washington gimmicks, we will pass another bill - one that was developed with the support of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. Senate.

Obviously, I expect that bill can and will pass the Senate, and be sent to the President for his signature. If the President signs it, the 'crisis' atmosphere he has created will simply disappear. The debt limit will be raised. Spending will be cut by more than one trillion dollars, and a serious, bipartisan committee of the Congress will begin the hard but necessary work of dealing with the tough challenges our nation faces.

The individuals doing this work will not be outsiders, but elected representatives of the people, doing the job they were elected to do as outlined in the Constitution. Those decisions should be made based on how they will affect people who are struggling to get a job, not how they affect some politician's chances of getting reelected.

This debate isn't about President Obama and House Republicans ... it isn't about Congress and the White House ... it's about what's standing between the American people and the future we seek for ourselves and our families.

You know, I've always believed, the bigger government, the smaller the people. And right now, we have a government so big and so expensive it's sapping the drive of our people and keeping our economy from running at full capacity.

The solution to this crisis is not complicated: if you're spending more money than you're taking in, you need to spend less of it.

There is no symptom of big government more menacing than our debt. Break its grip, and we begin to liberate our economy and our future.

We are up to the task, and I hope President Obama will join us in this work.

God bless you and your families, and God bless America.

******
Now if you have made it this far, be prepared for Obama's attempt to morph into Ronald Reagan which he failed:

God Bless America!

On this Sunday morning, please ask God's blessings on America and the members of Congress who are meeting to negotiate on the debt ceiling. America is too important to the world to allow the United States to default on our obligations at midnight, August 2, 2011. Now is the time for both sides to pray for a solution where America wins. This is about doing the right thing to do to ensure that America remains strong and pays her debts on time not about the Presidential election. 

The rating companies have spoken -- cut the deficit which should be what is happening today. Simple and straight forward -- no gimmicks just cut the deficit. 

There is a lot of blame to go around which most people negotiating understand but the "I Won" mentality is not going to work and an unwillingness to do a short term fix with real deficit reduction sits right at the feet of the man who occupies the White House. This needs to come to a head shortly not be pushed until after the election.

When you negotiate, you don't change the rules in the middle of the game which "I Won" did and poisoned the negotiations.  Now that he has been kicked to the sideline we will see progress?  Who knows with the threat of veto hanging over the meetings.  The President needs to take his temper and his attacks on Republicans and chill as he is adding nothing to the debate.

We all need to pray for America and that our leaders to do what is right in the next week!  Is this President so stubborn that he will risk the credit rating of the United States?  We will have the answer shortly.

Boehner Says Work Has Begun on New Debt Deal to Cut $3 Trillion to $4 Trillion as Congressional Leaders Meet MINUS Obama!

Looks like not having Obama involved in negotiations may be paying off. 

Breaking News Alert

The New York Times
Saturday, July 23, 2011 -- 4:05 PM EDT
-----

Boehner Says Work Has Begun on New Debt Deal to Cut $3 Trillion to $4 Trillion

Hoping to reassure markets in the wake of an angry breakdown in the federal budget negotiations, Congressional leaders raced Saturday to reach a new deficit-reduction agreement that Speaker John A. Boehner told colleagues could cut $3 trillion to $4 trillion in spending over 10 years.

“We are working, and I’m confident there will be resolution,” Mr. Boehner told fellow House Republicans on an afternoon conference call, according to participants. “There has to be.”

Mr. Boehner’s comments came a little more than a week before the federal government risks defaulting on its debts, a fate that could be avoided if Congress agrees to increase the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

Source:  NY Times 

Obama's meeting this morning with Congressional leaders was extremely short:

President Barack Obama met for less than an hour Saturday with congressional leaders in debt crisis talks, and a leading Republican said afterward that top lawmakers were “committed to working on new legislation” to cut federal spending and avert an unprecedented U.S. default.

There were no immediate signs of a breakthrough, however. The lawmakers and Obama were unsmiling as the meeting began, and most of them avoided reporters when they left the White House.

They left the White House and Obama so both houses of Congressional leaders could meet to work out a deal. Looks like Obama was a hindrance not a help as he moved the bar in the middle of negotiations. Seems Obama was not only was enraged when he visited the WH press room but also at his press conference last night. The President acts like a spoiled brat if he doesn't get his way. You don't change what has been negotiated and that is exactly what Obama did by putting tax hikes back on the table after he had taken them off. If you want to know who broke up negotiations, look no further than Obama who always has to have his way even when he goes back on his word and then he pretends it is everyone else's fault.

After Friday night’s presidential press conference, even one of the left’s favorite conservatives is scratching his head at President Barack Obama’s demeanor.

The Daily Caller Excerpt of what David Brooks said:

New York Times columnist David Brooks, who once praised Obama for the crease in his pants, said he was upset with Obama for being angry in public in an appearance on PBS’s “NewsHour” on Friday night.

“Shambles, a complete meltdown, apparently,” Brooks said. “I’ve never seen a presidential press conference with the president so angry in public. And you know, I sort of think he’s maybe mostly right on substance. He laid out apparently in the next few hours they are he going to be laying out the details of what the White House offer was. And there was a lot of revenue cuts, there was some spending cuts, there was entitlement cuts, revenue increase. So if those are real, then I think it was a pretty good deal. But the president’s tone of being the only adult in Washington, everyone else is a child, that he’s going to summon people to the White House as if they are kindergarteners, even if you agree on the substance, it’s kind of hard to go along with someone who is insulting you all the time. And so I think the president took a big risk. Maybe we will see his tone as he is giving it to them. He’s angry. He’s treating them like children. But a lot of people will take a look at it and say there’s a little arrogance and self-superiority there.” (Note: My bold)

How amazing as Obama is probably the only one in the room not an adult. He continues to act like a spoiled brat and now a lot of media members are catching on or should it be said they are finally admitting what most of us have known for a long time. At the time of this appearance, Brooks most likely didn't know that Obama had put tax hikes back on the table he had taken off and the original plan he changed a lot -- giving him an out for his dumb comments about a good plan by Obama. Negotiators never knew which plan was going to show up so finally Speaker Boehner had it and walked out.

Now that the Senate and House are negotiating without Obama, some progress has been made.  Shows Obama has never learned and he actually believed "I WON" when he said it was all that was necessary to mold American like he wanted.  He could care less what Congress or the people had to say but reality is that he has to deal with Congress as in the United States he is not a dictator.

Maybe instead of running for reelection, he should be making plans to leave the United States to a country in Africa where he can be the emperor, dictator, king or whatever suits his fancy at the time.  We are positive that Kenya would love to have their native son come home since they claim him as theirs.  This is one American who would love to seem him and his wife leave the Country that they dislike so much to go settle in Africa that they love.  Wouldn't hurt my feelings at all and he can trash us all he wants from thousands of miles away. 

He has been a first alright for this country as being the most arrogant, self-centered, spoiled, pampered, lazy President ever.  Poor 'kid' had to miss out on golf the last few weeks but then he is planning his birthday bash/fundraiser while the rest of the Country is worried about default.  This is what happens when the media doesn't vet a candidate and pushes him off on the American public almost as if he can walk on water all because of the color of his skin which is actually an insult to blacks IMHO.  The members of the media didn't care if he was qualified or had the demeanor to be President as all they cared about was the fact he is the first black President.  Shame on the media and his supporters! 

NY Times Breaking News: House Speaker Boehner Pulls Out of Debt Ceiling Talks

UPDATE from the White House Dossier:

Deficit Negotiations Break Down Over Taxes

by Keith Koffler on July 22, 2011, 6:51 pm

President Obama stormed into the briefing room this evening to proclaim that deficit negotiations had broken down, accusing House Speaker Boehner and Republicans of walking away from a deal because they refused to include any tax increases.

I just got a call about a half hour ago from Speaker Boehner, who indicated that he was going to be walking away from the negotiations that we’ve been engaged in here at the White House for a big deficit reduction and debt reduction package.

The agreement that was on the table apparently would have reduced the deficit by about $3 trillion, including what Obama said was $1.2 trillion in “additional revenues.” This, he said, would have been less than the Senate “Gang of Six” proposal that some Republicans have signed onto.

But Republicans accused the White House of backing away from an earlier commitment to take tax increases off the table, putting them back on after the Gang of Six proposal emerged the middle of the week.

Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor claimed a deal was never close.

Obama has asked Democratic and Republican House and Senate leaders to come to the White House at 11 am Saturday for another meeting, if only to agree on a way to lift the debt ceiling before markets open Monday.

The first sentence says all anyone needs to know about Obama -- looks like he doublecrossed Republicans and then got mad when they walked out.  Storming in the WH Press Room shows that when he doesn't get his way he gets mad.  This from the President who spent weeks out campaigning ignoring the debt ceiling and then expecting to get his way on everything.   Reminder:  Gang of Six proposal is for a budget not the debt ceiling which Obama still cannot seem to get straight.  Is it on purpose?
*****
This goes to show that you cannot deal with Obama as a Republican.  All those rumors released by the White House mouth pieces about a deal was near were nothing more than smoke and mirrors to make it look like Obama was doing something when he was still the stubborn little kid who didn't get his way so was taking his ball home.  The "I Won" Obama needs to get a clue that you broker a deal by both sides giving not demanding his way or no way which looks to be exactly what happened.

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Friday, July 22, 2011 -- 6:05 PM EDT
-----

House Speaker Boehner Pulls Out of Debt Ceiling Talks


The Republican House speaker, John A. Boehner, said Friday that he had broken off talks with President Obama on getting a budget deal to avert a government default.

Mr. Boehner said that Mr. Obama wanted to raise taxes too high and won’t make “fundamental changes” to benefit programs such as Medicare.

Top Republican aides said Mr. Boehner would now work with Senate leaders on an alternative aimed at averting a market-rattling, first-ever federal default.

Source:  NY Times

Good for Speaker Boehner.  Now Obama can say he tried but no one will listen and take the weekend off to go play golf as he has nothing to do.  I would have more faith that the House and Senate can work something out if Reid wasn't head of the Senate.