Tag Archives: GOP

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Another Self-Inflicted Wound to the Economy?

02/12/2013 Nativegrl77

GOP to Blame for Latest Manufactured Crisis

The country is bearing down on March 1, the day that deep, damaging across-the-board spending cuts — known as the “the sequester” in Beltway parlance — start to kick in.

If Republicans hadn’t taken the entire economy — the full faith and credit of the United States — hostage in 2011, there would not be a sequester. Period. End of story. What’s more, an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the House and the Senate voted in favor of the cuts. At the time, Speaker Boehner said he’d gotten 98 percent of what he wanted in the deal that wrote the cuts into law.

In the year and a half since Republicans demanded — and received — the cuts, they have rebuffed every effort to substitute something else smarter, more balanced and less damaging to the economy in their place . The president repeatedly offered significant spending cuts and changes to social insurance programs, including Medicare and Social Security, as part of balanced plan that also included new revenues, but Republicans always said no in order to protect millionaires and special interests from having to pay their fair share in taxes.

Just months ago, Mitt Romney and Speaker Boehner actively advocated for closing tax loopholes and eliminating giveaways in the tax code. But now Republicans are saying no in order to protect the wealthy and special interests like Big Oil and Wall Street. They say they now prefer spending cuts that stand to kill several hundred thousand jobs and could potentially drag the economy back into recession to raising even a penny more in new revenue. Just months ago, leading Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan said these cuts would “devastate” the country, but now they appear to be fine with them.

Here’s a few examples of what the choices we face actually mean — and which side Republicans are coming down on:

Republicans will let the wealthiest Americans keep special tax breaks instead of funding our military.
Republicans will kick 70,000 kids off Head Start and fire 10,000 teachers instead of ending giveaways to Big Oil.
Republicans want to cut 1,000 FBI agents and aid to thousands of schools instead of ending loopholes that allow people like Mitt Romney to pay a lower tax rate than middle class workers.
Republicans will cut thousands of food safety inspectors, which could shut down the entire meat industry, instead of eliminating giveaways for corporate jets and special tax breaks for horse breeders in Kentucky (the home state of Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell).
Republicans want to cut unemployment benefits and loans to small businesses rather than end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.

We need to reduce our deficit, but we should do it in a balanced, targeted way instead of with blunt, across-the-board cuts that will harm the economy. Instead of governing, the GOP is only interested in gimmicks and games. As the President said again last week, we have got to stop governing by crisis. Our economy cannot afford to play the GOP’s games any longer.

BOTTOM LINE: Once again we find ourselves facing yet another crisis manufactured by the GOP. It’s time for the GOP to choose sides: the middle class and the military or millionaires and special interests.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

¿GOP en Español? Not no fast.

The latest frontier in the GOP’s war on abortion rights.

Anti-Hagel Republicans in disarray.

GOP Congressman invites Ted Nugent, who threatened the president’s life to be his guest at the State of the Union.

Pentagon to offer expanded benefits to same-sex partners.

NRA lobbyist dismisses the “Connecticut Effect.”

A few things you might not know about outgoing Pope Benedict XVI.

Why the GOP is and will continue to be the party of white people.

Karl Rove’s latest scheme could backfire for the GOP.

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GOP … Fiscal Plan

12/04/2012 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

By ThinkProgress War Room

Ed. Note: Thanks for staying tuned during our hiatus last month. We’re back and eager to cover all of the latest developments on the fiscal showdown and other important issues.***

The GOP’s Warmed Over Fiscal Plan

Last week, the president put out his plan to avoid the fiscal cliff, including $1.6 TRILLION in new tax revenues, $1.5 TRILLION in spending cuts that have already been enacted, $400 BILLION in additional targeted spending cuts, and additional measures to stimulate growth, including an extension of emergency unemployment benefits and new investments in infrastructure.

While Republicans have laughed at the president’s plan, said it is not “serious,” and have already fabricated new myths in order to attack it, there’s one thing they haven’t done until today: offer any real alternative.

A prime example of the GOP’s refusal to offer their own credible alternative plan was on display yesterday when Speaker Boehner (R-OH) was pressed on the details of the GOP plan by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. Boehner avoided any details and refused to say which tax deductions Republicans could cap or eliminate.

Just a couple hours ago, House Republicans finally offered an alternative: some of the worst of the GOP’s recent budget ideas along with $800 BILLION in new revenues from a tax plan that lowers rates and closes loopholes. And, unlike the new revenue proposed by the president, even this revenue is not locked in. It’s to come as a part of a yet to be determined tax reform plan to be put together by Congress.

If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it is. It is similar to the plan that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan ran on — and lost. And now Republicans are trying to put it forward as a credible alternative to the policies the president ran on — and won.

Let’s review in brief why this GOP plan does not pass muster:

It raises the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 and includes deep cuts to both it and the Medicaid program. As we’ve discovered over the past two years, these ideas are both unfair to seniors and the middle class and are also highly unpopular. Raising the Medicare eligibility age is yet another change that simply shifts costs away from the government and onto seniors. In fact, it would actually result in higher overall health care spending.
It doesn’t generate enough potential revenue to guarantee that programs that protect the needy, benefit the middle class, and make investments in the future won’t be subject to very deep cuts.
It could place tax deductions for the middle class, not just the wealthiest Americans, at risk. This could actually mean lower taxes for the rich and higher taxes for the middle class.
It does not seem to address the debt ceiling, affording Republicans yet another opportunity to manufacture a crisis and crash the entire economy unless a fresh set of their demands are met over the next few months.

The Republican proposal states that it is based on a plan put forward last year by Erskine Bowles (not to be confused with a different plan put forward by both Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson). Bowles, however, denied that that was the case today and also noted that “circumstances have changed” since then.

BOTTOM LINE:Any plan that fails to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share and forces seniors and the middle class to shoulder the burden of dealing with our debt is neither balanced nor credible.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Meet Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s Todd Akin.

Sen. John McCain once offered an assessment of the Benghazi attack nearly identical to what he’s attacking Susan Rice for saying.

Bob Costas was right to talk about gun violence during Sunday Night Football.

Carbon emissions hit a troubling new record high last year.

Fears over Syria’s potential use of chemical weapons mount.

Allen West compares himself to Abraham Lincoln.

Corporate profits hit record high while worker wages hit record low.

Gov. Jan Brewer is shocked that a reporter would even ask about climate change.

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Nancy Pelosi House Dems in the Newsroom

09/11/2012 Nativegrl77

It’s been more than 250 days since the GOP took control of the House, and Americans are still asking: Where are the jobs, House Republicans?
The middle class is hurting, and the Republicans’ only answer is a plan to end Medicare and give tax breaks to Big Oil and companies that ship jobs overseas.

Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor revealed the GOP’s summer agenda – and what’s missing? A single jobs bill on the floor or a clear jobs plan.
The only jobs bills to come to the floor this Congress have been Democratic proposals, and the GOP has voted “no” on every one.
Democrats will continue to promote and pursue our Make It In America agenda to create jobs and keep America number one.

Pelosi Statement on August Jobs Report

Pelosi Statement on the Passing of Former Congressman Charlie Rose

Pelosi, Nadler, 143 House Members File New Amicus Brief on Federal Case Against DOMA

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This Week’s Top 3 On ThinkProgress: The RNC Edition

09/03/2012 Nativegrl77

This week was dominated by the Republican National Convention, and ThinkProgress was there to fact-check the claims of the GOP’s featured stars. Check out the important posts you may have missed:

1. FACTS MATTER: The Ultimate Guide To Mitt Romney’s Convention Speech

2. The 6 Worst Lies In Paul Ryan’s Speech

3. RNC’s Featured Small Business Owner: My Company Needs More Government Contracts

Best,

Igor Volsky Deputy Editor, ThinkProgress

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speaking of truth to power … 6

04/19/2012 Nativegrl77

What a week — Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, Mitt Romney continued to attack women’s rights, and the Republican National Committee dropped an ad we absolutely have to debunk. On top of all that, Thursday marked the six-year anniversary of Mitt Romney’s health reform in Massachusetts — one of the models for Obamacare — but you won’t hear him taking any credit for it.

Check it out all in this week’s tips:
#1 Video: Mitt Romney — Memories to last a lifetime With Rick Santorum leaving the GOP primary on Tuesday, it’s almost certain that Mitt Romney will be the nominee. To commemorate the GOP primary, and remind people of the extreme positions Romney’s taken over the course of it, we put together a short videolaying out some of his most “severely conservative” moments. Check them out, then share them with anyone who still thinks he’s a moderate:

#2 Keeping his word: 5 ways our president supports economic opportunities for women Governor Romney spent a good deal of this week attacking President Obama’s economic record among women. President Obama has said, “Every decision I make is all about making sure … all our daughters and all our sons grow up in a country that gives them the chance to be anything they set their minds to.” That includes supporting economic policies that help women, like extending the payroll tax cut — which helps 75 million women — or granting more than 16,000 business loans to small businesses owned by women. Check out the top five waysour President has kept his word to women, then pass them on:

#3 Fair Pay Act for women: Romney’s campaign not sure he would’ve signed if president The morning after Rick Santorum left the race, the Romney campaign was asked whether Romney supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps to ensure women can get equal pay for equal work. Their answer (which should’ve been a no brainer): “We’ll get back to you on that.” This is a basic step to stop pay discrimination in the workplace, the first bill President Obama signed into law in office — and Romney’s campaign isn’t sure if their candidate would’ve signed it. We put together a short video, featuring Lilly Ledbetter, on why equal pay is “not Republican and it’s not Democrat. It’s civil rights.” Watch it, and share it with folks who should see it, too:

#4 The six-year anniversary of Romneycare (Where’s the celebration?) Exactly six years ago yesterday, Mitt Romney signed Massachusetts health reform, or Romneycare, into law. At the time he called it a model for the nation. Six years later, and you don’t hear him celebrating it. Why? Because this godfather of Obamacare is promising to repeal national health reform on Day One in office. So much for a model for the nation. We put together a videoexplaining it — check it out, pass it on, and make sure people know he’s trying to take away the very protections he once fought for:

#5 Debunk this new RNC ad The Republican National Committee is out with a new ad smearing President Obama’s record, saying he hasn’t kept any of his promises from four years ago. You and I both know that’s a lie, so we put together a charge-by-charge rebuttal of the ad, laying out exactly what our president has done. Check it out, and make sure none of the RNC’s lies stick:

#6 Fact check the Koch Brothers on Obamacare The George Mason University Mercatus Center released a report this week claiming Obamacare will actually add to the deficit, to the tune of $340 billion. But don’t for a minute believe that they don’t have an agenda — this center is primarily funded by the Koch brothers, and was founded by their chief lobbyist. A quick look at studiesfrom actual non-partisan sources, like the Congressional Budget Office, back up what the President has said about Obamacare all along — it will actually cut the deficit by $127 billion. Make sure their report doesn’t pick up any steam — share the truth:

Thanks,
Stephanie
P.S. — Now that Mitt Romney is almost surely our opponent, the race is on. We created this Facebook graphic for folks to say they’ve got our president’s back. Share it on your wall here: