Utah Senate GOP candidate Mike Lee: A government shutdown “May be absolutely necessary”
Earlier this week, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” Now more Republicans have crush the always-dubious notion that we might see some sort of post-partisan compromise on energy or any other government-funded strategy to create jobs or protect the health and well-being of our children. ThinkProgress has the story.Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who is in line to become a powerful committee leader should Republicans take control of the House of Representatives, made some waves last week when he said he wanted to work with President Obama after the midterm elections. “We have a real opportunity to get some things done,” he told the Wall Street Journal. Issa quickly refined his position, however, later telling ABC’s Top Line that “the word ‘compromise’ has been misunderstood.” He clarified that his job will be “getting America back to the center right where it exists.”
It seems the Republican leadership agrees with Issa “” there will only be compromise if the President agrees to everything it wants. According to a Washington Post profile published yesterday, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) “let out a long sigh when asked where he would look to work with Obama,” and then said “I came here to fight for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government, and to the extent that [Obama] wants to work with us in terms of where we’re going, I would certainly welcome it.” On Sean Hannity’s radio show yesterday, he made it much more explicit: “This is not a time for compromise, and I can tell you that we will not compromise on our principles,” he said.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), appearing on CNN’s Parker Spitzer last night, was equally as strident, saying that in 1994 when the Republicans took control of Congress “there was altogether too much compromise,” and promised that “there will be no compromise” if Republicans take control after the midterms, specifically on issues like “repealing ObamaCare lock stock and barrel.” Watch it:
Polls show Americans want Republicans and Democrats to work together in order to achieve progress on major issues, and at a meeting with some progressive bloggers at the White House yesterday, President Obama said he was willing to do that:
THE PRESIDENT: Look, the “” I’m a pretty stubborn guy when it comes to, on the one hand, trying to get cooperation. I don’t give up just because I didn’t get cooperation on this issue; I’ll try the next issue. If the Republicans don’t agree with me on fiscal policy, maybe they’ll agree with me on infrastructure. If they don’t agree with me on infrastructure, I’ll try to see if they agree with me on education.
So I’m just going to keep on trying to see where they want to move the country forward.
If Obama “wants to see where they want to move the country,” GOP leaders are making clear they’re less interested in moving it than in defeating him.
– George Zornick, in a TP cross-post.
JR: We’ve seen Rep. Steve King (R-IA) demand a “blood oath” from Boehner to shut down the government. Now comes Utah Senate GOP candidate (and likely winner) Mike Lee saying, a government shutdown “may be absolutely necessary“:
Last week, Roll Call reported that the “campaign rhetoric of tea party-inspired Republicans is on a collision course with the federal debt limit, which could make the threat of a government shutdown an early order of business in a new Republican majority.” Indeed, a number of leading Republicans have endorsed the idea of a government shutdown, from Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) to Alaska GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller, despite RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s claim that there aren’t “any candidates” proposing one.
In an interview with NPR today about what tea party-backed candidates would do if they gain seats in Congress, Utah GOP Senate nominee Mike Lee explicitly said he would refuse to vote to raise the debt limit, even if it leads to a government shutdown:
“Our current debt is a little shy of $14 trillion. And I don’t want it to increase 1 cent above the current debt limit and I will vote against that,” he says.
Even if it leads to government default and shutdown?
“It’s an inconvenience, it would be frustrating to many, many people and it’s not a great thing, and yet at the same time, it’s not something that we can rule out,” he says. “It may be absolutely necessary.”
Listen here:
As the Wonk Room’s Pat Garofalo noted yesterday, this is not the first time Lee “” who is almost guaranteed to win Tuesday “” has endorsed the idea of a government shutdown. At a recent town hall meeting, Lee went even further than on NPR, threatening a government shutdown if President Obama doesn’t agree to an immediate 40 percent reduction in the federal budget, outside of defense and Social Security.
Lee’s dismissal of a shutdown as a mere “inconvenience” shows a startling lack of sensitivity or understanding about what a shutdown would actually entail. As Newsweek’s Andrew Romano notes, satisfying Lee’s 40 percent cut demand “would require slashing every government program that’s not defense or Social Security” “” including Medicare, veterans affairs, education, the FBI, and the border patrol “” 89.6 percent.” Considering that the FBI just foiled a potentially major terrorist plot against the Washington, DC Metro system, a 90 percent reduction in their budget may not be the soundest policy idea.
But even beyond Lee’s absurd demand for a 40 percent cut, a government shutdown is far more than a mere “inconvenience.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s government shutdown in 1995 was disastrous; it ended up costing taxpayers over $800 million in losses for salaries paid to furloughed employees, delayed access to Medicare and Social Security, and caused a “[m]ajor curtailment in services,” including health services, to veterans.
– Alex Seitz Wald in a TP cross-post.
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To the extent that Bush and a Republican led Congress put us in the current economical situation, I find Mr. Boehner’s comments a boon to getting out the vote against the radical elements within the Tea party and Republican Party.
Let’s hope that people of sound mine and body have the wherewithal to know the difference between more of the same for two more years.
It’s very easy for people who are prosperous and secure to sit back and declare the safety net programs to be superfluous and wasteful–they don’t expect to need these programs and don’t want to have to pay for them. It reminds me of the crass and greedy 19th-century world that Charles Dickens wrote about.
They have NO PLAN to reduce the size of government other than cutting Social Security or Medicare. They are not interested in creating jobs for Americans. They will push for more tax cuts with no plan to pay for them. They have no plan at all that will benefit the American public. The ONLY CHANGE these know-nothing / do-nothing charlatans will make is to shut down the government AND put us deeper in debt!
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October 25, 2010
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Two things I will never understand, even if I live to be 250 years old:
Why anyone would expect the current GOP to do anything except what they themselves are proclaiming in this post.
Why so many of the people who would be hurt the most by such insane, myopic, and just plain inhumane policies would be such enthusiastic Republican voters. It’s not a matter of “What’s wrong with Kansas”, but “WTF, America???”
Obama today:
“I will say that the damage that the filibuster I think has done to the workings of our democracy are at this point pretty profound. The rate at which it’s used just to delay and obstruct is unprecedented…
If we do not fix how the filibuster is used in the Senate, then it is going to be very difficult for us over the long term to compete in a very fast moving global environment.”
…
“There are a couple of things that have changed in our politics that are gonna have to be fixed. One is the way the filibuster operates. As I said, that’s just not in the Constitution.”"
This is Big News – much bigger than the same-old GOP obstructionism. Please, make a front page post about these statements, in which you analyze the role of filibuster reform in climate legislation.
I just don’t understand how Democratic leaders like Reid and Kerry can announce that they stand ready to compromise. Their messaging is soooo wrong. It certainly makes them look weak and ineffective (and almost certainly actually makes them weak and ineffective.)
Why aren’t democratic leaders announcing what they stand for and that they will stand and fight to achieve those objectives no matter what the odds?
Re: Mark | Post #8
“…..Why aren’t democratic leaders announcing what they stand for and that they will stand and fight to achieve those objectives no matter what the odds?…..”
The idea of standing for what is right (i.e. _standing one’s ground_ as distinct from *fighting against* what is wrong) strikes me as a position worthy of more serious consideration than I see it getting.
It seems more energy-efficient than allowing a few rich and powerful THUGS to continually provoke us to mind-numbing anger and disgust.
Perhaps shuting down the government might indeed have a positive effect. After the hurt starts to take effect throughout the nation the unfortunate voters who put these cretins in office will see the result of their action. Only pain and suffering wakes the masses. When their (and mine) social security and medicare are actually effected the anger might spill into the streets. You have got to hand it to the French regarding mass protests in the street. The latest demonstrations did not work out for them very well, but their anger was clearly stated and the political leaders will ultimately feel the pain at the ballot box.
Perhaps Lou Grinzo said it best ‘WTF..America???’ The next couple of years are going to be very interesting. If you thought the last two were bad politically..wait until the pottie folks hit Washington.
I agree, Lou. It makes me miss Howard Dean, who once famously said:
“I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for.”
Freaks.
Cutting the budget by 40% without touching the military but extending billionaires tax cuts…
Now that’s how you are guaranteed to enter one hell of a depression. And when all is over, China is laughing.
These idiots are certainly handing a hell of a lot of campaign material to Obama.He can just run the details on the constant across-the-board negotiational white-anting. Gotta feel sorry for the GOP though: squeezed between the monsters they encourage,like the Kochs and their sock-puppet party,and their own mediocrity. Let them cripple government….but then again,maybe the media’s capacity to analyze has collapsed,and that is important for Obama.
If Otis Campbell does indeed wind up as Speaker he’ll have to deal with some new representatives who can’t find Washington on a map and may face a recall election before they even locate their offices. All of this while the whole world will be watching them get tangled in knots by some very saavy Democrats. Anything that does get passed may be subject to a gauntlet of eccentric Senate rules the Republicans have used to stonewall the Obama Administration. And don’t forget a couple of certain Senators from Maine who are likely to side against such pressing matters as reconvening The House on UnAmerican Activities.
Once they find their seats the newbees will also have to address the new Haliburton/BP charges and war crimes committed by Bush and Cheney.
This election is all about what the two parties want to preserve.
Democrats want to preserve the rule of law. Republicans want to preserve the rule of corporations.
Democrats want to preserve carbon-free power. Republicans want to preserve the use of fossil fuels.
Democrats want to preserve the power of the environment to support us and other species as it has done for millennia. Republicans want to preserve the power of mining and drilling companies to extract resources without cleaning up the wastes they produce.
Democrats want to preserve a fair political process and the power of the middle class to earn a decent living. Republicans want to preserve political power for themselves and the power of the wealthy to do whatever they please.
Who pulls the strings for these foolishly narrowminded and chicken hearted republican politicians. These republicans don’t have the integrity or the cumption to decide to do the job they were elected to do. No one wants these republicans to keep behaving no better than the most extreme right wing bigots/wingnuts yelling and attacking anyone standing against them. Hopefully President Obama and the Democrats will regroup and force republican policians to become the laughing stock of all Americans who have a brain.
homunq:
That sounds nice, but I’ll wait until Obama actually walks the walk before I’m willing to believe this is actually news.
– frank
The government shutdown stuff in 1995-1996 hurt Republicans somewhat, as they lost a few Congressional seats and lost big in the presidential election in 1996. If Republican leadership follows the extremist elements, I think they’ll be overplaying their hand again, opening themselves up to greater scrutiny, which has been almost entirely absent the last couple of years.
http://ampedstatus.com/the-road-to-revolution-99-uprising-video
http://ampedstatus.com/the-covert-origins-of-the-af-pak-war-the-road-to-world-war-iii
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/shrinking-the-climate-problem/
Some people may be buffaloed by the rich. They are afraid of the wealthy. Some poor people think that they are rich because they have jobs or because they have been told that they are “middle” class. Others just don’t have the IQ to figure out what is going on. Many are acting like “Charlie” chimps obeying the Alpha and Beta chimps.