1980: Ronald Reagan runs for president, promising a balanced budget
1981 - 1989: With support from congressional Republicans, Reagan runs enormous deficits, adds $2 trillion to the debt.
1993: Bill Clinton passes economic plan that lowers deficit, gets zero votes from congressional Republicans.
1998: U.S. deficit disappears for the first time in three decades. Debt clock is unplugged.
2000: George W. Bush runs for president, promising to maintain a balanced budget.
2001: CBO shows the United States is on track to pay off the entirety of its national debt within a decade.
2001 - 2009: With support from congressional Republicans, Bush runs enormous deficits, adds nearly $5 trillion to the debt.
2002: Dick Cheney declares, “Deficits don’t matter.” Congressional Republicans agree, approving tax cuts, two wars, and Medicare expansion without even trying to pay for them.
2009: Barack Obama inherits $1.3 trillion deficit from Bush; Republicans immediately condemn Obama’s fiscal irresponsibility.
2009: Congressional Democrats unveil several domestic policy initiatives — including health care reform, cap and trade, DREAM Act — which would lower the deficit. GOP opposes all of them, while continuing to push for deficit reduction.
September 2010: In Obama’s first fiscal year, the deficit shrinks by $122 billion. Republicans again condemn Obama’s fiscal irresponsibility.
October 2010: S&P endorses the nation’s AAA rating with a stable outlook, saying the United States looks to be in solid fiscal shape for the foreseeable future.
November 2010: Republicans win a U.S. House majority, citing the need for fiscal responsibility.
December 2010: Congressional Republicans demand extension of Bush tax cuts, relying entirely on deficit financing. GOP continues to accuse Obama of fiscal irresponsibility.
March 2011: Congressional Republicans declare intention to hold full faith and credit of the United States hostage — a move without precedent in American history — until massive debt-reduction plan is approved.
July 2011: Obama offers Republicans a $4 trillion debt-reduction deal. GOP refuses, pushes debt-ceiling standoff until the last possible day, rattling international markets.
August 2011: S&P downgrades U.S. debt, citing GOP refusal to consider new revenues. Republicans rejoice and blame Obama for fiscal irresponsibility.
Any questions?
There are two sides to every story, the tired old aphorism goes. Well, sure, Mr. Fancy Pants Alaskan Liberal, if you wanna focus strictly on FACTS it looks bad for the Republicans...
ReplyDeleteBut even YOU have to admit that their perspective look a LOT more reasonable when you factor in their dreams, wishes, fantasies, guardian angels, fairies, rainbows, an angry but loving sky god, deep-seated hatreds, greed, arrogance, hostility and fear.
So how do we get just one Republiscum to admit this is their fault?
ReplyDeleteGryphen -
ReplyDeleteI would like to gently remind you that there are two sides to every argument. This British columnist - with typical British conciseness - sums it up perfectly, IMHO.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/janetdaley/8685945/If-we-are-to-survive-the-looming-catastrophe-we-need-to-face-the-truth.html
It all sounds so wonderful to just keep taxing those entities which produce in order to support those who do not, but every goodie has to come from someone who made it. At some point the socialist European model to which Bo seems to aspire is just too much of a load for the capitalist society - upon whose production it depends - to support, and the whole thing collapses.
That is where we are now, IMHO. You can ride even a good horse to death.
It's imperative that Dems get a handle on this message and get the truth out there, otherwise they'll hang this on Obama.
ReplyDeleteIf you throw enough crappola against the wall, eventually some of it will stick, especially against dems, because we don't use effective rebuttals. (or ANY rebuttals). Kudos to you Gryp for finding the succinct messages and posting them. DNC should be paying attention.
O/T: these are Cock Brother's consumer brands: Georgia-Pacific paper and pulp company, maker of
ReplyDelete"Brawny" paper towels,
"Angel Soft" toilet paper,
"Mardi Gras" napkins and towels,
"Quilted Northern" toilet paper and paper towels,
"Dixie" paper plates, bowls, napkins and cups,
"Sparkle" paper towels, and
"Vanity Fair" paper napkins, bowls, plates and tablecloths.
The Atlanta-based company has operations in 27 states.[18]
Invista, a polymer and fibers company that makes
"Stainmaster" carpet, and
"Lycra" fiber, among other products.
Just sayin'.
If Obama was doing such a great job, why did so many teabaggers get voted into (and Dems OUT OF) office last November so that Dems lost their majority in Congress?
ReplyDeleteI'll give *you* a clue. Many liberals and progressives were so discouraged by Obama's and the Dem majority in congress STILL kow-towing to Repugs when Dems HAD the majority that they simply didn't bother to vote in 2010, thinking, why bother? They had seen how often Obama continued Bush policies, how he continued to escalate Bush wars, how dismissive he was of everyone who sacrificed to get him elected while being so solicitous of Wall Street and Repugs, and so determined to be "bipartisan" rather than DEMOCRATIC, despite who ELECTED him - regardless of the damage it caused. He not only refuses to fight for progressive causes, he makes sure his disdain for us is widely known.
THIS is the man you admire so much? WAKE UP!
One thing you just haven't been honest about, Gryphen, has been Obama's ready, willing, and ableness to put cutting SS and Medicare (AKA "eating our peas") on the table even withOUT Repugs asking for it. Bipartisanship, my ass. Why isn't he FIGHTING for us, Gryphen?
He's willing to put OUR FUTURE on the line to appease Repugs who want to decimate every social program. So why did he refuse to put the *public option* on the table in order to give Americans a fighting chance at affordable health insurance?
I'll tell you why. The man is NOT a liberal who cares about the people. He's a corporatist who cares about Wall Street. Instead of fighting for the people, his strategy is to either immediately give Repugs what they want, or let Repugs bully him into giving them what they want, without putting up any fight.
Maybe one day you'll lose the misplaced hero worship and open your eyes and see what a Republican wolf in sheep's clothing Obama really is. No wonder there was a Republican in another thread praising him! It's certainly not because Obama is LIBERAL.
Add the fact that the S&P ratings Chief never studied economics but majored in literature & philosophy
ReplyDeletehttp://bit.ly/oQ4fjL
S&P has downgraded the US for political reasons -- as the 'waterboy' for the Baggers.
O/T
ReplyDeleteSo hoping this will be one of the avenues taken to destroy Murdoch & Ailes!! Orange suits them!!! Maybe even buy pink!!
FBI Could Investigate News Corp. Over RICO Violations
Michael Wolff has written a great story on News Corp. you should read
A few weeks back when the discussion was how a News Corp 'arm' "illegally hacked the computer system of a competitor, Floorgraphics, and then, using the information it had gleaned, tried to extort it into selling out to News Corp" -- it appears it's 'sticking' - YES!!! Maddow did a segment on it too!
"allegations that relationships the New York Post has maintained with New York City police officers may have involved exchanges of favors and possibly money for information"
Roger Ailes -- I so want him taken down as there is no way in hell he doesn't have blood on his hands yet he's managed to stay in the background -- NOT NOW!!!!
"accusations that Fox chief Roger Ailes sought to have an executive in the company, the book publisher Judith Regan, lie to investigators about details of her relationship with New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik in order to protect the political interests of Rudy Giuliani, then a presidential prospect"
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/how-bad-news-corp-133928
I'm bookmarking this post, and taking notes. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've long thought that Reagan was nothing more than a figure head of those "behind the scenes republicans".
ReplyDeleteANON at 5:30
ReplyDeleteSorry we are not going to roll over and give up "socialist programs" like
MEDICARE
SOCIAL SECURITY
VETERAN"S BENEFITS
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
PUBLIC ROADS
....I would go on and on but I doubt your teabagged brain can comprehend what most "rill" americans want.
"It all sounds so wonderful to just keep taxing those entities which produce in order to support those who do not..."
ReplyDeleteOh please, not that tired old turd of a cliche again. Apparently all economic reading for the past ten years has passed completely by you, or you'd be already familiar with all the evidence against this particular bit of tired propaganda.
But, hey, believe comes first, and who needs all that tiresome ol'
contradictory evidence, anyway?
The thing about Clinton is, he got all the credit for what had been progressing in the computer world. In actuality, other than showing real leadership, he didn't do that much. He laughed in his detractors faces when he knew nafta was best for the country. Too bad obama doesn't possess this leadership ability. But at least he's black and the lefties can count on that.
ReplyDeleteEconomies ebb and flow. Clinton had damn good timing and better be thanking Perot for handing him his job.
But it must not go unnoticed that Clinton policies did xontribute greatly to the destabilization process. When hillary called out Bush etal for their lack of monitoring, I spewed what I was drinking everywhere. The hypocrisy is astounding but the hypocrisy of democrats is espcially astounding.
Sorry for the typos. I'm on the phone.
Ugh, we have freaking unions that keep shitty teachers employed. We have a President with no faith in students. We have ignorant liberals who blame everyone but the man in charge orchestrating everything (ie president)
ReplyDeleteWe have too many selfish GOP and not enough legit members.
2 years ago republicans predicted the demcrats would purposefullykill the econ to start afresh with their agenda. That is becoming more apparent everyday which is why the tea party is so needed.
Oh yeah, let's tax those so-called "job creators" - you know, the ones sitting in their mansions with golden parachute retirement plans, with heaps of cash in their corporate coffers, plenty of money to hire as many people as they please...
ReplyDeleteand we sit here with unemployment hovering around one worker in ten, plummeting consumer demand because everyone's scared to spend any money, small businesses facing a future impossible to plan for because unemployment is high and nobody is spending money.
So much for your noble "job creators," you pathetic dumbass.
Interest rates are low - and were even lower until the S&P downgrade made borrowing more expensive. So why aren't our fed and state and local governments borrowing infrastructure money hand over fist, getting people back to work and spending money so small local businesses can thrive?
Oh, yeah, I forgot, the insane Teabaggers have thrown a wrench into the works and are sitting by picking their fleas while more earnest folk try to solve the problem.
Trolls...
ReplyDeletePlease read the FACTS!
Gryphen laid them out as simple to read as s child's book.
The facts represent that the Republicans are the problem. Period. It is as simple as that.
Read....or do you know how? Because by some of these comments, it look likes Gryphen's facts were completely ignored.
Wow, you remember how we got to this mess. It seems with americans short attention span and lack of research into the facts, very few people remember how this mess was actually made. I sure am glad someone else also remembers how the republicans have NEVER been fiscally responsible. THEY ARE HABITUAL LAIRS!
ReplyDeleteand RMuse at PoliticusUSA gives us a reminder, not only how we got into this mess, but why Republicans are hell-bent on ensuring that it gets worse:
ReplyDelete"Bloggers, journalists, economists, and average Americans warned of Republican malfeasance to no avail and now a credit rating agency has confirmed the fears of millions and started the ball rolling that ends America. The blame lies with Republicans, teabaggers, and the stupid American people who elected them because they did not want universal health care or a Black president. They have embarrassed and humiliated America again and it proves America is not exceptional. It is like S&P said; America is a dysfunctional nation with little hope of recovering from the stupid Republican agenda that has damaged the economy for the second time in 5 years. America will never recover a third time and Mitch McConnell promised Republicans will repeat last week’s performance again next year; they want to assure there is further downgrading. There is little left to downgrade though, and that suits Republicans who caused this disaster. They must still be congratulating each other while the rest of the country despairs and grieves the demise of this tragically pitiful country."
"Obama Hate Has Driven Republicans to Humiliate America"
http://www.politicususa.com/en/republicans-humiliate-america
O/T
ReplyDeleteTMZ has story up of Mercede's interview
"Levi Johnston's Sis: BRISTOL PALIN IS EVIL"
http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/08/levi-johnston-bristol-palin-mercede-sarah-palin-evil-meanest-playboy-interview-rips/
It doesn't matter what the facts are because the Republicans are going to blame Obama no matter what.
ReplyDelete5:30 am. I think the richest 2 to 4% in this country could easily afford to have their income taxes increased to what it was, let's say, 20 years ago. None of them would starve or have to give up any fancy cars or houses or condos. And I think that major corporations that have been shipping jobs around the world for the last 20 years or so could start to pay their fair share in federal taxes and resume manufacturing in the US, especially those products with military uses. And I think that companies like Apple, with cash on hand of $78 billion, should treat their Chinese workers better, start to manufacture in the US and pay taxes on foreign earnings instead of filing suit about it.
ReplyDeleteOnce all of these parties pay their fair share and the companies that are working hand-in-hand with the Koch brothers begin hiring in the US instead of holding their breath like their Republican brethren in Congress - in permanent tantrum mode since 2009 - things will improve here.
Anon @ 5:30 am
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 5:52 am
I guess neither of you spent a moment to contemplate what Gryph wrote to explain how our deficit grew to where it is now, and instead chose to bash the President.
Americans desperately need to learn from what history has shown us. Jesse clearly outlined the facts of how we got where we are now.
Again, two other lessons from history (courtesy of moderate independent journalist @WestWingReport on twitter):
1) Last decade has been terrible for America. Bookended by two once unthinkable events: terror attack & credit downgrade. A mess in between
2) Many comparisons to the govt.'s sharp spending cuts in 1937-38. Unemployment soared & caused a nasty recession
Tweet URLs:
http://twitter.com/#!/WestWingReport/status/100331313508265984
http://twitter.com/#!/WestWingReport/status/100376070649421824
Trudging through the Trolls to say thank you for the excellent time line. I just wish that it would be understood by those trolls, but they have been thoroughly brainwashed into thinking that it's all Obama's fault.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to the poster who provided a list of Koch-owned products.
Now, we need to get the message out to those voters who will make the difference in 2012.
@ 7:24 - you got that right! This whole thing, now with the additional S & P downgrade of Fannie and Freddie Mac - is VERY FISHY. Someone - real journalists/bloggers - need to get to the bottom of this. It's an attack. A true terrorist attack. Who are these people - Beers, Chambers, et al? Italian courts have done raids at their local S & P because they suspect foul play in the market downgrades going on over there.... (Not that Italy is any sort of positive example of anything, government-wise, but still.)
ReplyDeleteThe Far Right has found a way to destabilize the world's economy in an effort to push administration change in the United States of America. Because no matter the downgrades or the jittery confidence - the US is still the most looked-to country in the world for many, many things. Financial, moral, etc (and I am not dissing other fine countries as I say this; I am an internationalist generally).
Btw, I no longer wish to turn to Huffington Post for any news coverage. Even before Arianna Huffington sold her soul to the devil by allowing Andrew Breitbart to post there, and also when she went with AOL, it was questionable. Their recent headlines on this crisis, and today's headline about foreign diplomacy, however, shows just how biased they are. Enough.
She's the new Rupert Murdoch, in my opinion.
(haha "mr. fancy pants alaskan liberal" - don't you just love it, Gryphen?)
5:52am
ReplyDeleteI am a Republican who praises President Obama. You are correct.
I do not praise him because he is a ¨LIBERAL.¨
I praise him because he is better at being an American than anyone else out there.
The republican/tea party seem to be following that old saying from the Vietnam era with a twist...
ReplyDeleteThey want to destroy this country in order to "save" it.
Stupid to the core.
I heard from several former Republican leaning people, that the suicidal actions of the rightwing nutjobs, the last while, has caused them to swear off phoney "conservatism," as it isn't conserving SQUAT, anymore.
ReplyDeleteI was happy to think that FINALLY the lunatic fringe took things too far, and exposed themselves to the thinking public, for the obstructionists they are.
Then I started hearing the SPIN of how everything was Obama's fault.
I know Americans have a memory problem, and are constantly laying blame on Obama for things like "TARP" that occurred prior to his election, but you'd THINK we could all remember back to LAST FREAKING WEEK!
Even in Canada, you could not escape hearing about the terrorist tactics being used by the Republicans, on all channels, even the radio rap channel.
So, how in the hell can anyone twist what was so obvious, to be the opposite?
I guess if you have NO CONSCIENCE whatsoever, and no patriotism in the least, you can just ignore everything and simply LIE like a stinking rug.
The fact that many will jump on the lying bandwagon, is proof that society has gone insane.
And, right on cue, Mitt comes out blaming Obama and pretending he doesn't have enough business acumen to handle economic matters... (as if President Obama is the only person attempting to manage our volatile financial situation).
ReplyDeleteThis, my friends, is a true conspiracy.
The world business powers-that-be want a Republican in the White House.
Period.
I just can't wait until the backlash begins.
The sad thing is, for the moment it is middle class Americans with pension plans who are the ones losing and suffering, never mind the trickle down effects on the poor.
The millionaires and billionaires will be just fine, as always. They can ride this out.
As Geithner said, Congress (read: Tea Party) OWNS these downgrades.
The Tea Party and the mainstream GOP who created/encouraged/tolerated them are responsible for the stock market losses today, there are no two ways about it.
The Far Right planned quite a reckless one-two punch, did they not?
These are RADICALS of the first order, people who simply do not care about most people living on this fragile planet.
They won't get away with it. Good always triumphs over evil. It may be a rough road ahead, but we will get there.
Facts and history won't make any difference.
ReplyDeleteRomney has already jumped on the it's all Obama's fault bandwagon.
If if the U.S. gets it's triple A rating back, the Republicans will take credit for it. They'll claim their SuperDooperPooperDozen did it all and it was all their idea.
Can we REALLY afford to elect a president whose very name makes him sound like the annoying leaky faucet that he is?
ReplyDeletemitt... mitt... mitt... mitt... mitt... mitt... mitt... mitt... mitt... mitt... mitt...
I don't think S & P is prepared to admit they were wrong (or corrupt) and change their rating.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that will change is that S & P will be completely discredited.
There is something very troubling about their practices.
There is more to this story than meets the eye this week. Way more.
I see broken-space-bar troll is back.
ReplyDeleteAnd as stupid and as uneducated and as un-American as ever.
Interesting that Eric Cantor is now fretting this S & P downgrade stuff may put pressure on his side to give in to tax increases.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking conspiracy, but then again maybe the Left will be the ultimate beneficiaries when this mess finally gets resolved.
Like I've said before, Obama and his team know exactly what they are doing, though they can't control absolutely everything - as we are painfully aware right now!
Don't know if Nefer was referring to me or not, but I can assure you dear heart that I am anything but uneducated. And I am sincerely patriotic, I promise you.
Plus, I love my space bar ;-). Seems like I am not the only one, as others post here in a similar style. We aren't writing a novel or for a newspaper, for goodness' sakes. I personally could care less about correct writing format when I post my thoughts.