Boehner Got 98% of What He Wanted

John Boehner got 98% of what he wanted
byBarbara Morrill


Last week this is what a gleeful John Boehner had to say about the GOP having their ransom demands met on the debt deal:

When you look at this final agreement that we came to with the White House, I got 98 percent of what I wanted. I'm pretty happy.
And tonight, for the first time in this country's history, "S&P cut the long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA-plus," because:

The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy ... It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options.
Congratulations, Mr. Speaker.

From the S&P release ...
Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.

Talkingpointsmemo:

It's pretty clear that Republican intransigence over allowing new tax revenues was a major factor behind the S&P downgrade. But will that mean the GOPers mend their ways in the coming weeks, especially as the new deficit "super committee" cranks into gear? President Obama and Harry Reid certainly seem to hope so.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...de.php?ref=fpb


Kerry Slams ‘Tea Party Downgrade’
Igor Bobic | August 7, 2011, 11:27AM

Senator John Kerry (D-MA), appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, blamed Republicans and in particular Tea Party intransigence for the unprecedented S&P downgrade of U.S. credit from AAA to AA+.

"I believe this is without question the Tea Party downgrade," he said. "This is the Tea Party downgrade because a minority of people in the House of Representatives countered the will of even many of Republicans in the United States Senate who were prepared to do a bigger deal."

Kerry intimated that the "grand bargain" that President Obama initially negotiated with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), a package of larger spending cuts and revenue increases, was scuttled by a smaller group of Republicans who were unwilling to negotiate at any cost.

"There were some people in the Republican party - and Mitch McConnell even admitted this - who wanted to default," Kerry said. "He said there were people in his party who were willing to shoot the hostage. In the end they found that the hostage was worth ransoming."

Meanwhile, on ABC's "This Week," S&P managing director John Chambers deflected criticism over a $2 trillion accounting error in Friday's initial rating statement and left open the possibility for a future downgrade in as little as 2 years.

"If the fiscal position of the United States deteriorates further or if the political gridlock becomes more entrenched, then that could lead to a downgrade," said Chambers. "The outlook indicates at least a 1 in 3 chance of a downgrade over that period."

The next stage in the saga begins in as little as a week, as leaders of both parties have until August 16 to name their picks to the debt-limit compromise "super committee" which is tasked with cutting an additional $1.5 trillion dollars from the federal deficit.

Typical Tea party hypocrisy.

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TPMMuckraker
Tea Party-Backed Rep. Walsh Lists No Child Support Debt On Financial Forms
Susan Crabtree | August 9, 2011, 6:00AM


Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), a Tea-Party darling who has made a name for himself on the talk show circuit lecturing Democrats to get the nation's finances in order, has been under fire in recent weeks over charges that he's a deadbeat dad, owing more than $100,000 in child support.

Last Thursday, Walsh told constituents at a townhall that he plans to "privately and legally" fight his ex-wife's claims that he owes more than $100,000 in child support, which he called "wildly inaccurate." A recent Chicago Sun-Times article reported that his ex-wife is suing him for $117,000 in unpaid support.

Yet, even if he owes just $10,000 in unpaid child support, Walsh could face the added headache of House Ethics Committee scrutiny. Walsh, who was elected in 2010 in a narrow victory over former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) in the Tea Party-induced wave, does not list any child support debt on his financial disclosure form, as required for any liability worth more than $10,000.

"Rep. Walsh is required both by law and by congressional ethics rules to list debts in excess of $10,000 on his financial disclosure forms, including child support back payments," said Public Citizen's Craig Holman.

"Technically, he could be taken to task by the ethics committee or even the Justice Department for failure to file proper disclosure forms, but in all likelihood the Ethics Committee and Justice would be satisfied if Walsh were to file amended forms," Holman explained.

But Walsh is in a bit of a bind. Filing an amended form would require Walsh to admit that he owes at least $10,000 in back child support, what would be an ugly political liability that could knock him out of his role as one of the top Tea Party freshmen Republicans spokesmen

Lawrence O'Donnell last week said he had banned Walsh from his show until the Republican pays the child support he owes his wife and children. He also played a video of Walsh saying, "I won't place one more dollar of debt on the backs of my kids" before noting that Walsh allegedly owes those kids $117,347 in child support, the Huffington Post reported.

Walsh's ex-wife, Laura Walsh, says he failed to provide full child support for roughly five years from 2005 to 2010, from 2008 to 2010, the time of his election, she said he paid no support. After he was elected to Congress, which pays a salary of $174,000 a year, Walsh resumed full payments for their three children.

8:00 AM PDT
After getting '98 percent' of what they wanted in debt deal, GOP blames Democrats for downgrade
byJed Lewison

Boehner got :98 percent" of what he wanted
in debt deal (Larry Downing/Reuters)

Just to refresh everybody's memory: President Obama and Democrats gave John Boehner and the GOP "98 percent" of what they wanted in the debt limit deal.
Then, 48 hours after Boehner's deal got signed into law, S&P issued a credit rating downgrade, blaming Republicans for being hostage-taking, terror-inducing, revenue-refusing nut jobs.

So, clearly, it's the Democratic Party's fault, right? It is, at least if you're the House GOP's campaign committee:

EXCLUSIVE – NRCC BLAMES HOUSE DEMS FOR DOWNGRADE WITH ROBOCALLS TO 10 DISTRICTS – The National Republican Congressional Committee is going after 10 potentially vulnerable Democrats today for opposing a Balanced Budget Amendment. The narrator pins the blame the Democrats for the S&P downgrade and for not wanting government to live within its means. From the script: “Hello, I’m calling from the National Republican Congressional Committee with an important alert about your Congressman David Loebsack. David Loebsack continues to oppose a Balanced Budget Amendment that would force Washington to live within its means. Loebsack and his fellow Democrats’ addiction to big government spending has led to a downgrade of America’s credit rating and a dramatic loss in the global markets that could force you to pay more for everyday expenses. While David Loebsack keeps standing in the way of real fiscal reform, middle-class families in Iowa could now see a loss in retirement savings while mortgage rates, car payments and student loans could become even more expensive. Call Congressman David Loebsack at 202-225-6576 and tell him to stop his reckless borrowing spree.”
I guess their logic goes like this: We're going to destroy the economy if you don't give us what we want. And when you do capitulate, and things go to shit, we're going to blame you for the consequences of your capitulation. Just because we held you hostage doesn't mean you shouldn't get blamed.

Maybe its just me but i think this is WAY more interesting then the thread about gifts to the U.S.