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Government Shutdown: Who's to blame?

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by Cajun Sensation, Apr 7, 2011.

?

Who's to blame for the looming government shutdown?

Dems

9 vote(s)

52.9%
GOP

3 vote(s)

17.6%
The White House

4 vote(s)

23.5%
Tea Partiers

1 vote(s)

5.9%
Media

0 vote(s)

0.0%

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Cajun Sensation I'm kind of a big deal Staff Member

Vote now.

Cajun Sensation, Apr 7, 2011

#1
Cajun Sensation I'm kind of a big deal Staff Member

Here's the article that prompted me to start the thread, BTW.

Who's to blame for the looming government shutdown? - The Week

Two short-term spending agreements temporarily averted a possible government shutdown earlier this year, but now, Congress has run out of delay strategies. The federal government really will shut down if the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic-led Senate can't agree on a long-term budget by April 8. So far, House Republicans have passed a budget for the current fiscal year with $61 billion in discretionary spending cuts, and Democrats have reportedly countered with a broader package of about $30 billion in cuts — far more than the Left wanted to concede, but not nearly enough to appease the Tea Party Right. If Congress can't reach a deal, a prospect that is rapidly fading, who should we blame?

1. Democrats
If Nancy Pelosi and her party had "done their job last year," and passed a budget for this fiscal year, there would be no threat of a shutdown, says Robert Stacy McCain at The Other McCain. But they postponed dealing with the budget until after the midterms, so "any attempt to scapegoat the GOP for this situation is nothing but a damned lie." Besides, the Democrats' counteroffer is so insignificant, says Karen Beseth in The Lonely Conservative, it's "like me cutting a trip to McDonald's to save my family budget."

2. Republicans
The GOP isn't interested in the deficit, they're interested in scoring political points, says Ezra Klein in The Washington Post. They're balking at the Democrats' offer because it doesn't "cut in the way the GOP wants," not because the cuts aren't deep enough. Listening to House leaders, you "wouldn't know that Democrats, who control both the White House and the Senate, technically have a lot more power than Republicans." Basically, the GOP is offering "a raised middle finger" to the Democrats' outstretched hand, and "doing everything possible to force a government shutdown," says Jed Lewison in Daily Kos. This "overreach" will come back to bite them.

3. The White House
President Obama named Vice President Joe Biden his point man on the budget talks, but "Republicans say Biden has been virtually invisible since an initial March 4 meeting to start negotiations," says Matt Negrin in Politico. Meanwhile, Democrats say Biden is "the closer," a role he played in last December's tax cuts deal, and is keeping close tabs on the stalled negotiations. But "the White House could step in and negotiate the deal directly with House Republicans," like it did in December, says David Dayen in Firedoglake. So far, they have not.

4. Tea Partiers
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) placed the blame for the deadlock squarely on a "division between the Tea Party and mainstream Republicans." The "Tea Party Republicans are scrapping all the progress we have made and threatening to shut down the government if they do not get all of their extreme demands," he groused. "Reid certainly has cause for frustration," says Alex Altman in TIME. But it's more House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) using "the specter of a Tea Party revolt to pull off a coup," rather than the "rank-and-file hard-liners" actually making themselves an obstacle.

5. The media
Republicans point out that the only people hyperventilating about a government shutdown have been "Democrats (and reporters)," says Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo. And if there is a shutdown, "the sympathetic liberal media" will blather on "about all the suffering that shutdown is causing," says Rob Port at Say Anything. And that "could very well sour the public at large on a push for spending cuts."
Click to expand...

Cajun Sensation, Apr 7, 2011

#2
Rex_B Geaux Time

Pointing one finger isn't enough.

Republicans. Democrats. White House. Fed. and on and on and on.

Rex_B, Apr 7, 2011

#3
Cajun Sensation I'm kind of a big deal Staff Member

Rex_B said: ↑

Pointing one finger isn't enough.

Republicans. Democrats. White House. Fed. and on and on and on.
Click to expand...

Just play along and pick one, will ya?:grin:

Cajun Sensation, Apr 7, 2011

#4
LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

I voted tea party but I think all of them are to blame, including us.

LaSalleAve, Apr 7, 2011

#5
Rex_B Geaux Time

Cajun Sensation said: ↑

Just play along and pick one, will ya?:grin:
Click to expand...

Well I don't see how the Tea Party or the Media is to blame. But all the rest. Sure. Which one is more to blame. Ugh. That's like having 3 murderers on the same victim. The first one shot the victim, the second one stabbed the victim, and the third one poisoned the victim. Who's to blame more?

Rex_B, Apr 7, 2011

#6
tirk im the lyrical jessie james

the government.

tirk, Apr 7, 2011

#7
LSUsupaFan Founding Member

The media is clearly not to blame as they are not part of government. Since power is split betweent the R guys and D guys blame is split. T

he Tea Party folks are mostly just simpletons that don't understand the complexities involved in reducing the federal budget. They just seem like they think they can go up there and scratch off a billion here and a billion there and reduce the budget by a trillion dollars.

LSUsupaFan, Apr 7, 2011

#8
OkieTigerTK Tornado Alley

LSUsupaFan said: ↑

The media is clearly not to blame as they are not part of government. Since power is split betweent the R guys and D guys blame is split. T

he Tea Party folks are mostly just simpletons that don't understand the complexities involved in reducing the federal budget. They just seem like they think they can go up there and scratch off a billion here and a billion there and reduce the budget by a trillion dollars.
Click to expand...

i agree with every bit of this.

OkieTigerTK, Apr 7, 2011

#9
Rwilliams Veteran Member

The whitehouse should have submitted a budget last year and held congress' feet to the fire for a vote. The budget was put off for political reasons. The dems held both houses and the president. They wanted a showdown to be able to blame reps just like in the Clinton days. The stipend to defund obamacare is stupid. Obama will never sign it. Because a couple of rookie rep congressman will not withdraw this a shutdown will happen. There is blame for everyone. If the budget was introduced by the whitehouse and voted on last year all of this wouldn't be happening.

Rwilliams, Apr 7, 2011

#10

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