If you were one of the last people on earth holding out hope that the Super Congress would produce a bi-artisan deal to reduce our nation’s debt, yesterday’s Sunday talk shows should have crushed whatever hope you had left. There was no talk of compromise or common ground. Just attacks and finger pointing.
“As long as we have Republican lawmakers who are more enthralled with a pledge they took to a [anti-tax activist Grover Norquist] than a pledge they took to help solve the country’s problems, this is going to be hard to do,” Democrat co-chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on CNN’s State of the Union. “This was not about extending the Bush tax cuts. It was about trying to do entitlement reform on the mandatory side of the budget,” Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., told Meet the Press.
Murray’s diagnoses for the Super Committee’s failure is easily refuted by the offer Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., made last week, which lowered tax rates but raised revenue over all by closing loopholes and simplifying the tax code. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has also made it clear he’d be willing to raise revenues by broadening the base and lowering rates.
But no Republican would ever sign off on any debt reduction deal that did not also begin to roll back the explosion in entitlement spending that was accelerated by President Obama’s health care law. Any Republicans that agreed to a deal the raised revenues, without also repealing Obamacare, would have guaranteed themselves a primary challenge. There will be no deal on debt reduction until after the 2012 election. Either Obama wins, thus validating his expansion of the welfare state, and Republicans will have to agree to raise taxes to pay for it, or Obama loses, Obamacare is rejected, and Americans will get less spending and a simpler tax code.
Around the Bigs
USA Today, Stimulus funds helped some stocks soar: A USA TODAY analysis of companies who received money from Obama’s stimulus found that those firms “have soundly beaten the stock market” since the stimulus became law.
USA Today, $1B homeowner program mainly benefited 3 states: Almost half the homeowners aided by Obama’s Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program are in three heavily Democratic states: Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut.
The Wall Street Journal, Doctor Revolt Shakes Disability Program: Doctors employed by the Social Security Administration are being pressured to classify able applicants as disabled and unable to work.
The Examiner, Occupy DC movement increasingly influenced by unions: The AFL-CIO is allowing Occupy DC protesters to shower at their nearby headquarters, and has given the movement food and supplies. In return, Occupy has focused on union priorities like striking Verizon workers and teacher firings.
New York Post, Occupy Wall Street protesters stay at $700-a-night hotel: A member of Occupy Wall Street’s finance committee, which controls the movement’s $500,000 war chest, has been staying at a $700-a-night hotel in New York City.
Campaign 2012
Gingrich: The Examiner‘s Tim Carney reports that Newt Gingrich, while taking money from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, directly contacted Members of Congress to ask them to vote for President Bush’s prescription drug bill.
Gingrich has set up a Obama-style “Fight the Smears” website which he calls “Answering the Attacks.” The site has entries on “Ryan Medicare Plan,” “Health Insurance Mandate,” “Ethanol,” etc. The “lobbying” section does not mention his work for PhRMA passing the Medicare drug bill.
Romney: Mitt Romney is making a move to compete in the Iowa caucuses. Television ad time has been bought and the campaign is beginning to hire staff.
Righty Playbook
Power Line‘s John Hinderaker notes that global warming propagandist Dr. James Hansen has failed to report more than $1.6 million in outside income contrary to the terms of his government employment.
The Weekly Standard‘s John McCormack clips video of Newt Gingrich telling the Iowa Family Forum about Occupy Wall Street: “Go get a job right after you take a bath.”
The Enterprise Blog‘s Kenneth Green wonders how many jobs the USDA will kill: “And environmentalists have declared open warfare on fossil-fuel energy, mounting fights to virtually all fossil-fuel production, whether it is conventional or non-conventional, on-shore or offshore, or even piped down from Canada.”
Lefty Playbook
In The Wall Street Journal, Democratic pollsters Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen urge Obama to abandon his reelection campaign so Hillary Clinton can cruise to victory in 2012.
The Washington Monthly‘s Steve Benen watched Saturday night’s Iowa “Thanksgiving Family Forum” and was scared.
Atrios rounds up calls for the UC Davis Chancellor to resign over Friday’s Occupy-pepper spray incident.
