More On The Deal: House GOP Adopts Norquist Rules

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 12:05:54 PM EST
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The New York Times, which editorialized in favor of The Deal NOW provides this advice to President Obama and the Dems, in light of the Norquist Rules just adopted by the House GOP:

The new Republican rules will gut pay-as-you-go because they require offsets only for entitlement increases, not for tax cuts. [. . .] The new rules mandate that entitlement-spending increases be offset by spending cuts only — and actually bar the House from raising taxes to pay for such spending. Even worse, they direct the leader of the House Budget Committee to ignore several costs when computing the budget [. . .] For example, the cost to make the Bush-era tax cuts permanent would be ignored [. . .] At the same time, the new rules bar the renewal of aid for low-income working families — extended temporarily in the recent tax-cut deal — unless it is fully paid for.

This "shocking" development, after The Deal, leads the New York Times, supporter of The Deal, to counsel:

The challenge for President Obama and Democratic lawmakers is not to get drawn into that warped mind-set. They need to present an alternative, including investments — in energy, technology, infrastructure and education. They also need a plan for long-term deficit reduction that recognizes what the Republicans ignore: Never-ending tax cuts make the deficit worse. Prudent tax increases need to be part of the solution.

(Emphasis supplied.) After supporting The Deal, it takes some chutzpah to give that advice. The Deal was reckless and idiotic in every way but one (the UI benefits.) The "warped mind set" is one the President celebrated with a fancy signing ceremony.

I am stilll shocked that people do not get the damage The Deal has done. It was a terrible mistake.

Speaking for me only

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More On The Deal: House GOP Adopts Norquist Rules | 8 comments (8 topical)

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I guess they (5.00 / 3) (#1)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 12:25:24 PM EST

didn't get the latest tweet about Obama: Yes we can is now Yes we cave!

Does the NYT not realize who the GOP is? They believe that tax cuts are the solution to everything and do not contribute to the deficit despite all the evidence to the contrary. The middle class is going to have to take it on the chin even more so than they have already. The GOP thinks that laying people off will actually increase employment prospects in this country. Honestly, we'll be lucky if we stay under 15% unemployment after the GOP gets done and they will be able to tag Obama with it all because he won't fight them.

: The Confounding Thing (5.00 / 4) (#2)
by The Maven on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 12:49:51 PM EST

is for anybody at the NYT or elsewhere to express surprise at this "development", since it was clear from the get-go that this was the Republican plan all along.
By permanently excluding tax cuts from deficit considerations, and requiring that entitlement spending increases (a certainty with baby-boomer retirements and health care cost inflation) be offset exclusively by cuts in discretionary spending and not by tax increases, the GOP is effectively enshrining a fantasy world which Obama and the Dems who voted for the tax plan have practically invited.
And when a hobbled government is unable to prevent continued economic malaise or to alleviate general public suffering, the right wing will tout this as yet more "evidence" that government is incapable of alleviating problems and should thus be further reduced in order to get out of the way of private-party solutions. The scary thing is that far too many Americans are liable to fall for this simplistic rhetoric and would vote to perpetuate policies that are antithetical to their own interests but benefit instead the ultra-rich.

The NYT takes being disingenuous (5.00 / 4) (#3)
by Anne on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 03:15:59 PM EST

to a whole new level, but then, I think they have a lot of practice at it, so no one should be particularly surprised.

And rather than Dems being able to blame the GOP once campaigning begins in earnest for the 2012 elections, I suspect it is Dems who will get the blame for (1) not seeing that more suffering would result, (2) and for going beyond letting it happen, to paving the way to making it happen.

Honestly, the combination of these new rules, together with the drive among Democrats to enshrine the Deficit Commission's report into law, is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion; by the time people head for the voting booth in 2012 - if anyone can rouse themselves out of their depression long enough to actually go to the polls - there may be an overwhelming feeling of voting for anyone who shows any signs of being able to make the misery stop - or the least bit interested in trying to make it stop.

As it is, with there being entirely too much unity of purpose between Democrats and Republicans to enact laws and policies that are going to make life worse for people, how much difference is it going to make who we vote for?

Happy F'ing New Year, all...

: My thoughts as well (5.00 / 2) (#4)
by Militarytracy on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 04:05:15 PM EST

I was going to post about how disgusted I am. Put that seems pointless these days. Gee, I'm disgusted...what's new?

Depends on your point of view (5.00 / 2) (#6)
by pluege2 on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 04:42:48 PM EST

I am still shocked that people do not get the damage The Deal has done. It was a terrible mistake

that's only true for the non-rich (the 90% of the population left to fight over 25% of the nation's wealth). For the rich, psychotically obsessed with sucking every last penny out of the middle and working class to "level the playing field" of working in America with working in Asia or other places with sweatshop conditions, obama's "Deal" is an friggin' bonanza - the Mother Lode.

For the non-rich, obama is a Trojan Horse, set upon us to accelerate and make permanent the destruction of everything good in America we knew a mere 10 years ago.
.

: Obama and The Deal (none / 0) (#8)
by norris morris on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 07:16:04 PM EST

Obama has facillitated the destruction of the middle class by the GOP, and has helped wreak pain on those who will be cut from any support during this miserable and lastingly impoverished economy that only helps the wealthy.
Obama is hugely responsible for not wanting to fight and for refusing to make good on his previous positions and promises. He has betrayed those who voted for him unless of course they're Wall St or Corporate machers. Or Health Insurance
& BigPharma companies.

neither dems or repugs have ever seen a tax cut (none / 0) (#5)
by Bornagaindem on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 04:32:19 PM EST

they didn't love.

One of the worst things about the "deal" was that if people voted for repugs the dems should have let them have repug policies ie no extension of the unemployment benefits. Unfortunately by making the rotten deal they have given the repugs a pass for 2012 the economy won't tank as badly as it would have if they had thrown all those unemployed off the bus like they wanted too. Two years of bad policies is much better than putting them in total charge again in 2012.

Dems should have called their bluff and allowed the expiration of all the tax cuts since that is how Bush and the rpugs got them passed in the first place. Then dems could have been out there every day saying this is what repugs did to themselves ten years ago by using an expiration date. We gave them the opportunity to extend the cuts for the middle class but they would not do that. In these days of deficits and since the polls say people are worried about them we could not in all good conscience extend the cuts for the wealthy.

But no .....dems and repugs are the same in practice- they have never seen a tax cut they didn't love. When will they learn you don't make deals with people that want to eat your brains. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjMiDZIY1bM

Have you not noticed> (none / 0) (#7)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Dec 30, 2010 at 06:30:45 PM EST

The new Republican rules will gut pay-as-you-go because...

Pay-as-you-go has been quite dead for the last two years.