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Polar bear with carrot

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Hopes for reconciliation?





Republicans are apoplectic about the Democrat's potential use of a tactic called budget reconciliation to push through the pending health care legislation. They threaten to go "nuclear" and shut down the Senate. Senator Judd Gregg (R- N.H.) calls it an act of violence. Budget reconciliation is a way to fast track a bill and allow it to pass without the threat of filibuster and to be passed by a simple majority.


They have very short memories. Budget reconciliation was used often in the past administration, including both the 2001 and 2003 Tax cuts and the Deficit Reduction act of 2005. The Republicans tried to use it to open ANWR for exploration but failed.


According to the site Think Progress, the following bills all used budget reconciliation, through various administrations:

Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1983
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
Balanced Budget Act of 1995 (vetoed)
Personal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Act of 1996
Balanced Budget Act of 1997
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999 (vetoed)
Marriage Tax Relief Act of 2000 (vetoed)
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005

Obviously, their teeth gnashing is another sign of how the petulant little babies, who have worn the crown for so long, are now beside themselves at not being in the driver's seat for the first time in eight years. The hypocrites who said that 51% of the vote was enough to ram through their agenda, and who brooked no opposition to their party are suddenly wailing about partisanship.

The same Republicans who failed to give President Obama a single vote on the budget bill and only three votes on the stimulus bill, after he watered down several provisions for their support, now demand to be seated at the table. So pardon me for saying that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Until the party of no can pull up their big boy pants and realistically work with the other side of the table, look forward to a majority pushing through their own platform. That's why they have elections.

4 comments:

Sanoguy said...

They're jerks!!! What else can be said???!!!

Anonymous said...

Blue Heron needs to take a stroll down reality lane. It was Obama who said that his adminstration would be bipartisan. When within the first days of his term he made it clear that was hyperbole, the republicans began to call it for what it was, just another of the broken promises of President Obama.

Certainly there is hypocrisy in the wailing of some republicans, however they are not alone in that chorus. In fact, Democrats performed several arias during the rise to power of Obama. Senator Clinton and her estranged husband played the race card, women's suffrage, etc., while running for the highest office in the land.

Which president used budget reconciliation more than any other? Bill Clinton, who was until the rise of our new Supreme Leader, the poster boy for liberals. Now that someone else has promised to cure all our ills, Bill has fallen from grace and into the land of money grubbers where he is wallowing around with the rest of the rich, white, DEMOCRATS in the trough of hypocrisy.

The road of hypocritical outrage is a well worn two way street.

Blue Heron said...

Obama tried to be bipartisan, remember Judd Gregg? But like Lucy Van Pelt tricking Charlie Brown into kicking the football, he wised up and stopped laying his neck out for the republicans to hew, since it was obvious that their real aim was to destroy him and make quick political points at any cost to the republic.

It is interesting that the right has demonized Pelosi, Reid, Frank, Feinstein, Boxer, anyone who doesn't quite fit into the wasp country club. You know, the good old boy network that historically was supposed to run the show. The anger is so palpable, so mysoginistic and so out of proportion to any of their real or imagined sins. Cartoon characters really, much like the ones we on the left created for Rumsfeld, Cheney and Feith.

Guess we are a long way from those hallowed days when red staters and blue staters will lay in the manger together, like dogs bedding down with cats.

Thank you for your letter.

Anonymous said...

Facts & figures:

1. Judd Gregg withdrew because Rahm & Obama decided to take control of the census and run it from the white house.
1.A. The reason for seizing control of the census bureau is to redraw lines and steer business to their sponsors, principally ACORN. Acorn was highly effective in registering voters who would pull the democratic lever. They were richly repaid in the stimulus package. Now, they can unearth hidden population surges in areas that will vote along their party lines. Just like the lady said, "If I take care of him, he'll take care of me."
(From an Obama campaign rally)

2. You've been ill, so perhaps that explains why you haven't seen Pelosi and Feinstein at the Country Club. These are founding members of the women's power club. The entrance rules are just the same as those for the other gender. First, check their net worth, the net worth of their spouses, and then take a closer look at who they do business with.

Talk about the old gal network in motion, DiFi is at it again! She just moved a huge sum of money, $25,000,000.00 to CBRE, where her husband just happens to be chairman. And those amazing coincidences just keep happening! Yeah, like the one where Blum and pals purchase deflated CBRE stock days before the government contract was awarded to CBRE. A financial record check will show that Blum's money is her money. But, this just happens to be coincidence! Isn't CBRE in the real estate business? Yes, the commercial real estate business. When was the last time anyone saw a CBRE home for sale sign? So, it makes tons of sense to steer the business to a company that has no experience selling homes.

Next comes Nancy Pelosi. What about her support for limiting campaign donations to family members? Look at what she paid her husband last year, approximately $48,000.00 for rent, etc. I guess if you are only worth fifty to a hundred million, you need to find a way to pay for groceries.
Ask anyone who knows the Speaker and they will acknowldege that she is extremely adept at political back scratching and operating. In fact, ask President Obama, because his first real lesson as a new president was to learn who was running the stimulus show. Big Nancy. Papa would be proud!

Democrats won the election for president and other key spots. However, that doesn't mean that everyone should just shut up and go along with the magic and happiness that is being sprinkled on the powerless. It's called opposition for a reason.