by David Safier The NRA portrays itself as an 800 pound gorilla with an uzi in each hand. Woe be to the politician who dares to cross the gun lobby. Except that the NRA didn't do so well this election, even though it spent a considerable amount of money and kept its membership constantly informed … Read more
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Rejecting advice from health-insurance companies, hospitals, business groups, consumer groups, an editorial opinion in the Arizona Republic(an), and quite probably Arizona's shadow governor, Chuck Coughlin, Governor Jan Brewer decided that she would rather rage against the machine of the big, bad federal "guvmint" and "ObamaCare," because that is how she personally benefits from her "star" status in the "conservative entertainment complex," as David Frum calls it. Sell some more books, grab some more speaking fees, and pull in some more donations to JanPAC. She is cynical and pathetic.
She is also a coward. Brewer would have had to obtain approval from the GOP-dominated legislature that is just as cynical and unhinged about "ObamaCare" as she is. Brewer’s spokesman, Matthew Benson, acknowledged the odds of the Legislature approving a state-based exchange “appeared to be dim at best.” Well, you're not so tough after all, are you Guv? So much for that "Scorpions for Breakfast" bullshit.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Here's an easy way to remember the Republican party's commitment to diversity Clip and Save: Of the 19 committee chairs chosen by House Republicans thus far, all 19 are white men! There are two chairmanships still open for the next session of Congress (both will be filled by men). * * * In … Read more
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The political party that regularly takes America hostage and threatens to kill its economy (and jobs) unless Americans give their wealthy elite plutocrat masters everything they demand only knows one way, the bad faith way.
Some of the behind the scenes "cliff" negotiations were reported today in a POLITICO piece by Beltway media villagers and GOP spinmeisters VandeHei and Allen, Inside the talks: Fiscal framework emerges:
Cut through the fog,
and here’s what to expect: Taxes will go up just shy of $1.2 trillion —
the middle ground of what President Barack Obama wants and what
Republicans say they could stomach. Entitlement programs,
mainly Medicare, will be cut by no less than $400 billion — and perhaps
a lot more, to get Republicans to swallow those tax hikes. There will
be at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts and “war savings.” And any
final deal will come not by a group effort but in a private deal between
two men: Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). The two men had
a 30-minute phone conversation Wednesday night — but the private lines
of communications remain very much open.
* * *
There is no chance
taxes are not going up for people making north of $250,000 — and
virtually no chance that doesn’t include their tax rates, too.
Republicans publicly say they are opposed to rate hikes — but
privately they know they are going up, if not all the way to the
Clinton-era 39.6 percent, then darn close.
The reason is simple math. Take a look at this list, and you will see that any tax loopholes worth closing won’t get Obama or Republicans close to their targets.
The mainstream media is abuzz with "news" of the fiscal cliff– a end-of-year deadline when the Bush Era tax cuts expire and other financial maneuvers by the federal government either end or take effect. (It's a really long list– read more about the fiscal cliff here and here.)
The fiscal cliff is a crisis manufactured by Congress because on multiple occasions they put off making decisions. Seriously, makeshift, stop-gap deals is their forte.
Grassroots activists from Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) have hand-delivered 70 letters to members of Congress, urging them to vote against austerity measures which will hit average Americans and the poor the hardest and vote for measures– like the Robin Hood Tax— which will raise revenues by increasing taxes on the rich.
Here in Tucson, PDA Tucson members delivered such a letter to newly elected Congressman Ron Barber.
For detailed background on the fiscal cliff, check out the video from The Real News, after the jump.