John Boehner

The Choice Is Clear: The McConnell Plan OR Barack Obama Takes Independent Action And Risks Impeachment!

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The Debt Ceiling Crisis is down to less than a week, and Standard and Poors and Moody’s are warning of dire consequences for the American economy, with the lowering of the rating of America as credit worthy, if something is not done quickly.

It is clear that John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, cannot control the Tea Party radicals in his midst, and is in real danger of losing his Speakership in the future, whether or not his party retains control of the House of Representatives.

These reckless anarchists should be soundly defeated in the next election in 2012 to restore sanity to Washington, DC, but in the interim, something must be done to overcome the crisis.

The choice is clear! Follow the earlier suggestion of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to adopt a bill giving the President three opportunities to raise the debt level, separate from budget cuts–now, and twice next year–to go beyond Inauguration Day 2013, but with Congress able to vote on the extensions.

Most, if not all Republicans would vote no, while most Democrats would vote yes on each extension, but the President would veto each time, and as long as one third plus one of each house of Congress voted to sustain the President, the debt ceiling would be raised successfully, and end this crisis.

It would put the burden on the Democratic Party and President Obama, who theoretically would be blamed for the extensions, and it might hurt some Democrats running for re-election, but as long as 34 Democrats in the Senate and 145 in the House backed the President, it might allow those Democrats who felt endangered to vote with the Republicans against the extensions.

The thought, however, that voting for the extensions would automatically hurt the Democrats is likely to turn out incorrect, as the image of the Republicans as a reckless, extremist party that is ready to destroy Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and refuse to tax the rich, and support corporations unwilling to create jobs as they sit on $2 trillion of money, with a lot of it due to the federal government bailout in 2008-2009 and initiated by George W. Bush and his party–this is very likely to boomerang on the GOP and push them out of the majority in the House of Representatives, and help Barack Obama be re-elected President of the United States!

This McConnell plan, while far from ideal, would be better than Obama simply using the 14th Amendment, Section 4, to extend the debt, as it would cause more controversy and could lead to the impeachment process being used against him.

With a certainty, Obama would survive, and the GOP would be harmed, but if we could, somehow, avoid the turmoil of another impeachment mess, it would certainly be preferable!

So Mitch McConnell and his plan could be the savior of the moment and resolve this horrible crisis, created by the radical Tea Party anarchists,who need to be roundly defeated and removed from their position of holding America hostage!

Time For Action By Barack Obama: Enough Of “Mr. Nice Guy” Promoting Compromise With Those Who Want To Hold America Hostage!

Ronald 4 Comments

President Obama and Speaker John Boehner went on television and cable this evening, with only eight days to go before default, and the danger of America’s credit being downgraded even before August 2, if it seems as if no agreement can be reached.

Obama made it clear that compromise was essential, and that the Tea Party Movement could not be allowed to hold America hostage, and therefore called for an extension of the debt limit to 2013, along with substantial budget cuts, but with some revenue increases.

Speaker John Boehner, on the other hand, showed no willingness to compromise, and seemed literally held hostage by the Tea Party radicals despite having earlier been involved in negotiations with the President, which he ultimately walked out on, similar to what House Majority Whip Eric Cantor also did.

Obama said an agreement MUST be reached within two to three days, and it is clear that the President MUST take action as soon as possible, no matter what the Republicans in the House do.

So, as stated in earlier entries, the President MUST assert himself and save the country from economic collapse, and the only way may very well be what some scholars and former President Bill Clinton have now said can be done–invoke the 14th Amendment, Section 4–which requires payment of all government debts.

Such an action, as made clear earlier, will cause a firestorm of protest, and likely might lead to moves to impeach the President–a sad, tragic event, but one that many in the radicalized House of Representatives have been itching for!

So let them go ahead and do it, with the certainty that the Senate would not convict him, and it would only make the GOP look even worse, and undermine their chances to keep control of the House of Representatives, gain the majority in the Senate, and win the White House.

Barack Obama would be put through Hell symbolically, but then he really has been already for the past two and a half years. It is time for him to show guts and courage like Harry Truman and Franklin D. Roosevelt in attacking the opposition in their times, and it is certain that the American people at large would come to the support of the President if he took action, and were he to face impeachment.

There is no time for delay, as the country’s economic future is at stake.

Absolutely Reckless And Irresponsible Republican Leadership In Congress: Reason For Economic Crisis About To Get Worse!

Ronald 1 Comment

As we near the last week before the Debt Ceiling Crisis leads to a potential total collapse of the American economy and puts Americans into a second Great Depression, it is important to understand that this crisis has been caused to a great extent by refusal of Republican leaders in Congress to be responsible for disciplining their party membership to do something that was automatic over the past century, but has become a political football because of the decision of the party to refuse to cooperate on anything with the President they see as illegitimate!

Instead of seeing the good fortunes of the American people as the most urgent responsibility they have as leaders, they have chosen to refuse to even cooperate with each other, as egos and ambitions have become more important than doing what is right–to prevent default on the national debt and work to resolve the budget issues and create the proper environment for job creation!

John Boehner has performed horribly as Speaker of the House, and his name in history will be besmirched as a result! He has been unwilling to cooperate with President Obama, and has failed to assert his leadership over his “Troops” in the manner needed in the present crisis!

But Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader, is an even bigger villain, egotistical and totally ambitious to accomplish his own ends, and refusing behind the scenes to cooperate with Boehner, and instead tying his future to an extremist, anarchist, militant movement of reckless “flame throwers” (The Tea Party Movement), who refuse to understand that successful politics MUST be based on the art of compromise!

At the same time, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, overly ambitious to become Senate Majority Leader, openly has made the defeat of President Obama his major goal, and therefore has lost all credibility to claim a desire to resolve the issue of the debt ceiling in any form. Instead, he would prefer to let the President and his party take all responsibility and blame for the raising of the debt ceiling!

These three men, along with Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, have shown disrespect, and lack of cooperation with the President in a way that no one can ever quite remember occurring to this extreme state, with any other President, no matter what the personal differences or ideological disputes that might have existed!

So the Republican Party will pay heavily for this lack of leadership by their party spokesmen, and the country is going to suffer further from the economic collapse caused by the outrageous policies of the Republican Congresses that led to the Great Recession, and now in danger of becoming a second Great Depression!

Obama, The Middle Class, And Small Business: Poll Indicate Widespread Support For The President!

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A new Washington Post-ABC News Poll indicates that the middle class and small businessmen see President Obama as supportive of their interests.

At the same time, the polls indicate that Congressional Republicans are perceived as in league with Wall Street financial institutions and large business corporations.

The middle class issue is won by Obama by 53 -35, while the small business question sees a 48-39 lead for the President.

Meanwhile, majorities across party lines see the Republicans as more concerned about big business and Wall Street.

One would think this would reverberate in Obama’s favor as the country tries to deal with the Debt Ceiling crisis, and will backfire on the Republicans, because the vast majority of the country is not in agreement with the Tea Party Movement that is controlling the House of Representatives majority, to the chagrin of Speaker John Boehner, although he has carefully avoided any comments on the subject!

The Debt Ceiling Issue: A “Waterloo” For Both Republicans And Democrats In Office?

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The Debt Ceiling Crisis is rapidly becoming a potential “Waterloo” for both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

For the Republicans, their split on strategy, and the possibility that the Mitch McConnell plan to drop the issue of spending for now and give the President veto power three times in the next 18 months to avoid default , but allow the raising of the national debt, has bitterly divided the party, with the Tea Party people up in arms against the Establishment Republicans represented by McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner.

On the other hand, if the McConnell plan ends up as the temporary solution to the crisis, it will force Democrats to vote THREE times on raising the national debt, and that will be used by Republicans against Democrats in the congressional campaigns of 2012, and is seen as likely to cause the defeat of many Democrats, something that Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a traditional moderate swing state, was screaming about to high heaven to reporters!

The whole issue could neutralize the political combat, but what would seem likely is that INCUMBENTS of both parties could suffer in the upcoming election, while Barack Obama could benefit in a major way!

So it could seem to many that the President might be in good shape, but with his party possibly lying in tatters, alongside fellow Republican officeholders.

We could end up with a more rebellious Congress of critics of the handling of the whole issue, and make compromise between President Obama or even a President Romney having a literal nightmare dealing with the legislative branch! And we could end up with only a few votes margin in both Houses, making progress on ANYTHING extremely difficult!

The Knives Are Out For John Boehner And Mitch McConnell: Extreme Right Wing Coup Likely In Republican Party In Congress!

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Republican leaders John Boehner, Speaker of the House, and Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, are in deep trouble within their own party, having angered Tea Party radicals and right wingers in their own chambers, and it is clear that the knives are out to take away their leadership, if not immediately, which would be difficult to achieve, but certainly in 2013 when the new Congress convenes!

Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip, is very obviously angling to seize the leadership from Boehner, and is likely to be backed by the “Young Guns”, such as Kevin McCarthy of California, the Majority Whip, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin! Also, don’t be surprised if there will be a challenge to Boehner in his Ohio district in the Cincinnati area by a Tea Party radical in the primaries next year!

McConnell has a safe seat to his next election in 2014, but is likely to face opposition then in the primaries by Tea Party radicals, and Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and his own fellow Kentuckian, Rand Paul, who he has very little in common with, are certainly no friends of his, much like Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, who also flirt with Tea Party types and are young and very ambitious! One of these individuals will try to take away the Senate leadership from him in 2013!

It is a sad scene that the GOP leaders cannot control their own membership, but it demonstrates how extremist the Republican Party has become, and the danger it represents to the American future, even more so with the possible Presidential candidacy of Michele Bachmann, herself one of the original Tea Party favorites and organizers!

This nation needs help to avoid the disaster that the Tea Party represents, not only to the GOP, but to the country at large!

The Coming Implosion Of The Republican Party: Congress And The Presidential Race!

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Just as Barack Obama shows evidence of great fund raising, an all time high, and the Republicans show weakness in fund raising, the Republican Party is facing an implosion on both the Congressional and Presidential campaign level!

The Debt Ceiling Crisis has shown chinks in the armor of the Congressional Republicans, as the leadership of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell has split the Republicans on Capitol Hill, into the predictable split between Establishment Republicans and the Tea Party Movement freshmen in the House and a few in the US Senate!

Boehner has been pressured by his deputy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who is obviously trying to overrule Boehner and push him out, as everyone in the know is aware of Cantor’s personal ambitions to be Speaker of the House!

McConnell, convinced that no deal on the debt ceiling extension can be reached, has come up with a plan he thinks will help the Republicans win control of Congress and the White House in 2012, declaring he cannot work with Obama. His plan is to allow three votes of disapproval on extensions of the debt limit–one now, one in the Fall and one in the Summer of 2012, assuring an extension of the debt but with only Democrats voting for it, giving Republicans a campaign issue to be used in the upcoming election, and avoiding the financial uncertainties of NOT raising the debt ceiling.

Tea Party freshmen are furious at McConnell, and Boehner who has backed him, so a rebellion within the party is in evidence, with Eric Cantor leading it in the House and Jim DeMint and Rand Paul in the Senate!

The thought that the Republicans will somehow be able to use this debt issue as a way to win control of the executive and legislative branches in 2012 is a real long shot, as it is not as if the Republicans did not raise the debt ceiling SEVEN times under George W. Bush! It is much more likely to reverberate against them, and with a split party in Congress, actually cause them to lose seats in both chambers and likely lose control of the House of Representatives, where a switch of 25 seats gives Democrats control, not all that hard to attain!

And with Michele Bachmann surging as the real threat to Establishment Republicans and Mitt Romney, we could see Bachmann become the nominee, and end up as the Barry Goldwater of 2012, as to imagine her winning the White House and helping her party to win control of both houses of Congress requires hallucination on a major scale!

To top it off, IF Sarah Palin or Rick Perry, or both, end up running for the Presidency, still hard to imagine or conceive, it will only complicate the situation even further, and undermine GOP hopes for control, so it is now more likely that they will go back to minority status, through their own ineptness and incompetence, and failure to recognize the needs of the American people in the midst of the aftermath of the Great Recession!

The Torment Of John Boehner: Being Pressured By Tea Party Crazies And Eric Cantor!

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Speaker of the House John Boehner is under the greatest pressure he has ever faced in public life.

Having attained his goal of being Speaker, Boehner has been surrounded by Tea Party crazies, a group of 87 House Republican freshmen, most of whom came to the chamber with an attitude of hating government and wishing to destroy it in their quest to prevent ANY tax increases EVER, and to tear down the social safety net of the New Deal and Great Society, epitomized by Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid!

Surrounded by overly ambitious House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, all being at least a decade younger than Boehner, they have made it clear that they back the looney freshmen, and are making Boehner’s ability to lead, and at the same time be responsible, nearly impossible!

Boehner used to say that the raising of the debt ceiling was not essential by a certain date, but now he is agreeing with President Obama on the importance of raising the debt limit by August 2, realizing the long term economic damage that would occur if the Congress were so reckless as to refuse to raise the debt ceiling, something that has been done without controversy numerous times over many years!

Obama is winning the public relations battle, while Boehner is mightily squirming, as to how to get his caucus of loonies to do what MUST be done!

If he fails to get them to do what MUST be done, he will go down in history as responsible for a very damaging economic collapse!

But IF he does, somehow, get the mission accomplished in some form, he will most certainly face a rebellion within his party ranks, led by Eric Cantor, and will lose his Speakership!

Which is more important, the national economy or the Speakership of John Boehner? These next few weeks are the true test of courage and leadership, and if Boehner is a good patriot, if need be, he should sacrifice his future leadership for the greater good of doing what is right about the American economy and future!

The “Do Nothing” 112th Congress: Worst In Generations!

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The 112th Congress, the first at least since 1900 to have a Republican House and Democratic Senate rather than the opposite when there is a divided Congress, has managed in six months to create a disgraceful record of NOT dealing with the economic crisis facing the nation!

With Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and others in the Republican Party focused on making the economy worse as a reason to have the voters turn out President Obama for a second Presidential term, we have seen no action on creating jobs, passing bills, approving Presidential appointments to various judicial and executive posts, or doing anything constructive in any form!

This irresponsible Congress comes right after one of the most constructive Congresses in American history, the 111th Congress under Speaker Nancy Pelosi!

This could be the most negative, unaccomplished Congress since Harry Truman ran against what he called the “do nothing” 80th Congress of 1947-1948, leading to his surprise victory and the Democrats regaining the majority in both houses in the 1948 election!

Instead of offering a real alternative for 14 million plus unemployed people, all the Republicans can do is promote economic instability and threaten the safety net of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which one would think were well established and would not come under sustained attack!

It all comes down to the old reality that Democrats care about people, and Republicans care about property and possessions–or material things in another descriptive manner–rather than the welfare of the masses of citizens!

The House GOP, Barack Obama, And Libya

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The House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner, slapped President Obama in the face symbolically on Thursday by refusing to back the President’s intervention in Libya. Interesting, since we did not see the Republican House of Representatives refuse to back George W. Bush constantly in his interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But then when one realizes that the Republican House failed to back Bill Clinton in his intervention in Kosovo in 1999, for the same reason to prevent a total massacre of civilians, one understands this is all about politics.

But it also divides the party nationally, as John McCain and Lindsey Graham see it as a sign of isolationism in the party, in their mind a dangerous trend.

Also, the House acted as a “paper tiger” when they went ahead and refused to cut funding for the war effort against Moammar Gaddafi, but then again, NEVER has the House refused to support a President’s intervention in financial terms.

So it comes down to the reality that the War Powers Act is an ineffective way to deal with foreign policy, and the President of the United States, whoever he is, remains the Commander in Chief, with final control over decisions on committing troops overseas!