Watcher’s Forum: The Fiscal Cliff – Let It Happen Or Grand Bargain?

JoshuaPundit:

Every week on Monday morning , the Council and invited guests weigh in at the Watcher’s Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day. This week’s question: The Fiscal Cliff: Let it happen or Grand Bargain?

For those of you whom may not be aware, ‘the Fiscal cliff’ refers to automatic and draconian spending cuts and the end of the Bush-era tax cuts and a general hike in taxes as many Americans now exempt form the Alternative Minimum Tax become subject paying it. This was agreed to the last time by both parties as part of a deal to raise President Obama’s credit card limit ( AKA the debt ceiling) last year. It goes into effect January 1st, 2013 if there’s no agreement between President Obama and the House Republicans on taxes, the debt limit and spending. The president wants to raise taxes on ‘the rich’, another binge of stimulus spending, an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling and sole authority to raise the debt ceiling as he sees fit. The Republicans say they’re open to some tax increases but want significant cuts in spending as part of any deal and are not willing to see another stimulus or give the president the authority he wants to raise the debt ceiling unilaterally.

The Razor: Republicans have put themselves in a position where “heads you win tails I lose.” Given this option we have to look at what concerns the GOP House, the ones who must actually make this bargain.

These members, many elected with Tea Party support in 2010, are ideological and concerned about their reelections. Any compromise the Democrats will offer at this point will be ideologically repugnant. The Democrats and their propaganda wing in the mainstream media have fabricated this November’s election into a progressive landslide even when in reality it was anything but. They will not compromise enough to help these members of the GOP at all, and are on a “mission from g-d” or whatever the equivalent is for fired up atheistic liberals.

So the choice is whether to accept a package of tax increases with minimal if any entitlements cuts IF the Democrats offer such a thing, or allow the country to go off the cliff. That’s a big IF at this point, whether the Democrats will offer anything; I half expect them to keep demagoging the issue in the Press to beat up the Republicans through December while failing to negotiate in good faith. The other choice is to stick to their beliefs, fully aware that the Democrats are likely not serious about negotiations. These members will be pilloried by the Press in January, but they are going to be attacked by the MSM no matter what. At least when the primaries come around in a year they will won’t face Tea Party challengers who claim they sold out to the Dems on the tax issue.

Given such a Hobbesian choice, if I were a conservative member of Congress I would publicize the fact the Democrats have not negotiated seriously because they believe the election was a landslide. I would point out that it wasn’t, and as a consequence cannot offer any compromise on my part because it takes two to reach a deal. Every time I was in front of a microphone I would repeat this mantra. I full expect John Boehner to wobble on this issue and I would resist his calls for my vote. After January I would actively work to unseat him.

The Democrats believe the GOP will take the hit if we go off the cliff, but managed properly, I believe it is still possible to portray the Democrats as overreaching. Besides, by the time these members are up for re-election the country will be more receptive to fiscal conservatism than it is today. In the meantime, unfortunately, the half of the voting public that re-elected Obama needs to be taught that elections have consequences and that handing Democrats money is like giving heroin to a junkie.

The Independent Sentinel: President Obama wants to go over the fiscal cliff. It’s a win-win for him. He gets automatic cuts (he wants the military cuts), higher taxes. and he can blame the Republicans, eliminating them once-and-for-all.

In an interview with The Des Moines Register before the election, which he immediately after asked the paper not to print, he spoke about sequestration and the end of the Bush tax cuts ( Clinton tax hikes) as if they were a done deal.

He always makes the political decision over what is right for Americans. His ideology trumps all.

The deal he offered to Republicans yesterday not only didn’t cut anything, it increased spending and it even has a new stimulus. It caused Mitch McConnell to burst out laughing when he saw it. It was more an insult than a joke however. The Republicans can’t even use it as a starting point.

We did vote for revenge as Obama asked.

We should plan to go over the cliff unless Obama extends the artificial deadline until March.

I think he has made it perfectly clear – no compromises!

JoshuaPundit: In politics, perception is always more important than reality. So let’s start with a little bit of reality. The $1.2 trillion of deficit reduction we’re taking about as the Fiscal Cliff works out to $153 billion over ten years. The federal government borrows that every month.

That said, it’s important to remember that there’s no incentive for President Obama to make any compromises. He wants to raise taxes anyway, many of the mandated cuts will come out of our military budget and best of all, he feels he can blame Republicans for it. This makes absolutely no common sense but the way the president sees it, it makes political sense and he sees it as a win-win situation: either they’ll knuckle under and give him what he wants, or they won’t, and he’ll make political capital out of while getting some things he wants anyway.

I hold no particular allegiance for the Republican Party except as (in some respects) an alternative to what I see as ruinous policies. So my main concern now is the coming midterms and 2016, which means the GOP needs to take steps to make sure their fingerprints aren’t on the coming debacle, especially since the non FOX media will side with the president in pushing his narrative.

If I were John Boehner, I’d go on national TV (or have someone who’s a much better speaker do it) and tell the American people in plain terms exactly what’s going on, and why the GOP can no longer support this irresponsible and childish behavior. And I would directly point the finger at the president, in no uncertain terms, including his failure to present any kind of meaningful compromise.

Finally, I would draw a line in the sand and offer Simpson-Bowles, (the plan of the president’s own bi-partisan commission that he later rejected) as the Republican’s final offer. And walk away.

As an even more extreme alternative, I might even tell the American people that if the president failed to come up with a reasonable offer to get our financial house in order, every Republican legislator was going to vote ‘present’ on President Obama’s proposals, in protest. I would tell the American people that Republicans have no intention of allowing this president to blame his failures on others again.

Make him own the Obama economy.

The Noisy Room: In response to this week’s question: ‘The Fiscal Cliff: Let it happen or grand bargain?’ I wholeheartedly say to the Republicans, jump off the cliff! When this whole monstrous mess started, I predicted it would come to this. I don’t know how anyone can be surprised at the outcome. The two choices are now bend over and take massive tax hikes with no meaningful spending cuts, or go off the cliff. I say take the plunge. It’s the only sane choice at this point.

If the Republicans agree to raise taxes, they will lose what little support they have with conservatives and will go the way of the Whigs. And those spending cuts, well… Reagan never saw the ones he was promised when he raised taxes and the Republicans have just about as much chance of seeing these newly promised ones as North Korea has of verifying their unicorn lair. We are sick to death of the Charlie Brown Party. Read my lips: Progressives lie.

Either way, the Left and the media will make the Republicans out to be the bad guys. So, in the face of that, just do the right thing. Stick by conservative principles, close your eyes and jump. I hear the water is fine. It will give the Republicans time to find their moral bearings, grow a spine and start righting the USS Titanic. Make the message about cutting spending which is the real problem anyway. There is no way to tax your way out of this hole.

Do real financial reform… Cut the hell out of government spending, cut taxes and bring America back to greatness. It will create jobs and prosperity. It will create confidence and freedom. It will free us from the shadow of Marxism. It’s an easy choice; it’s the right choice – the question is, does anyone up there have ‘tener cojones’ to do the right thing anymore? They will if they care more about Americans and the Constitution than their crappy political careers.

To do what Obama and the Liberals want is madness. Raise taxes while increasing spending will speed up America’s death spiral. Want massive growth? Go over the fiscal cliff, do away with the IRS and go to a flat sales tax, let small businesses do their own thing and watch America catapult once again into the strongest nation on earth. Or, compromise and push millions into poverty, slavery and violence. I say, let the cliff diving begin!

The Right Planet:It looks to me like the Republicans are faced with a no-win scenario. This became abundantly clear to me when I saw Robert Reich state on Twitter that the Republicans want to “hold the middle class hostage” by denying 98% of Americans a tax cut. Obama is trumpeting a similar theme. (Funny how all of a sudden the progressives are for Bush-era “tax cuts.”) If I understand correctly, the Obama Administration is proposing freezing the tax rate for 98% of Americans for one year if the Republicans agree to raising taxes on the top two tax rates. A number of conservative pundits, like Rush Limbaugh and Charles Krauthammer, are urging the Republicans to just “walk away” from the deal. The problem I have with this approach is it gives Obama everything he wants. It even lets the president raise the debt limit at will, thereby taking away more power from Congress to control the purse strings.

So, if the Republicans walk away from the deal, the liberal media and the Obama Administration will accuse the GOP of raising taxes on the middle class in order to protect “the rich.” But if the Republicans agree to raising taxes on the wealthy, while agreeing to freeze tax rates for the middle class, then they will be accused of selling out. The only reason I believe the Obama Administration is offering to freeze the tax rate on the middle class right now is simply for political expediency; it serves their agenda and backs the GOP into a corner. Looks like Obama and ilk are holding the Republicans hostage.

What’s particularly odious about the maneuvers by the White House et al. is the fact the Obama Administration has not passed a budget in the entire time it has been in office. Obama has offered no serious proposal to reduce any federal spending. As a matter of fact, he wants another stimulus out of the deal. The fact is taxes are going up, period. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the Republicans get all the blame.

The Glittering Eye: I’ve posted on this very subject several times this week. I find both the White House’s and Congressional Republicans’ positions on this subject very frustrating. Both sides are taking positions that appear purely political to me. They appear to be taking an unnecessarily zero-sum view of the negotiations.

Since I opposed the “Bush tax cuts” in 2002-2003, opposed their renewal in 2010, and am still opposed to them as being the wrong taxes to cut, I have no particular fondness for renewing them now. However, I find the notion that raising taxes on just the highest income earners will do much about income inequality, balancing the budget, or much of anything else for that matter pretty far-fetched.

I’d like to see good faith negotiations from both sides. I have no real hope that’s going to happen. I’d also like to see a pro-growth agenda but I have no greater hope that will happen, either.

I don’t think that any nation in the history of the world has either taxed or cost-reduced its way to greatness or prosperity.

Bookworm Room: The Republicans, who still control the house, have three choices: (1) Give Obama everything he wants; (2) Give Obama nothing; and (3) Compromise. Believe it or not, I prefer option (1).

To begin with, compromise is out. Any type of compromise will work to Obama’s benefit. Obama understands this, which is why he presented the Democrats with a laughable compromise offer, one that gives fiscal conservatives absolutely nothing. If the Republicans actually try to negotiate and he slides a little in their direction, he still wins. Obama knows that, with an utterly compliant press, he will take credit for any slight upticks in the economy, while lambasting the Republicans for the economy’s continued slide.

Giving Obama nothing is no better. The Republicans in the House can hark back to the Reagan era and “just say ‘No.’” The problem with that course of action is that it will result in a stalemate. Unfortunately, this stalemate has ticking bombs in it — sequestration and tax increases. Once these happen, the compliant media will again blame the Republicans, while Obama walks away spotless.

The only approach that offers some hope for long-term American stability and fiscally-sound, constitutional capitalism is the most painful one: The Republicans should give Obama everything he wants. They should turn to the American people and say “By re-electing Obama and keeping the Senate majority Democrat, this is what you asked for, so this is what you’ll get. We wash our hands of it. This is truly Obama’s economy now.” Things will happen quickly (and badly) under this scenario, but the Republicans will have kept their noses clean and will have spelled out very clearly for Americans the differences between socialism and constitutional capitalism.

In the short term, these are all Hobson’s choices, since they are all awful. However, it’s only Option (1) — saying to Obama “you own the economy” — that will provide a short, sharp shock sufficiently horrific to scare people away from a Fabian slide into perpetual socialism.

Well, there you have it.

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

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Crisis and the Iowa Straw Poll and GOP Candidates

As we near the Iowa Straw Poll and another GOP debate after the somewhat disappointing announcements (for many) of the first 9 members of the Super Congress Committee by Reid (whose 3 nominees equal 83-yrs in Congress), McConnell, and Boehner.. Just waiting on Pelosi; Europe is burning as they ask us what our plan is; and people like Judge Andrew Napolitano, political commentator/author Mark Steyn and respected blogs like the American thinker are saying things like:

Steyn:

The government is losing well over $1 trillion annually. This is a classic ponzi scheme.

I think 1768, where the French government was using 60% of their annual revenue just to service their debt - and, he said, you know how that worked out.

The Emperor has no clothes…

That’s right, we’ve finally heard someone on television point out the nude emperor of U.S. Treasuries! Perhaps a few, maybe a dozen, of those clueless people who just want to “get the guy from their party elected” will start to realize (light breaking through clouds, cue music) that the Federal government IS LIVING WEEK TO WEEK - IT HAS NO CASH OTHER THAN WHAT IT RECEIVES. And it needs 50% more than it receives, so it borrows that. With no intention of EVER paying back the principal !!!!!!!

Video: America is over-invested in delusions!

Judge Napolitano:

…previously very ably described how we certainly need a return to free markets and an end to government meddling in markets.

American Thinker:

The urgency of reversing this index cannot be overstated; the United States is firmly on the path of becoming the most massive economic and financial failure in the history of mankind.

Thursday night might be the night for the GOP candidates participating in this straw poll and debate to make their mark or be counted out.  And this crisis may be the mark for those still debating on their decision including Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, John Bolton and even some who keep saying they aren’t running like Chris Christy and Paul Ryan (who was not chosen by Boehner for a Super Congress seat) to throw their hat(s) in the ring?

Yesterday Bernanke caused the Wall Street to rally by announcing that ‘since the economy will be sluggish, under statement of the Century, for the next two years the Feds will (artificially) keep interest rates low.  Well that worked well… not!!  They were back down by 519.36 last I heard.

We are beginning to see a domino effect!

· Stocks sink as Europe fears return

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 11:11:26 AM · by AAABEST · 16 replies - Cnn Money ^ | August 10, 2011 | By Hibah Yousuf

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks fell sharply in early trading Wednesday, following the previous session's huge rally, as fears about Europe's ongoing debt crisis resurfaced. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) dropped 325 points, or 2.9%. The index fell as much as 446 points, which exceeded the gain in Tuesday's massive advance. [SNIP] On Wednesday, shares of French bank Societe Generale, or SocGen, tumbled almost 20% on the Paris stock exchange amid speculation that France may be first to face a rating cut. [SNIP] The major indexes have been swinging between massive gains and losses during trading, and ending...

· Sarkozy gives ministers debt deadline

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 11:03:29 AM · by Oldeconomybuyer · 3 replies  - Financial Times ^ | August 10, 2011 | By Peggy Hollinger in Paris

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has given his finance and budget ministers one week to come up with new measures to cut France’s crippling debt burden as concerns mount over prospects for growth and the country’s ability to meet its deficit reduction targets. On Wednesday Mr Sarkozy summoned members of his government back from holiday for an emergency meeting on the current financial turmoil. In a statement after the two hour meeting in the Elysee Palace in Paris, Mr Sarkozy said France’s pledge to reduce the budget deficit from last year’s 7.1 per cent to 3 per cent by 2013...

· Run On Societie Generale Begins? Bank Down 17% On Rumors It Is On The Verge (Is France Next?)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 11:31:20 AM · by SeekAndFind - Zero Hedge ^ | 08/10/2011 | Tyler Durden

Update: SOCGEN NOT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT: RTRS.Following earlier news that French CDS hit a record high on a rumor of an imminent French downgrade, the bloodbath in financials, first started in Italy, with 3 consecutive halts in Intesa causing endless headaches for Italin investors, the red tide has now shifted over to France, where SocGen, three years after fooling the Chairsatan that the world was ending and pushing him to cut rates by an unprecedented 0.75% on what was a trader error, now succeeded in getting the chairsatan to extend  ZIRP for two years... And still that is...

· Goldman Sachs Goes Short The US Dollar On QE3

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 11:18:29 AM · by SeekAndFind · 1 replies  -  Zero Hedge ^ | 08/10/2011 | Tyler Durden

Yesterday Goldman finally made it clear that Bill Dudley's marching orders are given: QE3 or no soup for you. Well, it didn't take long for the order from top to hit Goldman's FX desk, which has just issued this logical note: "Going short the USD on additional Fed easing." Odd, no easing has yet been announced, and according to so many none will come. But Goldman said so. So it must be. From Thomas Stolper: We have long argued that structural imbalances in the US will lead to more Dollar weakness. There are two main transmission channels: First, the current...

· European financial crisis: Germany shows signs of slowdown (The Euro's savior might need saving)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 11:07:13 AM · by SeekAndFind · 3 replies  -  Washington Post ^ | 08/10/2011 | Suzy Khimm

Germany’s robust economy is showing signs of a slowdown, raising fears that the linchpin holding together Europe’s fragile financial health could be weakening. On Tuesday, the country revealed that its exports in June rose by only 3.1 percent, compared with a 20.1 percent increase in May, marking the smallest increase in 16 months. A few days earlier, an index of German manufacturing activity dropped from 54.6 in June to 52 in July — the lowest level since October 2009, marking the third consecutive month of declines. “The fact that [the German economy is] showing signs of faltering and sources of...

· Sen. Paul pushes for vote of no confidence in Geithner

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 9:29:59 AM · by caroline2005nc · 5 replies  -  The Daily Caller ^ | August 10, 2012 | Matthew Boyle

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul announced early Wednesday morning that he plans to push the Senate to hold a vote of no confidence in Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Unlike in the United Kingdom’s Parliament, where a no confidence vote would remove him, a U.S. Senate vote of no confidence would be a symbolic measure that sends a signal to the president. “The stock market gave a vote of no confidence to Timothy Geithner yesterday and for the past 11 days,” Paul said in a statement. “Geithner has shown no acumen in predicting, diagnosing, or treating America’s economic woes. The time...

Video:  Cong Ron Paul:  “This is Probably A Bigger Problem Than the World has Ever Face Before

Rome is Burning… and our Emperor is going on vacation (Martha’s Vineyard) and asking for more stimulus money after our credit rating downgrade.  His wife went on a previously unannounced vacation in Oregon instead of greeting the families and remains of fallen Seal Team 6, and Obama and his party are blaming the tea party (made up of Main Street Americans who probably prevented us from being downgraded to a BBB instead of just AA+) for their blunders and over-spending and too many of We the People are still buying it.  The reality is that Obama has done his job well… The USA Is All But Destroyed

 --> Time to take another look at the Beck’s Timeline for the fall of the dollar <-- We may be closer than we thought?!?

America is dying for leadership. If we don’t get it, the America we know will just die.

Ask Marion~ - h/t to Jean Stoner & Tolline Enger

Don’t forget to tune in to Fox News Channel on Thursday 8.11.11 at 9p ET as Bret Baier moderates the Iowa GOP debate.

It’s Official: S&P Downgrades the USAAA

S&P Downgrades the USAAA

Party boy doesn’t give a rip — in fact, this is cause for more jubilation.

(Financial Times) — It happened. After quite incredible reports of miscalculations, it happened. The thing that is perversely both meaningless and full of meaning was announced on Friday evening New York time. The United States of America is now rated AA+ with negative outlook by Standard & Poor’s. . . .

• Overview
  We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating.
• We have also removed both the short- and long-term ratings from CreditWatch negative.
• The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.
• More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011.
• Since then, we have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government’s debt dynamics any time soon.
• The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. We could lower the long-term rating to ‘AA’ within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in our base case.

Keep reading. . .

Weasel Zippers

Standard and Poor’s Downgrades the U.S. Credit Rating for the First Time in History

WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — Credit rating agency Standard & Poor‘s says it has downgraded the United States’ credit rating for the first time in the history of the ratings.

The credit rating agency says that it is cutting the country’s top AAA rating by one notch to AA-plus. The credit agency said late Friday that it is making the move because the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress on Tuesday did not go far enough to stabilize the country’s debt situation.

A source familiar with the discussions said that the Obama administration believes S&P’s analysis contained “deep and fundamental flaws.”

The Wall Street Journal published the following press release from S&P that claims it could be downgrading the U.S. again to a AA. In addition, the S&P statement says the downgrade reflects “our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 201:”

– We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating.

– We have also removed both the short- and long-term ratings from CreditWatch negative.

– The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.

– More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011.

– Since then, we have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government’s debt dynamics any time soon.

– The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. We could lower the long-term rating to ‘AA’ within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in our base case.

For Standard & Poor’s press release in its entirety please read here.

But what does this really mean for Americans and what is in store for the U.S. now that its 70-year standing AAA credit rating has been downgraded?

According to The Washington Post, analysts have been saying that a downgrade could increase the cost of borrowing for the U.S. government and add tens of billions of dollars in interest costs per year. Of course, these increases could very well be passed on to consumers and business.

The Post adds:

A downgrade would also have a cascading series of effects on states and localities that rely on federal funding, including in the Washington metro area, potentially raising the cost of borrowing for schools and parks.

But the exact impact of the downgrade won’t be known at least until Sunday night, when Asian markets open, and perhaps not fully grasped for months. Analysts say the immediate term impact is likely to be modest because the markets have been expecting a downgrade by S&P for weeks.

The Blaze

All our first questions need to be… so why did we give party boy another $2.5 Trillion to party with?  And he doesn’t have to answer to anyone until after the election about spending it.  It he is defeated… he won’t care and if he wins he really won’t care!  But we will!!

We were had again!!

Related:

Markets Present Unhappy Birthday Surprise of Obama

Collapse: “It Will Be Sudden and Very Painful”

Ruins of houses in Fredericksburg, Virginia Circa Civil War. Are we preparing for another?

While it’s too early to tell whether or not the destruction in stock markets will continue as it did in 2008, one thing is for sure – when the bottom finally falls out of this economy it’s going to come as a surprise to tens of millions of people who have been bamboozled by their trusted politicians and corporate elite.

Today’s Dow Jones collapse of 350 points (512 when it was all said and done) is but an indicator of the severe volatility and unmitigated destruction we can expect as this crisis enters the next phase. Former comptroller general of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) David Walker warns that it’s going to hurt:

“Here’s the bottom line. If you take the total liabilities of the United States – public debt, unfunded pensions, retiree health care, under funding with regard to social security, with regard to Medicare, a range of commitments and contingencies – as of September 30 2010 we would have had to have had $61.6 trillion dollars in the bank in order to be able to cover those obligations.” Walker explained.

“The fact of the matter is that government has grown too big, promised too much and waited too long to restructure. Our problem is overwhelmingly a spending problem.” Walker, now the head of the fiscal advocacy group the Comeback America Initiative, told viewers.

“Lets understand something very simple. If you have escalating deficits and mounting debt, that means you have to increase the debt ceiling limit at some point and it means absent structural reforms in entitlement programs, defense and other spending, those represent deferred tax increases.”

“We are not exempt from a debt crisis,” he said. “We’re never going to default, because we can print money. At the same point in time, we have serious interest rate risk, we have serious currency risk, we have serious inflation risk over time. If it happens, it will be sudden and it will be very painful.”

It’s not a matter of if, but when. The course is mathematically unsustainable, and a few hundred billion in cuts, as ridiculous as it sounds, is simply not going to be enough.

As Charlie McGrath pointed out in his August 3 video report, the US government will have to take extreme measures, like Greece is being forced to take now, to keep the system alive, albeit on life support:

We are in the leagues of nations such as Greece and Italy, these other nations who their national debt far outpaces their GDP, and reality is these nations are going through austerity.

And, here comes your crisis of reality.

The austerity measures that are about to come our way are going to be like nothing we’ve ever seen or even dreamt about in this country – certainly worse than any of the politicians getting before the cameras will tell you is coming. They’re telling you if you go further into debt everything’s going to be OK.

…President Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke are out of bullets. They have nothing left…they’ve tried everything: QE1, QE2, Stimulus 1, Stimulus 2, there’s just nothing left that can be done to help create jobs in this country.

Video:  WARNING ...Real Crisis Ahead

Many don’t believe it will happen here. But make no mistake, it’s coming (in fact, it’s happening right here and now!).

They’re going to print more money and erode your savings. They’re going to borrow more money from foreign creditors, until such time that they won’t lend to us anymore. Prices for essentials like food, energy and clothing are going to increase exponentially over the next few years. At the same time we will see forced cuts to programs like social security, Medicaid, Medicare and a host of other entitlement programs. Millions of Americans are going to feel like they’ve been hit with a sledgehammer.

The United States of America is embroiled in the next Great Depression – and there is no way out. The economy will not, contrary to the opinion of our government and the presstitutes who promote their agendas, recover in a few months. We’re in this for the long haul, as in years and decades not weeks or months, and all of us will soon learn what TEOTWAWKI means.

Source:  ShiftPlan - Mac Slavo - August 4th, 2011

Obama says we're only "halfway" to where he wants to take us as Dow drops 512 Points!

Obama says we're only "halfway" to where he wants to take us as Dow drops 512 Points!

Money/CNN is reporting it is the worst financial crisis since 2008.

"The conventional wisdom on Wall Street was that the economy was growing -- that the worst was behind us," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital. "Now what people are realizing is the stimulus didn't work, and we may be headed back to recession."

There's "total fear" in the market, said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at the world's largest money manager, BlackRock.

"In the last two weeks, we've been through the ringer," said Rich Ilczyszyn, market strategist with futures broker Lind-Waldock. "When we start looking at the recovery, there's nothing to hang our hats on anymore."

Earlier today, I read a transcript from Obama's fundraiser on Real Clear Politics where he said we weren't even "halfway there" to where he wants us to be.

When I said 'change we can believe in' I didn't say 'change we can believe in tomorrow.' Not change we can believe in next week. We knew this was going to take time because we've got this big, messy, tough democracy," President Obama said at a campaign fundraiser in Chicago on Wednesday night.

Sounds like this darned democracy thing is impeding Obama's progress.  (Remember his goal, to fundamentally transform America… into a globalist new world order where we are a second rate nation, and that is the elephant in the room that nobody in power or in the media wants to address!) If we are only "halfway" to wherever it is he's trying to take us, all I can do is pray God helps us survive until January 2013.

Sherry Phillips at Tea Party Nation - August 4, 2011 at 5:43pm

Related:

Drunken Ben Bernanke Tells Everyone How Screwed U.S. Economy Really Is

Romney Video: Obama Isn’t Working: Chicago

Globalist Imperial Network

The Smoking Gun:  Preparation for War on the People

Wiedemer: Get Ready for Second Recession, Inflation

Wow… They Did It To Us Again!

I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry, to organize anew or to scream, or even to go on fighting or just to throw in the towel…  That is how I feel right now anyway.  By tomorrow I’ll be ready to regroup and charge forward, but today I’m a bit in shock!

Just as Vice President Biden, supposedly VP of all Americans, barely got the words ‘Teaparty Terrorists’ out, we are already being hit by the fallout of the hidden contents and proceedings being leaked and found in the “Grand Compromise” debt bill that President Obama just signed into law hours ago.  Another unread bill.

Only 18-months ago the Obama Administration and the Progressive Left duped, bullied and manipulated us all into ObamaCare, and we are still absorbing and fighting the ugly reality of what all was hidden in that bill. Yet with that memory still fresh, we allowed them to do it to us again.  Obama refused to put out a plan of his own, manipulated the situation, and used the Cloward and Piven Strategy along with the Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals to create another crisis, make the GOP (especially tea party supporters) look like the bad guys and got what he wanted… including a lot more power.  And the right satisfied themselves with the notion that they had won because the conversation in Washington changed and they were promised a committee to study a Balanced Budget Amendment.  Funny how they can run up soon to be $17Trillion in debt without a committee, but voting on a Balanced Budget Amendment requires one.

We were had again!!  And it is becoming more and more evident that the real terrorists are the people we elect, in both parties!  This entire debt crisis and debate over raising the debt ceiling was a Trojan Horse.

Since the bill was signed this afternoon we have already found out the following:

Before even signing the bill, Obama was already talking about tax increases and tax code reform for the wealthy and corporations.  I wonder if there will be waivers for those who support his re-election through fundraisers, similar to ObamaCare waivers, for supporters and attendees of events like Obama’s combo 5oth B-day party fundraiser?   The Business Insider who just wrote about this subject now warns that they were wrong and the biggest middle class tax increase in history will come in five months, and a tax increase for the top 2% of earners (the job creators) is coming as well, for Obama already said he would let the Bush tax cuts expire.  In fact the revenues from those tax cuts expiring is already factored into this final “Grand Compromise” bill.

Plus, Harry Reid has said the Super Committee will have up or down voting powers of far more than the debt issues and economics.  One of their first agendas is gun control!

Congressman and GOP Presidential Candidate Ron Paul warns that the all-powerful new “Super Congress” created by the vote on the debt ceiling will be used to fast-track tax increases while concentrating more power over the nation’s purse strings in the hands of the Washington elite.

The fact that the establishment of a body which threatens to completely re-write over 200 years worth of constitutionally-based legislative practice has sailed through with barely a whimper of debate from politicians or the mainstream media is a damning indictment of how the Obama administration’s penchant for executive autonomy has aggressively seized control of the political process.

This is appalling, but it shouldn't surprise anyone with the track record they have.  This bill is unconstitutional… so the question is… if  identified as such because of the Super Congress, can it be null and void?

Video: Unconstitutional Super Congress Slipped Into Debt Ceiling Deal - Judge Napolitano Explains

In this same document Illegals Get $20 Billion in Pell Grants (How did that happen?):

SEC. 501. FEDERAL PELL GRANTS.
Section 401(b)(7)(A)(iv) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(7)(A)(iv)) is amended--
(1) in subclause (II), by striking `$3,183,000,000' and inserting `$13,183,000,000'; and
(2) in subclause (III), by striking `$0' and inserting `$7,000,000,000'.
Little things mean a lot... $20 billion slipped in this bill just for Pell Grants... illegals get an early Christmas.

Ya just can't make this stuff up!

And I know there are those of you out there thinking… well, there are going to be 12 members of that Super Committee - 3 Republicans from the Senate and 3 Dems from the Senate as well as 3 Dems from the House and 3 Republicans from the House , so there will certainly be a balance of voices and opinions.  Well not so fast…

From the Daily Standard:

The debt ceiling deal will pass the Senate early this afternoon. No suspense there. But the vote will be worth watching for another reason: Three Republican Senate sources tell TWS that senators who vote against the deal will be ineligible to serve on the so-called “super-committee” for deficit reduction that the legislation creates.

While there’s certain logic to such a policy, it could be self-defeating. Excluding those who vote against the debt deal will ensure that some of the most fiscally conservative members of the Senate Republican caucus, including most of its freshmen, will be reading about the committee’s activities in the newspaper rather than guiding its decisions. Among those who have already declared their opposition to the deal: libertarian-leaning senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul (who appeared on Glenn Beck’s radio show this week and talked about the CNN Ambush and the Weimar Republic coming here); Jim DeMint, the aggressive fiscal hawk from South Carolina; conservative reformers Ron Johnson from Wisconsin and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania; the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, Jeff Sessions; and Florida’s  Marco Rubio, already one of the highest-profile conservatives in Congress. More worrisome for conservatives, however, is that private whip counts in the Senate found that some 20 Republicans expressed support for the proposals that came out of the Gang of Six. And while many of the components of that plan have merit as individual policy proposals, the package involves compromises on taxes anathema to most conservatives. Picking a Gang of Six member – or supporter – would further antagonize conservatives skeptical of the debt ceiling deal.

There’s the problem. If, say, a dozen of the strongest fiscal conservatives vote against the deal, the pool of Republicans that can be expected to hold the line on taxes shrinks very quickly. And if a key Republican objective for the committee is to block tax increases, the exclusion of these strong fiscal conservatives makes meeting that goal more difficult.

Mitch McConnell, who will make the selections, isn’t worried. He told Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto yesterday that the likelihood of tax hikes coming out of the committee is “pretty low.”

“What I can pretty certainly say to the American people, the chances of any kind of tax increase passing with this, with the appointees of John Boehner and I, are going to put in there are pretty low,” said McConnell. He added: “I’m comfortable we aren’t going to raise taxes coming out of this joint committee.”

UPDATE: McConnell spokesman Don Stewart says all senators will be considered. "No one is stronger in his opposition to tax hikes than Sen. McConnell. He will have serious discussions with all those who are interested in serving prior to making any appointments."  But we shall see if this really changes…  I personally wouldn’t put my eggs in McConnell’s basket!

The only good thing we’ve heard today is the Fitch and Moodys have agreed to allow us to retain our AAA credit rating at least for now.  But they have put us on a kind of probationary status until after the “Super Committee” has been chosen and they see what type of action they take to resolve the debt crisis.  So let us be very clear… our AAA credit rating could very will still be downgraded!  S&P on the other hand has not yet announced and a downgrade seems almost baked in because of the stand they took on a minimum of $4Trillion in cuts needed in the compromise bill to avoid it.  A downgrade to AA+ is expected from S&P say most experts.  Maybe the members of Congress should have looked a bit harder at Senator Tom Coburn’s letter:  9,000,000,000,000 Ways to Balance the Budget.  (Seems our Federal Reserve Chief Bernanke had a bit to say about the U.S. Economy too!)

And, lost in the endless drama of the debt-ceiling negotiations, but last week, the Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives launched an unprecedented attack on the U.S.'s environmental regulations. GOP Representatives added rider after rider to the 2012 spending bill for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department, tacking on amendments that would essentially prevent those agencies — charged with protecting America's air, water and wildlife — from continuing their chokehold on energy production in the U.S..

Among the riders or last week were:

• A rider that would prevent the EPA from issuing any regulations on greenhouse-gas emissions over the next year — despite the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled the agency has the responsibility to regulate those emissions as a public-health threat under the Clean Air Act.

• A rider that would stop the EPA from carrying out tough new automobile-fuel-efficiency standards that were announced last week — standards that have the support of all the major automakers, however we are not sure how voluntary that support was.

• A rider that would prevent the EPA from labeling the toxic ash left over from coal combustion as hazardous waste — something that could alarm the people of Kingston, Tenn., buried by a coal-ash spill in 2008?

However, the Democrats are still in charge of the Senate, so we don’t know if any of these riders made it to the final EPA-Interior spending bill. The left feels that these demands were less about actual policy than about making a political point.  Guess we will have to see how much of their point remained in the bill to be made?!?  I wouldn’t look too hard to find them! (See The Time’s inside the Republican war on the EPA… or perhaps it could be called the Republican pro-American jobs and energy war?)

August 2, 1934

"With the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler becomes absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuhrer, or "Leader." The German army took an oath of allegiance to its new commander-in-chief, and the last remnants of Germany's democratic government were dismantled to make way for Hitler's Third Reich. The Fuhrer assured his people that the Third Reich would last for a thousand years, but Nazi Germany collapsed just 11 years later."

Are we seeing the beginning of our ‘Reich’ now?  Read more Here.  Remember, just like Obama told us and wrote about his plan to fundamentally transform America, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (Official Nazi Translation), explaining his plan… and nobody listened either.  But that is the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about or take on.

Right after Obama was elected, Pat Buchanan wrote a piece called the Weimar Solution and people ridiculed him, as they did Glenn Beck when he warned us what was coming.  Somehow it doesn’t seem as funny now!

Lyndon LaRouche:  “Obama to Become ‘Fuhrer’ After Debt Ceiling Vote”  Is he right?

I am sure there will be a lot more to come and I will be doing updates… but wanted to get something out.  Nobody has an actual copy of the bill yet, that I know of.

I will hope and pray that what tea party “ideal” supporter Marco Rubio says and believes will be the ultimate outcome… continued honest debate:  Rubio:  “This Debate Will Continue” but I would advise you all to consider and prepare for Alex Jones and Lyndon LaRouche’s predictions.  As Glenn Beck has said many times, “I’d rather be prepared and be wrong… and would be glad to admit it than have been right and not prepared or shared my thoughts with others, so they could prepare!”

Since yesterday the reports of huge food orders by the government through FEMA, mass troop movements across the country and concern about the Super Committee being able to make decisions to vote up or down on without filibusters, amendments or even much debate on a full gamut of topics including gun control… or gun confiscation is frightening and has filled the blogosphere with comments by people in the know like Judge Andrew Napolitano, Senator Rand Paul, Congressman and GOP Candidate Ron Paul to name just a few… yet the mainstream media has been virtually silent… again.  There comes a time when we all must wonder, question and stand or we will be held accountable for the results of our inaction if we didn’t.

When I heard about the powerful Super Committee, a Super Congress, basically only accountable to Obama… the vision of the 2008 Obamessiah, as so many of his followers saw him, with 12-disciples flashed in my head.  Someone will surely come up with that visual once the 12 are chosen.  (Harry Reid, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi will each choose 3 members of the committee).

Prayers up my friends!

Ask Marion~  -  Last updated on on August 3, 2011 at 5:15p.m.ET

Happy Birthday Mr. President - WH (Valerie Jarrett): Americans Want Us To Move Forward…To Plan Obama’s B-Day Fundraiser!

So… Is it on or is it off?  U.S. media is keeping it all very hush hush, but the bets are that since the Grand Compromise bill has been signed that it is on!!  Guess we will find out~

Marilyn Monroe embarrassed President John F. Kennedy in front of the American people for his birthday in 1962.

Video:  Marilyn Monroe -  Happy Birthday Mr. President

For is 50th… Obama plans to insult the American people by having this lavish party for his 50th that will cost U.S. taxpayers (guesstimated) around $1.9 million when all is said and done… so after saddling us with another $2.5Trillion in debt he can simultaneously raise money, on our nickel) to be re-elected and do it to us again. What you didn’t get your invitation?  Well. you can take pride in the fact that you helped pay for it…

As Washington races to the finish line to solve the debt ceiling deadline, the president is still busy planning his birthday big money fundraising bash in Chicago on Wednesday. When asked if the president should postpone the party/fundraiser due to the country’s economic realities, WH advisor Valerie Jarrett said the American people want “us” to “move forward.” Advice to the White House, Americans may want to move forward, but with 9.2 percent unemployment that might be the next thing to tackle…not a fundraiser.

Andrea Mitchell: Do you think the president should go forward with his birthday celebration which is basically a fundraiser… Or should that be postponed given the economic realities?

Valerie Jarrett: I think what the American people want to see is for us to move this debate behind us and move forward.

Video:  Valarie Jarrett: American People Want The President To Fundraise

Source:  GOP.com 

Party Details from the UK…

Last updated at 11:27 AM on 1st August 2011

It was supposed to be the mother of all parties, now it may not happen at all.

President Obama's big 50th birthday is scheduled for August 3, the day after the debt talks deadline and the date that the U.S. had risked defaulting on its good faith and credit.

Despite the announcement of a deal on Sunday night, the champagne corks may not be popping in Chicago as doubts remain if the deal will actually make it through both houses of Congress.

Singing for the President? Jennifer Hudson was scheduled to join the bash at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom (Bummer she was one of my favorites!)

The party was planned for the Aragon Ballroom, which costs $40,000 to rent.

There is supposed to be a concert featuring jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and Jennifer Hudson, the star of Dreamgirls.

The entertainment was to be followed by a lavish dinner for couples giving $35,800 to Obama's campaign.

With the government scheduled to run out of money on Tuesday, an extravagant bash would hardly look good.

The plans are currently on hold, but senior White House officials are still saying the party would go forward only if the deficit negotiations and deadline to raise the debt limit ceiling have been resolved.

Booked to appear: Famed jazz pianist was said to providing some of the entertainment at the party

Glum: The President has said the birthday present he wants more than anything else is 'a debt-ceiling deal' (wrapped in special hidden goodies that we are already finding… only hours after the bill was passed by the Senate and signed by Obama)

An official said: 'The President will not attend the event in Chicago if negotiations are ongoing.'

Mr. Obama has already cancelled a series of campaign fundraisers to stay in Washington for the tense negotiations that have angered the U.S. public, worried financial markets and raised fears of a first-ever U.S. debt default.

The fundraisers would have brought in millions of dollars for the re-election war chest, the campaign official said.

The President cancelled a planned trip to California and Seattle, put off a fundraiser in New York

Mr. Obama's last campaign fundraiser was on June 30 in Pennsylvania.

He reported raising $86 million in the quarter ended on June 30, far eclipsing the money raised by any of the Republicans vying for their party's nomination to compete against him in the 2012 president election.

Asked what he most wanted for his birthday, Mr. Obama said 'a debt-ceiling deal.'

Obama’s Lavish Birthday Plans

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Originally posted: July 16th, 2011

If America defaults on its debts come Aug. 2 -- as the Obama folks warn, absent a deal by then -- what will President Obama do on Aug. 3? Why, host a big birthday bash for himself, of course, to raise cash for his re-election.

That's his plan right now, anyway. (He turns 50 on Aug. 4.) Tickets for a private birthday dinner with the prez will go for as much as $35,800 a couple.

We, too, want to wish the president a joyous birthday. But how can anyone take seriously his threats of default -- and those of underlings like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- when Obama himself doesn't seem terribly concerned?

We, too, want to wish the president a joyous birthday. But how can anyone take seriously his threats of default -- and those of underlings like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- when Obama himself doesn't seem terribly concerned?

Indeed, the president and his fellow Democrats haven't seemed particularly worried about the nation's fiscal state for some time now:

* Obama has yet to produce any detailed proposal for a debt-ceiling deal, including what budget cuts he'd make. So what is it, exactly, that negotiators are supposed to agree on before Aug. 2?

* Since the president's $3.7 trillion baloney budget -- with its monstrous $9.5 trillion in deficits over 10 years -- was nixed in May by every voting Democrat and Republican in the Senate, he's yet to offer a new one.

* In 2010, House Dems failed their most basic responsibility: to pass a budget. It was Congress' first such failure in 36 years.

* House Republicans, by contrast, passed a long-range budget this year, addressing both short-term spending and long-term woes like Medicare. But the Democratic-controlled Senate voted that down -- without offering an alternative.

No wonder the warnings from Obama and Geithner have become more ominous: This week they said even Grandma might not get her Social Security check if no deal is reached by Aug. 2.

Their credibility is shot -- forcing them to heighten their threats.

Meanwhile, though, the prez has big plans for Default Day +1.

Enjoy your birthday, Mr. President.

Source:  NY Post  -  AFP/GETTY IMAGES  - Barack Obama

But Seniors… he might not be able to send out your social security checks.

• Obama not as old as he thinks
  POSTED JULY 15, 2011 AT 8:46 PM BY EDDIE SCARRY

  President Obama seems to have a little trouble keeping track of birthdays, even his own. During a press conference in late June he incorrectly identified his daughter Maliaas being 13 years old. She was 12 at the time and her birthday wasn’t for another five days.

  Then in another presser on Friday, Obama said he would be turning 50 “in a week.” Actually, he won’t hit his half-a-century mark for almost another three weeks, according to USA Today. His birthday is on Aug. 4.

  We hope, for his sake, his memory doesn’t fail him when it comes to his and Mrs. Obama’s anniversary. Just in case, it’s Oct. 3. 

• h/t Politico and Daily Thought Pad

Well… we didn’t default, but most people are very unhappy with ‘the deal’ still not resolved this morning… the day before Obama’s party most people feel that this extravagant party and fundraiser are a bit of slap in the face of the American people…. most of whom, now, plan not to vote for him.

At a time when many Americans can barely afford Burger King and a movie, Obama boasts of spending a billion dollars on his re-election campaign and a bundle (whatever the exact figure is) on a birthday party for himself.

Related:

When Will Obama Crack in Public?

Biden and Dems Call Concerned Patriots and Constitutionalists Terrorists

Vice President Joe Biden joined House Democrats in lashing tea party Republicans Monday, accusing them of having “acted like terrorists” in the fight over raising the nation’s debt limit. Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting. “We have negotiated with terrorists,” an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.” Biden, driven by his Democratic allies’ misgivings about the debt-limit deal, responded: “They have acted like terrorists,” according to several sources in...  continued Here

Video: Sarah Palin "To Be Called A Terrorist From The Vice President Is Quite Appalling! Quite Vile"

Interesting that the Tea Party is being blasted for the “grand compromise”.  The 3-major tea party type GOP candidates or possible candidates:  Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin have all come out against it.

The tea party is made up of average Americans who believe in fiscal responsibility and following the Constitution… how radical is that?!? Their crime… they have changed the conversation in Washington and have complicated the Progressive’s plan of fundamentally transforming America…

Video:  Michele Bachmann – We Need Tough Love

Ron Paul Blasts Debt Deal

August 1, 2011

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia - Today, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul issued a statement outlining his opposition to the debt ceiling deal struck between the White House and Congress. See statement below.

"While it is good to see serious debate about our debt crisis, I cannot support the reported deal on raising the nation's debt ceiling.  I have never voted to raise the debt ceiling, and I never will.
"This deal will reportedly cut spending by only slightly over $900 billion over 10 years.  But we will have a $1.6 trillion deficit after this year alone, meaning those meager cuts will do nothing to solve our unsustainable spending problem.

"In fact, this bill will never balance the budget.  Instead, it will add untold trillions of dollars to our deficit.  This also assumes the cuts are real cuts and not the same old Washington smoke and mirrors game of spending less than originally projected so you can claim the difference as a ‘cut.'

"The plan also calls for the formation of a deficit commission, which will accomplish nothing outside of providing Congress and the White House with another way to abdicate responsibility.

"In my many years of public service, there have been commissions on everything from Social Security to energy policy, yet not one solution has been produced out of these commissions.

"By denying members the ability to offer amendments and only allowing an up-or-down vote that will take place in the hectic time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, this Commission essentially disenfranchises the vast majority of members from meaningfully participating in the debate over reducing spending and balancing the budget.

"Furthermore, despite the claims of the bill's proponents, there is nothing to stop the commission from recommending tax increases.
"One of the reasons why I humbly suggest that I am the most qualified Presidential candidate is my experience to see and understand the long track record of failure, disappointments, and bad recommendations made by such commissions.

"Times like these require statesmanship and steady leadership, which I and the grassroots activists who have joined my campaign believe I am uniquely qualified to provide.

"What should bother Americans most is that under cover of this debt ceiling circus, we learned from a recent GAO one-time, limited audit that the Federal Reserve secretly pumped $16 trillion into American and foreign banks over three years.  All of the Fed's fat cat cronies were taken care of at the expense of the American public.

"To put that into perspective, our entire national debt is $14.5 trillion, and our annual deficit will be about $1.6 trillion, meaning the Federal Reserve created and appropriated more than our entire national debt to banks around the world in a few short years.  We have been fighting in Congress these past few weeks over raising our debt ceiling by $2 trillion, an amount the Fed secretly gave away to just one big bank.

"For decades, politicians have promised future restraint in exchange for hikes in the debt limit.  We are always told that we must act immediately to avoid a crisis.  But time and time again, politicians reveal themselves to be untrustworthy, and we soon find ourselves in a crisis being led by the same folks who wish only to maintain the status quo.

"I believe in the great American traditions of free markets, sound money, and personal Liberty.  But we are moving far away from what made us the greatest nation in human history. We must cut spending and balance our budget now, before it is too late.

"Let me be clear.  The cuts we must make will not be easy, and there will be difficult times in the short run.  But I have the greatest confidence that if we come together as a People, work hard, and do the right things, our country will be back on track in no time and on its way to unprecedented prosperity.  But, if we continue to print money and pyramid debt, we will destroy ourselves and lose the promise of America forever.

"These difficult times require a President willing to stand against runaway spending.  If elected, I will veto any spending bill that contributes to an unbalanced budget, and I will balance the budget in the first year of my term.  I will not allow the Federal Reserve to destroy the value of our money by shoveling dollars into the pockets of its banker friends.

"I remain committed to working on behalf of the American people to drastically reduce spending and implement fundamental changes that will reform government and restore our nation's prosperity."

This is your LAST CHANCE to let your voice be heard before
your Senators vote on the final debt deal.

ACTION #1 -- FAX CONGRESS TODAY!

Reports all last week indicated that the phones were
jammed. Grassfire Nation's FaxFire system may be the
best way to get a message through to your members of
Congress.

GO HERE NOW TO LET YOUR SENATORS AND REP -- AND OTHER
KEY HOUSE MEMBERS -- KNOW WHERE YOU STAND ON THE DEBT
CEILING DEAL THROUGH THEIR SYSTEM:
http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=45793&CID=160&RID=30483541

ACTION #2 -- CALL CONGRESS NOW

As noted above, it is quite possible that the Capitol Hill
phone lines will be jammed. But please try to call and let
your Senators (and Reps) know what you think about this latest
deal.

Rep. Miller 202-225-4136 
Sen. Nelson 202-224-5274
Sen. Rubio 202-224-3041

Let them know how you feel about this deal, about the House vote yesterday and tell you Senators to vote NO!

Congress to decide whether Super Congress could impose gun control

The Latest on the Debt Crisis Deal and Some Input From Marco Rubio

Rubio on the Senate floor regarding our debt crisis (the ease with which he delivers a smackdown to John Kerry is a nice added bonus):

Rubio: 07.30.11

YouTube Video | Senator Marco Rubio | Sen. Rubio: “Save The Whole House or It Will All Burn Down”

I would love nothing more than compromise. But I would say to you that compromise that’s not a solution is a waste of time. If my house was on fire, I can’t compromise about which part of the house I’m going to save. You save the whole house or it will all burn down. We either save this country or we do not. And to save it, we must seek solutions.

That, my friends, is what hitting it out of the park looks like. Here is the complete text of Sen. Rubio’s remarks (as provided by Rubio’s press office):

Senator Marco Rubio

U.S. Senate Floor Speech

July 30, 2011

Sen. Rubio: “Thank you, Mr. President.

“I rise here on the Senate floor today to speak on the tremendous issue that’s captivated, and rightfully so, the attention of our country.

“Let me start by saying that I do not enjoy nor relish the partisan role of attack dog. I never found any fun in that. I don’t think it’s constructive. I don’t intend to become that here in the Senate.

“I also have only been here for seven months, which means I haven’t been here long enough to think any of the stuff that’s going on is normal. And I certainly don’t think any of the stuff that goes on around here too often is normal. So I think the fact that I’ve been here seven months has served me well in that regard.

“Let me begin if I can. One of the things that I’ve noticed this week is that Washington is full of people from all over the world and all over the country that have traveled here this week to come and watch their government at work and see the monuments of the city and found themselves in the middle of this debate.

“So I think it’s important to remind people what we’re debating because although it is a difficult and important issue, it is not a complicated one to understand. It’s pretty straight forward.

“And here’s the way I would describe it the United States of America more or less — these are rough numbers but they’re accurate – spends about $300 billion a month. It has $180 billion a month that comes to the federal government through taxes and other sources of revenue and that means that in order to meet its bills at the end of every month it needs to borrow $120 billion.

“Now, for much of the history of this country, there have been increases in the debt limit and the ability to borrow money. But what has happened over the last few years is that it’s no longer a routine vote because the people who give us our credit rating are saying too much of the money that you spend every month is borrowed and we want you to show us how over the next ten years you are going to borrow less as a percentage of what you spend.

“And so that’s why, for years, where the debt limit was routine vote, it no longer can be. It’s not something that was made up in some conservative think tank. But the reality that we cannot continue to borrow 40% to 41% of every penny that the government spends has brought us to this point.

“So you would think that seeing that, our government and our leaders here in both parties would react to that immediately and work on it.

“And I’ve heard lot of talk today about delaying tactics and delaying votes. I would argue to you that this issue has been delayed at least for the last two and a half years.

“In the two years before I even came here, this chamber neither proposed nor passed a budget. It is a startling figure that for the last two years this government has operated without a budget. So think about that. Two years have gone by without a budget. The first two years that the President was the president, no budgets.

“Some people would say, well, that’s because of partisanship in Washington. Well, that’s not true. In the two years before I got here, both the House and Senate were controlled by members of the Democratic Party, which are the President’s party. In fact, in this chamber for at least one of those two years, 60 votes, 60 out of the 100 members here caucused with the Democrats. And as you recall, on Christmas Eve of the year 2009, they were able to pass a health care bill that was very controversial because they had the 60 votes in the President’s party.

“Over two years, no budget. In fact you know how long it has been since this chamber proposed a budget? Forget passed a budget, proposed a budget? 822 days. That’s a long time. A lot of things have happened in the last 822 days, but proposing a budget is not one of them out of this chamber.

“So then I got here – and we got here in January, seven months have passed, still no budget. Again, not budget passed, proposed, offered. Here’s our budget. Still no budget. 822 Days and every single day that I’ve been here.

“Now, in the last seven days on this debt debate, we have finally seen a proposal from the esteemed senator from Nevada, the majority leader. You would think, has he brought it to the floor to vote? Not until last night. So, again, offered a proposal over the weekend and still for six days we sat around and what did we do around here? Nothing. It was never brought to a vote.

“You would think these issues would have been worked on in January, February, March — nothing. This chamber has done nothing. You talk about delay tactics? They’ve been delaying for two and a half years.

“Now the President doesn’t have the luxury of some of these things. He has to propose a budget by law, and he did. Let me tell you how ridiculous the budget was. Not a single member of this Senate voted for it, including the Democrats. It is a budget that didn’t lead with the debt limit; in fact, it increased the debt. That’s how absurd the budget was.

“Where is the President plan? We haven’t seen it. We haven’t seen it. Here’s the President’s plan: a blank sheet of paper. He doesn’t have a plan. He hasn’t offered a plan. Again, if this were a Republican president, I would say the same thing.

“I do not understand how an issue of this magnitude, of generational importance, the President of the United States has not offered a plan. If someone has seen the president’s plan, please send it to me because no one else has seen it. It does not exist.

“So this has been the plan all along, by the way. The plan all along was not to take a position, to let the days count down until we got to this point with 72 hours to go and then force a vote on something that they wanted. I believe that that has been the plan the entire time. And you can see it carrying itself out.

“You want to know why people all across America get grossed out about politics? It’s by watching this kind of stuff happen.

“And instead let me tell you what we’ve seen for the last few days. First of all, for today and for much of this time I have heard all these attacks and name-calling. If we had $1 billion for every time I heard the words “tea party extremist,” we could solve this debt problem.

“So all this name-calling, so I said let me read some quotes about this debt limit and I found some pretty extremist quotes.

“Here’s one.

“It says, “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I, therefore, intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt.” A quote from a tea party extremist, right? No. This is a quote from March 16 of 2006 from Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

“I found another extremist quote. This one says, “Because this massive of accumulation of debt was predicted, because it was foreseeable, because it was unnecessary, because it was the result of willful and reckless disregard for the warnings that were given and for the fundamentals of economic management, I am voting against a debt limit increase.” Well, that must be from a tea party extremist member of the House, right? No. This is March 16, 2006, from Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.

“And last but not least, here’s a quote from September 27 of 2007. It says, “I find it distasteful and disturbing to increase the debt limit yet again. Clearly we need to change course and this debt limit bill is just another reminder of that.” And that is from the distinguished Senator from Nevada, the majority leader. On that date in 2007.

“And yet now these same quotes in this context, what we’re talking about raising the debt limit more than has ever been raised in one vote, is extremism? This name-calling is absurd and it sets this process back.

“The other thing I hear — oh, it is not reasonable. This is a waste of time. This bill can’t pass the Senate when they talk about the House bill. So now it disqualifies the bill the fact that it can’t pass in the Senate.

“Well, guess what? The Senate bill can’t pass in the Senate — the Senate bill can’t pass in the Senate.”

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA): “Will the Senator yield for a question?”

Sen. Rubio: “Yes, I’ll yield.”

Sen. John Kerry: “I thank the Senator for doing that. That’s become somewhat unusual in the Senate today. So I truly appreciate it.

“I would ask the Senator, as ironic as it may be that on occasion people in the past have indeed voted against a debt limit — both Republicans and Democrats alike — is it not true that in those situations those votes did not hold the nation hostage, did not come at a moment of enormous economic fragility as we are in today, and did not run the risk of default because it was going to pass overwhelmingly every time?

“Is that not true?”

Sen. Rubio: “To the Senator from Massachusetts, I would say two things.

“The first is that those votes — put it to you this way. If the Senator from Illinois at the time, Senator Obama, had had his way, we’d be in the same position we are in now. Because he had voted against the debt – and I recognize the President has now said that the debt limit is — he made a mistake and he wouldn’t have said that were he here today.

“My point, I would say to the Senator from Massachusetts, is that rhetoric two years ago was not considered extremist language and now that rhetoric, which by the way I have not found. I think it is a myth. There may be a handful of people in the building both in the House and Senate perhaps that believe that the nation doesn’t have to raise the debt limit. But by and large everyone recognizes that something must be done about the debt limit.

“What we have also said – I speak for myself. Let me not speak for any other member of this chamber or the next.

“What I have also said is that it would be a terrible mistake to lose this opportunity to do something meaningful about the debt. And that the debt limit gives us an opportunity to do something meaningful about the debt, because the crisis that America faces is not one that I have defined.

“But one that has been defined by the rating houses and rating agencies who have said if you do not get your spending in order, we don’t care whether you raise your debt limit or not, we will downgrade you.

“And what that means for every American is an increase in their interest payments.”

Sen. John Kerry: “Will the Senator further yield for a question?”

Sen. Rubio: “Yes.”

Sen. Kerry: “Mr. President I appreciate what the Senator is saying. I would just say first of all that everybody understands the danger of the rating agencies right now.

“The problem is, we got to reach across the aisle and negotiate. We’ve got to come to agreement. Right now there’s not a lot of negotiating going on.

“I would ask the Senator, if he doesn’t agree that there is an enormous difference between — the Senator a moment ago said if he had gotten his way. But the whole point is, everybody knew he wasn’t about to get his way. That was a truly symbolic vote.

“Today, however, is it not true we are on the brink of a default and the absence of negotiation or the absence of a settlement presents us with a far more serious consequence to the unwillingness to raise the debt ceiling today?”

Sen. Rubio: “To the Senator from Massachusetts I would say it’s impossible to negotiate with someone who doesn’t offer a plan. How do you negotiate with someone who will not offer a plan and will not put it on the table?

“But the finger pointing of who has a plan and who doesn’t have a plan is relevant, but it’s not the central issue here.

“I would also say that in March of this year, March 30 to be exact of this year, I wrote an op-ed piece that ran in The Wall Street Journal and it outlined the things I was looking for to be a part of this debate. And I was told on March of this year that we didn’t have enough time to do all those things. Although later on we found out perhaps we did, this grand bargain and I am prepared, as I stand here today, if there is a meeting going on right after this, I’d love to be a part of it.

“I am prepared to discuss the things that I believe we need to do not just to raise the debt limit. Raising the debt limit is the easiest thing. That’s one vote away. The hard thing is to show the world we are serious about putting our spending in order so we can show people we’ll able to pay our bills down the road.

“And that is a combination of things that I have outlined very clearly, not just on March of this year inThe Wall Street Journal, but in repeated speeches on this floor.

“And those are the things, we need to do two things.

“Number one is we need to grow our economy because while the debt is the biggest issue in Washington, jobs are the biggest issue facing America. And if we could get more people back to work, we would have more people paying taxes, and if we had more people paying taxes, we’d have more revenue for government.

“And so that is the first thing we need to do, is figure out how to create jobs in America and I think there is bipartisan agreement on things we can do to do that.

“The President himself mentioned regulatory reform as a necessity in the State of the Union. Let’s do it.

“We’ve all talked about tax reform. Flattening and simplifying our tax code. And if there are things in that tax code that do not belong there because they are the product of good lobbying instead of good policy, then let’s go after those things. We’ve talked about that. Let’s talk about that.

“I think we all agree that there has to be some changes in discretionary spending, but we also agree that doesn’t solve the problem. That’s a small piece of our overall budget. That we have to save Medicare because it goes bankrupt if we leave it the way it is. That we have to save Medicaid because it goes bankrupt if we leave it the way it is.

“And I can tell you that history will back up what I’m about to say and that is that there is no government run by conservatives, Republicans, put whoever you want there, if you give government the opportunity to spend more money than it has, it will do it. It will do it every time.

“That’s why I believe there are at least 20 members of the Senate in the other party who have supported some version of the balanced budget amendment and yet it’s something we cannot even get a vote on much less discuss in the Senate.

“So I believe there can be compromise on those outlines but here’s the last thing I would say.

“I believe my time is about to expire so let me close with this.

“Compromise is fantastic.

“I would love nothing more than to leave this building tomorrow night having said the republic still works. I was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with people from states far from mine with views different from mine but who love their country so much that we were able to come together and save it when it faced this catastrophe.

“I would love nothing more than compromise. But I would say to you that compromise that’s not a solution is a waste of time.

“If my house was on fire, I can’t compromise about which part of the house I’m going to save. You save the whole house or it will all burn down.

“We either save this country or we do not.

“And to save it, we must seek solutions.”

Cross-posted at Sunshine State Sarah and the Minority Report

The latest deal, hyped as the great compromise, provides for exactly $4 billion in savings this year. That’s right, $4 billion… essentially nothing! It promises fantasy cuts in future years, which will never happen. It guts defense spending with budget cuts to be shared 50-50 between the Department of Defense and entitlement programs, though entitlement programs are close to three times the size of the defense budget.

There will be a ‘Super’ committee to propose more cuts down the road. The House side will have three Republicans and three Democrats. Earth to John Boehner. You have a majority in the House. Why the hell don’t you have a majority on that committee?

The debt ceiling deal provides for the immediate raising of the debt ceiling, thus fueling the continuing, endless increase in the size of government.

And do you realize that if we don’t repeal ObamaCare, every penny we are saving in this pathetic bill without the guarantee of a balanced budget. will be eaten up with those increases alone? Plus Moody’s wanted at $4 Trillion in spending cuts bill… and this one would only reach $3 Trillion if they really did everything they promised… so we might lose out AAA credit rating anyway. And maintaining our AAA credit rating was the only reason to even consider raising the debt level.  Also, the Dem’s keep saying there are no tax hikes in the latest “Grand Compromise”, but in reality, word is that Obama just plans ‘not’ to extend the Bush tax cuts next time around… to they’ll get their tax hike too.  So finally, if the American people are to get anything out this, the GOP needs to demand a yay vote on the separate Balanced Budget Amendment before passing any version of this… After all the Dems, including Obama, keep saying they are all for balancing the budget and that they would vote for a balanced budget amendment in a separate bill… so let’s do it now, FIRST!

Chances are that this bill will not pass both the House and Senate. Neither the right nor the left is happy. And again… they are asking congress to pass and the American people to accept a bill that nobody will time to read. Didn’t we learn our lesson on that trick?!?

As Rubio mentions, this plan of no plan, so the Dems and Obama could push through whatever they wanted at the last hour was always the plan!  And let us not forget the elephant in the room… Obama’s plan, in his own words has always been to fundamentally transform America.  He just left off the the words: into a second rate country!

Wow… a Palin-Rubio ticket is sure looking good to me… but he’d be a great addition to any ticket!!