Boehner’s Speech: What He Did Say – July 25, 2011

Well, just finished watching and listening to John Boehner.

Yeah, any good will established by Obama in trying to give the Speaker of the House props for being willing to work with the Democrats is out the window.  John Boehner came out swinging and he didn’t let up.  Almost with a vengeance the Speaker took Obama to task going back to January and the President’s request for more money.  And this after sending America on the largest spending binge of all time.  While I think he’s right, I’m not sure that the approach the Republicans just took is the wise one.

Where Obama made the case that we all need to agree to get along, Boehner went right at the President.  Where Obama looked to build a coalition with the Speaker, Mr. Boehner attacked the President for his priorities and his tactics in the debt talks to date.  Further, by appearing so dug in, the Republican may have set himself up for a situation that he can’t win.  A long time ago I learned that to be successful, you have to create a situation where your opponent can retreat or compromise in honor.  I’m afraid that Mr. Speaker has removed that option from the table.  I can see many things being thrown at the TV in the Democrat Head Quarters.

This is not to say That I don’t agree with the Republicans.  We DO spend too much.  We DO waste money.  Obama DOES negotiate in bad faith.  I know Obama is not a centrist but rather an over-matched Leftist Statist.  However, tonight, America was watching, not just us political junkies.  And America wants compromise more than they want ideology.

Either way, tonight set the die.  How it impacts the debate and the 2012 elections will, of course, remain to be seen.

9 responses to “Boehner’s Speech: What He Did Say – July 25, 2011

  1. CIRCUS IN TOWN

    This is such a charade. THERE WILL BE NO COMPROMISE. The Republicans have their issues. As valid as they may be, their ulterior motive, singular, trumps any concessions. Period!

    • THERE WILL BE NO COMPROMISE. The Republicans have their issues. As valid as they may be, their ulterior motive, singular, trumps any concessions. Period!

      Something will have to give. We may not have a deal sooner than later, but in time, these folks will have to agree to on something.

  2. “And this after [Obama sent] America on the largest spending binge of all time.”

    This is false. The Bush administration’s policies are far more responsible for the debt than are those of the Obama administration.

    See, e.g.: http://www.poisonyourmind.com/2011/07/breaking-paul-ryan-is-full-of-crap/ And: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_VgJQTp0Bsf0/TbXiFKpobBI/AAAAAAAAAfo/0eVTJ_mKHM4/safetynet_spend.jpg And, with future projections, here: http://www.cbpp.org/images/cms//5-10-11bud-f1.jpg

    Remember, no one in the Republican Party cares about the deficit.

    That’s why they repeatedly reduced revenues in the Bush Jr. era, despite long-term CBO projections of increasing debt by around 2020. And that’s why they thought it was a grand idea to invade and occupy Iraq, and enact a prescription-drug entitlement, without paying for either. (Boehner, Ryan, McConnell, and I think Cantor supported all of these policies).

    So when Speaker Boehner or any other Republican say that they are interested in reducing the deficit, we know that it’s only a tactical matter, something they can talk about to justify opposing whatever the president is doing.

    (That’s also why Dick Cheney said that “deficits don’t matter”: because no one in the Republican Party cares about the deficit).

    I missed the speeches; I’m having a hard time caring about the posturing. Wake me when it’s over, ya know? Maybe not the most enlightened or justified perspective. So congrats to you for sitting through them, and thanks for offering your perspective on them.

    (Hope all’s been well with you. I was just not too far from MN, in the grand scheme of things– western SD. Very, very pretty territory).

  3. The largest spending binge in history?!? Come on, Obama’s increases pale in comparison to W’s.

  4. This is false. The Bush administration’s policies are far more responsible for the debt than are those of the Obama administration.

    And

    The largest spending binge in history?!? Come on, Obama’s increases pale in comparison to W’s.

    From 2001 to 2008 the largest increase in year over year spending occurred in 2008 with a 9% increase. For those 8 years, the average was 6.62%. In 2009 the increase was 18%. 2010 actually saw decline, which is positive, but it grew again, albeit very little, in 2011.

    As a % of GDP, during the Dubya years, the rate was never higher than 20.7% which occurred in 2008. Going forward, the lowest expected rate is 22.3%. Granted, that is a projection 4 years out, so who knows.

    When Dubya took office, the outlay prior to his 1st year was 1789 thousand billion. When he left, his last outlay was 2982.5 thousand billion. That’s a delta of about 1200 thousand billion. In just his short time, Obama is already up to almost 900 thousand billion.

    Now, Obama is continuing to pay for wars that he didn’t start; I stipulate that, so those numbers would have to be backed off some to accommodate. And yes, Dubya ran up bills like a mother. And yes, the Repubs didn’t really do much of anything to stop him. So…..maybe the best form of government is a Democrat President trying to preside over a Republican congress. If the Repubs get their way, and history suggests they will mostly get it, we will have seen the two most recent government reforms with just such an organization. Repubs in Congress driving a Democrat President who is running for re-election.

    If Obama can do what Slick Willy did I may not be so upset that he’s President should he win a second term.

    Hope all’s been well with you.

    It’s hot.

    I was just not too far from MN, in the grand scheme of things– western SD. Very, very pretty territory

    Yes, the Black Hills and the Badlands are amazing! It just sucks that you have to drive through what you drive through to get there. But man, once there….shew! Utah and Montana are beautiful to. Parts of Wyoming. An amazing country out there.

  5. In 2009 the increase was 18%.

    “when Barack Obama assumed office on January 20, 2009, the US was under the budget of fiscal year 2009, which started on October 1, 2008. This budget was signed into law by President Bush, not President Obama” http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2011/06/debt-figures-how-politifact-got-it.html

    At the end of the day, while it’s important to understand how the debt got here & where we’re going, who cares whose fault it is– it’s a long-term problem that we just have to deal with, and it’s about finding a way forward. But it is unequivocally true that the record of the “deficits don’t matter” GOP demonstrates that the Republican Party doesn’t care about the deficit. The rapidly increasing deficit of late is due to the recession– increased spending on income security, decreased revenues. That’s why Keynesian orthodoxy has us building surpluses in good times then spending in the once-in-a-generation times where demand has collapsed and unemployment is astronomical (ie, the Great Depression, right now).

    Yes, the Black Hills and the Badlands are amazing! It just sucks that you have to drive through what you drive through to get there.

    As it happened, I drove across SD east to west, coming up alongside Iowa from Omaha. The flooding around the Missouri was terrifying– treetops & silos poking out of flooded areas. But all the precipitation did mean that the whole state was very green.

    But yeah, the Black Hills were amazing. Hope to get to check out Wyoming & Montana some other time.

    • At the end of the day, while it’s important to understand how the debt got here & where we’re going, who cares whose fault it is– it’s a long-term problem that we just have to deal with, and it’s about finding a way forward.

      This is true but I think lets off the guys who built the problem. And in many cases, as you’ve pointed out, it IS the Republicans.

      it is unequivocally true that the record of the “deficits don’t matter” GOP demonstrates that the Republican Party doesn’t care about the deficit.

      I would say that deficits matter but that politics matter more.

      It may be that the best combination of leaders in our country can be a Republican House and a Democrat President. This aligns the politics with the priorities. In other words, Republicans can politically care about the deficit and spending.

  6. will i get my ssd check on time

    • will i get my ssd check on time

      If these turkies don’t extend the limit and we actually are unable to pay our bills, I suspect that you will continue to get your check.

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