Now it all makes sense.
[There] could be no grand bargain with Republicans to do the very serious work of forcing austerity on the nation because Obama hurt Paul Ryan’s fee-fees. If Jackie Calmes is to be believed, Republicans would have been there to strike that bargain, if only Obama hadn’t slighted Ryan. And the nation would be saved from the terrible deficit. Instead, we learn, Obama has abandoned the issue and has “emphasized job-creation spending and tax cuts more than deficit reduction.” Like that’s a bad thing.
I swear this sort of thing happens every time. Newt would have loved to work with Clinton on the budget, but he just couldn’t get over that time Clinton sat him in the back of the plane. GOP Senators could have worked with Obama on his healthcare law, but he accepted their invitation and embarrassed them at their own convention. Now we know that Paul Ryan wanted to compromise on the budget until Obama said some mean things about his plan in a speech. How many examples can you remember?
Some people might see this as transparent excuse-making by emotional three-year olds who understandably want to rewrite the record of their last destructive political tantrum. I can see how a person might think that, but if you give these guys the benefit of the doubt you’d see that the legendary bipartisan consensus could be here tomorrow if Democrats would just stop being rude. I bet we will hear about this tomorrow on FOX.
***update***
Thanks, Steve!
House Republicans blamed the failure of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan Monday on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), saying that Pelosi had been too partisan in a floor speech prior to the vote.
Suffern ACE
Yep. All that Medicare cap, va cuts, cap in government spending, Medicaid ending, aca repealing, mortgage interest deduction ending, all savings going to more tax cuts targeted to upper income brackets that they voted on – no negotiation! Was just a gimmick to get the ball rolling.
The Fat Kate Middleton
This is the best part from your link:
“In one article, Calmes hit every Village trope, and managed to reduce what could have been a useful discussion of evolving policy thinking on the economy to a Beltway soap opera. As usual.”
I guess I expected Zombie-eyed granny killer to be stupid … but for Calmes to buy into the awful callousness of Barack Hussein. Jesus Christ shopping for a prom dress. Unbelievable.
freelancer
Obambi this, “sluts should keep their legs together with help from Bayer” that, “What a SNOB!”.
Yeah the civility is just gushing from the other side of the aisle.
Linda Featheringill
@The Fat Kate Middleton:
I had to laugh at my mental picture of this: longish hair, beard, hairy arms, and hairy legs. And clouds of floating tulle. :-)
[What? Hairy? Of course. Who told you that Jesus of Nazareth was deficient in testosterone?]
David Koch
BREAKING: PPP says Man-on-Dog pulls ahead—up by 5 points in Monday polling. Michigan: Santorum 39, Romney 34, Paul 15, Gingrich 10.
Looks like the extra crispy crazy is working.
Linda Featheringill
@freelancer:
Now, now. It all works out for the best. The whole country is better off without the Republican austerity program. And without the recommendations of the Cat Food Commission. And without kicking old folks and sick people to the curb so we could reduce the national debt.
Actually, if it turns out that it’s good for the country to piss off the Republicans, maybe we should do it on purpose.
MikeJ
Meanwhile, Santorum’s car is currently in 3rd under red at Daytona. Won’t last, he just hadn’t pitted before a major wreck.
No sign of a car with a dog strapped to the roof, so I guess Mitt doesn’t have one.
PTirebiter
According to Luke Russert, Obama should invite the Republican leadership to the white house every Friday for “cigars and a glass of Merlot” until the. relationship is repaired.
Seriously, he apparently thought no one on the panel heard his sage observation so he repeated it. Jesus weeps.
The Dangerman
@MikeJ:
It may last; racing may be done for the night (there has to be some damage beyond that which they can fix on the fly).
The Fat Kate Middleton
@Linda Featheringill: I really have no idea where that came from – except that I faithfully read Charles Pierce.
pseudonymous in nc
That’s “zombie-eyed granny-starver Paul Ryan”, and don’t you forget it.
dr. bloor
The problem isn’t that you’ll hear about on Fox tomorrow, it’s that you read about it in the New York Fucking Times today.
What an enabling beltway rag that once mighty paper has become.
Jon
@PTirebiter: I cry for America. Luke Russert. I’m sure he earned that job.
The Fat Kate Middleton
@PTirebiter:
And writes in his diary.
dr. bloor
@MikeJ:
No, although it’s my understanding that he knows several fine gentlemen that do.
The Fat Kate Middleton
@pseudonymous in nc:
You’re right … but I swear I’ve seen it my way, in discussions of the Ryan ‘plan’ for Medicare.
Punchy
I read “Fox” as “FDL”. Whats the diff, eh…
Suffern ACE
Even the liberal new York times won’t bother to discuss that Ryan’s plan won’t do squat for the deficit. Just like they won’t bother to discuss the lunacy of Romney’s plan or Santorum’s. Fee fees they understand, though. And optics.
Steve
Who could forget this classic of the genre?
PS: How do you do multi-paragraph block quotes, again?
jl
As with other stuff like this, I don’t have to to wade through pages of this kind of nonsense.
But, the excerpt in the link appears to say that Ryan had his feelings hurt because he was in the audience (by surprise) when Obama criticized the Ryan plan.
So, Ryan was pissed because he heard the criticism live rather than listening or reading it later? Ryan figured Obama was supposed to know, somehow, Ryan would be there, and be extra special considerate of his delicate feelings? Ryan was personally offended because Obama criticized his proposal, on policy grounds? Or did Obama call Ryan a dweeby doo doo head with cooties in the speech?
I cannot believe a grown up person would listen to such a story without laughing.
But apparently a NY Times reporter can write it up without laughing, and at very earnest length. I (Edit: took precious seconds out of my life to click through to the NY Times article and) scrolled down to the end, and the Perils of Pauline are still the center of attention.
Reading about Todd Palin’s lady freinds is a better use of time than this nonsense.
Maybe there is something to that Mayan apocalypse stuff.
Comrade Mary
I think someone should invite Luke Russert out for “a nice Chianti and some fava beans”.
jl
Seinfeld was also a show about nothing, emotionally damaged weirdos who got upset over nothing and used excuses based on nothing to do nothing.
But, at least it was funny. And at least it made money. Can’t say that about the NY Times.
El Cid
I guess all those constant repetitions by Ryan that Obama was spending the nation into the grave for soshullism somehow doesn’t count as hurtful and partisan.
Only Democrats have to bridge the partisan divide by doing and saying everything exactly as whatever contemporary demands arise from Republicans would hold.
amk
@PTirebiter: pundtwitry via nepotism. what a pos.
MikeJ
@Comrade Mary: Actually Obama did institute Wednesday night cocktail parties early on. No idea if they continue (I never updated my address with them so I assume my invites are just going to the wrong address), but I believe he did try to invite Republicans.
David Koch
Nate Silver is projecting a tie in Michigan (no joke).
Looks like another Iowa, where someone wins with a handful of votes at 1:30 AM only to be overturned in the sloppy certification.
Spaghetti Lee
@PTirebiter:
Won’t most Republicans prefer fava beans and a nice chianti?
Suffern ACE
@Comrade Mary: @MikeJ: Yes. Wednesdays. Because as astute political observer Russert hasn’t noticed, Congress knocks off at noon on Thursdays. Or maybe he’d like the President to sit at home during campaign season on Fridays waiting for no one to show up.
(Sound of garments rending) – Why does Obama go out on the campaign trail when he should be waiting for Cantor to come over for beer nuts and a game of trivial pursuit?
Spaghetti Lee
This is one of my favorite wingnut personality issues. They’re the rough, tough, real American patriots, they’ve got all the guns and they’re going to blow us liberal pantywaists away, they eat what they kill…but if someone isn’t sufficiently respectful to them, the collapse into a quivering heap of jello, whining about how oppressed they are. I mean, sure, it’s all gamesmanship, but it’s just a pathetic little dance to watch. Simultaneously the conquering crusaders and lily-livered schlemiels with a persecution complex. Schrodinger’s Assholes, I would say.
tomvox1
I almost threw my iPhone on the Subway tracks reading Calmes’ wretched and overlong concern trolling about Republican fee-fees and deficit fetishism. One has to wonder: Why the hell would this hack be writing about this now when everyone with half a brain realizes that the GOP would never make a deal with Obama about anything? Writing a hand-wringing autopsy of Simpson-Bowles is just so fucking Spring 2011, you know, before the GOPers tried to drive the American economy off the cliff in a fiery debt ceiling T-bird. Or is this all just a lame attempt by Calmes to keep presenting Ryan as a viable future Republican “statesman?” The stupid, it burns.
freelancer
@Steve:
I put at least two underscores between ‘graphs:
and it becomes this:
Spaghetti Lee
@David Koch:
Given Mitt Romney’s recent rather impressive string of boneheaded verbal slipups, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t be rooting for him instead if I want the candidate Obama is more likely to beat. But, a Santorum win probably drags it out longer, so go Frothy go!
Chris
@El Cid:
And whenever they finally agree with what the Republicans want, what the Republicans want will instantly change – see also the health care mandate which went from being a Free Market Solution to Extreme Radical Soshulism in barely a decade.
Villago Delenda Est
@Comrade Mary:
Only if we can be sure that the stupid prions aren’t evident in the liver.
pseudonymous in nc
@The Fat Kate Middleton: you’re good. We just need to make sure that the Pierce epithets are applied elsewhere, Homerically.
Spaghetti Lee
@Spaghetti Lee:
Ah crap, didn’t even realize that Comrade Mary got that joke first. Whoopsie.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
oh my they are such delicate flowers after all. here i was thinking rih santormentum sounded like an emotionally volatile teenager when he said that a speech he must have only read about, being that he was born in 58, made him want to throw up. go away paleocons, you brutes, and stand down neocons, now is the time for the emocons.
Seonachan
If Newt becomes president (I know), he’s going to shut down Hollywood for that flat tire incident.
PTirebiter
@Chris:
Exactly. They’ve become immune to all healthy shame and or rational argument. Quarantine until they revive the ability to compromise.
pragmatism
Looks like the wingers have almost completed the modification to change the selective butthurt machine to full auto.
Roger Moore
@Spaghetti Lee:
And this is not a new issue for them. Remember that the thing that made Reagan such a great president is that he made America feel good about itself again. Somehow feelings are very important when they’re the feelings of the right kind of American, but not if they belong to anyone else.
xian
@Suffern ACE:
Nice work if you can get it.
Gex
@Roger Moore: They have been rebelling against feeling guilty about their ancestors genociding and slaving their way into building the awesomest country of forever. They literally demand that we all pitch in to help them fight off those demons. Their other way of dealing with that is to stomp all over the feelings of everyone else. Because in order to avoid dealing with all that, they must believe those others ARE inferior and ARE ruining this great nation.
RalfW
Apparently, however, no one should think the GOP is rude the 100,000,000 times they’ve insulted Obama.
Uh huh.
Linda Featheringill
@Marcellus Shale, Public Dick:
Good catch. If Santorum was born in 1958 and that speech was made in 1960 . . .
[Candidates for President are getting younger all the time. What the hell happened?]
Gretchen
@PTirebiter:
Merlot? He thinks the best the President of the United States has in his cellar is merlot? Or maybe he keeps the good stuff for people he likes?
NR
Have we all just conveniently forgotten that Obama offered the Republicans $650 billion in Social Security and Medicare cuts?
Looks like it.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Spaghetti Lee:
No, that’s the definition of bully – a coward who is deeply afraid of everything and bluffing to hide his weakness.
Donut
All I have to add to this thread is I have a three-year old son, and you have insulted his emotional intelligence. He gets over his tantrums much quicker, and actually can be reasoned with, to a degree. We strike bargains with the boy all the time, to reinforce and reward good behavior. The Republicans? Feh.
PWL
These people are sick and stupid. Anything other than unquestioning submission to them, and their views and policies, hurts their widdle feewings.
Yeah, democracy’s a bitch. Too bad we can’t just have a one-party state (theirs), so they won’t have to suffer such mental anguish….
Miriam
@PTirebiter: Obama should throw parties every Friday with ONLY Democrats until the Republicans grow up. Every time a Republican crosses party lines to vote sensibly they get an invite to the weekly party.