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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / They Need a Man With a Slow Hand

They Need a Man With a Slow Hand

by John Cole|  December 31, 20125:14 pm| 138 Comments

This post is in: Republican Stupidity, Our Failed Political Establishment, Sociopaths

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I haven’t checked the comments to Mistermix’s post below, but I am sure some of you remember that this is not the first time the Republicans have decided to screw the country because someone hurt their delicate fee-fee’s:

Just buffoons.

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Previous Post: « Hanging Around, Nothing to do but Frown
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Reader Interactions

138Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh35

    December 31, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    so no vote today.

    ok. so I’m gonna be moving next week. so gonna have to try & spend as little money as possible so if my moms unemployment stops ill just have to tighten my belt a little. still at least I’m going back home to Louisiana (7 years after Katrina) & I’ll be closer to my moms too.

    Happy New Year everybody!

  2. 2.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    We need to come up with some new insults for the Republicans.

  3. 3.

    Mustang Bobby

    December 31, 2012 at 5:21 pm

    I remember Newt Gingrich shutting down the government in 1995 because he had to fly coach on Air Force One coming back from Rabin’s funeral.

    My mom said at the time that someone needed a good spanking and sent to bed without supper.

    I’d offer that suggestion now, but I think there are too many members of the GOP who would get into that kind of kink.

  4. 4.

    lol

    December 31, 2012 at 5:21 pm

    @lamh35:

    Just part of the shared sacrifice that the Professional Left thinks you need to suffer in order to bring about the Future Progressive Utopia.

  5. 5.

    MattF

    December 31, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    In fact, it made me think of good old Noot, who was offended because Clinton made him sit in the rear of Air Force One:

    http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/pageviews/2012/01/newt-gingrich-crybaby-the-famous-daily-news-cover-explained

    Boo Hoo.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    December 31, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    Somebody else in the thread below said that they think Republicans know full well that they’re not going to be able to get the rugged individualists in the House to vote for anything that helps the Kenyan Usurper even though it means they’re shooting themselves in the foot, so they’re thrashing around to come up with an excuse to kill the deal.

    You’d think they could come up with something better than what a 12-year-old who wants a new video game would do, though.

    ETA: If John Boehner promises to hold his breath until he gets what he wants, what color will he turn? I think blue+orange makes a lovely turquoise, but I’m not sure.

  7. 7.

    Turgidson

    December 31, 2012 at 5:24 pm

    The fact that even in a presidential year, nearly half the voters in this country keeps voting for these sociopathic dolts is just astounding. Electing GOPers is like asking an extremely insecure, bipolar 17 year-old with a long history of arson arrests to provide fire protection to your house. It just doesn’t make any sense at all.

    Yet, they continue to be treated as a serious political party and still receive enough votes to hold a branch of Congress. Their anti-democratic, destructive antics are excused, buried and even cheered on in an avalanche of bullshit and false equivalence. Utterly stupefying. Perhaps worst of all, they’re quite successfully establishing this nihilistic bullshit as normal, business as usual.

    Meteor time. It might be less destructive than the House GOP.

  8. 8.

    Southern Beale

    December 31, 2012 at 5:25 pm

    Damn, that video is cracking me up. Look at Rahm Emmanuel in the background as Barney Frank speaks, it’s like he’s trying not to laugh.

  9. 9.

    wvng

    December 31, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    I may put that video on permanent loop.

  10. 10.

    PeakVT

    December 31, 2012 at 5:27 pm

    I don’t know who Rahm thinks he was fooling his finger to his lips like that. “No, I actually didn’t find Representative Frank funny; I stand around kissing my index finger all of the time.”

  11. 11.

    muddy

    December 31, 2012 at 5:27 pm

    I think blue + orange would just be a big ugly mess. Might as well not bother, for all the difference it would make.

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne

    December 31, 2012 at 5:29 pm

    @Southern Beale:

    Since Massachussetts is going to need a seatwarmer while they run their special election for Kerry’s seat, I would really enjoy having Frank appointed to the spot (assuming he’s willing to do it — it sounds like he is really looking forward to retirement now that he’s married).

    I would set my Tivo to C-SPAN for every speech he makes in the Senate.

  13. 13.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    It’s not over.
    On Twitter Bloomberg News and FT, deal may happen.

  14. 14.

    West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)

    December 31, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    Anyone ever feel like turning to a good book and a beer buzz? Sometimes the absolute absurdity of politics is stupefying. Someway, somehow, the Repubs must feel this business will ultimately help them. Perhaps they expect the Dems to come running, hat in hand, to plead for whatever deal the Repubs would like to offer.

  15. 15.

    Valdivia

    December 31, 2012 at 5:34 pm

    nihilists. And giving them even more opportunities to do this in the next couple of months will be a show to behold.

  16. 16.

    RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist

    December 31, 2012 at 5:34 pm

    Barney Frank. How are we ever going to overcome the Snark Gap that his leaving public life has caused? Where is the young sharp-tongued orator who will step into Barney’s shoes and slice the GOP down to size from time to time?
    I just wanna hug that guy, in a totally nonromantic kind of way.

  17. 17.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 31, 2012 at 5:35 pm

    @Maude: In the last twenty minutes, I have heard on MSNBC that House members have been told they can leave, and that members have been told to stay close to the Capitol.

  18. 18.

    jp7505a

    December 31, 2012 at 5:36 pm

    If Obama recommended the Speaker for sainthood, the wingnuts would complain about that.

  19. 19.

    Rhoda

    December 31, 2012 at 5:36 pm

    @lamh35: Hopefully, they’ll fix this before the week is out and there won’t be too much of a disruption.

    Safe travels and congrats on the new job.

  20. 20.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    The tweet was about 5 minutes ago.
    Bloomberg is great at getting info out on Twitter.

  21. 21.

    Paul

    December 31, 2012 at 5:39 pm

    I’m curious where these overly sensitive Republicans were when George W Bush insulted anybody who objected to his idiotic Iraq war debacle as “they want to cut and run”. As I recall, they not only were agreeing with Bush, they were cheering him on with his childish insults.

  22. 22.

    gf120581

    December 31, 2012 at 5:39 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I believe he is willing to serve as interim Senator until the special election, though he has no interest in serving long-term. The guy sounds like he’s eager for retirement and frankly, he’s earned it.

    And as been said above thread, this is a long standing GOP practice. Newt shutting the government down because he didn’t like his Air Force One seating is the one everyone remembers, in no small part because of the mockery it brought on him (Newt’s public image never recovered from that). You’d think the Drunk Weepy Oompa-Loompa, who was part of the GOP leadership back then (Conference Chair), would have taken some lessons and passed it on to his colleagues. Ditto for McCain. Guess not.

  23. 23.

    gf120581

    December 31, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    @jp7505a: If Obama proposed a resolution that declared “Puppies are adorable and huggable,” Republicans would howl that puppies are diseased-ridden fleabags that are part of Obama’s secret plan to unleash a modern round of the Black Death.

  24. 24.

    Villago Delenda Est

    December 31, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    Pointer Sisters!

    “I want a man with a slow hand,

    I want a lover with an easy touch,

    Somebody who will take his time,

    Not come and go in a heated rush,

    I need somebody who will understand,

    When it comes to love I want a slow hand”

  25. 25.

    askew

    December 31, 2012 at 5:42 pm

    Boehner must be the most pathetic speaker we’ve ever had. Look at this tweet from him:

    The U.S. House has passed legislation to avert the entire #fiscalcliff. With hours to go, @SenateDems still have not acted.

    What a tool.

  26. 26.

    Elizabelle

    December 31, 2012 at 5:42 pm

    What is it about this post that I am getting an ad about Feral Children?

    There are over 100 Feral Children around the World.

    Most never return to Society.

    I will drink to Barney Frank tonight.

  27. 27.

    West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)

    December 31, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    @Paul: Well, Repubs loved them some “Yer fer us or you agin’ us” when it came from Shrub. When a rightwinger is obnoxious, it’s cool and pithy. When someone else does it, it’s all about hysteria and rudeness don’tcha know.

  28. 28.

    FlipYrWhig

    December 31, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    @gf120581: and The Left would say that huggable isn’t enough, you have to be willing to use the bully puppy pulpit and show how you’re willing to _actually_ hug one, or you’re not trying hard enough, so it doesn’t count.

  29. 29.

    chopper

    December 31, 2012 at 5:47 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    100? shit, that’s 1 for every 70 million people! it’s an epidemic!

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    December 31, 2012 at 5:47 pm

    @gf120581:

    I would love to watch the Republicans have to choke on their bile and address him as “Senator Frank.”

    It would be even better if Frank’s husband would be willing to attend the senatorial spouses’ events, but that might be too much to ask of him since he doesn’t seem very comfortable in the spotlight.

  31. 31.

    MikeJ

    December 31, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    I got Hurt Feelings.

  32. 32.

    Cermet

    December 31, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    This makes no sense – how many thugs are needed for the bill in the house? Twenty, at most and they can’t get that many?! Please; if twenty thugs can’t agree with the democrats, then this country really is screwed.

  33. 33.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    December 31, 2012 at 5:50 pm

    Merry Cliff Mess to all and to all a good fright! :)

  34. 34.

    MattR

    December 31, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    @Cermet: Boehner still has to bring it up for a vote and he is not gonna do that while 80%+ of his caucus is vehemently opposed to it. He doesn’t have the stones to put country over career.

    (EDIT: I have thought a bit about the idea that the minority party should be able to force a vote if there are enough consponsors from the majority to guarantee passage if every member of the minority votes for it. But I have not done enough thinking to figure out if this would be actually be a good idea over the long run.)

  35. 35.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    Reuters tweet
    House will meet on Tues.
    La Tourette is his name? The R rep in the House?

  36. 36.

    Mnemosyne

    December 31, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    @Cermet:

    For the current House, you would need 27 Republicans to vote for the bill if you assume that every Democrat votes for it.

    But, as I said in other threads, I’m guessing Boehner doesn’t even allow it to come up for a vote because he won’t be able to convince even that many Republicans to vote for it.

  37. 37.

    West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)

    December 31, 2012 at 5:54 pm

    Well, in a way, it is sort of interesting theater, don’t you all think? We’ll see what really happens now that we’re all tumbling ass-over-teakettle over the fiscal cliff. Somehow I’m guess that the uber-wealthy will find a way to benefit.

  38. 38.

    PeakVT

    December 31, 2012 at 5:55 pm

    @MattR: Discharge petition.

  39. 39.

    MikeJ

    December 31, 2012 at 5:58 pm

    @PeakVT: And if it’s for the dairy bill, it would be a milky discharge petition.

  40. 40.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    December 31, 2012 at 5:58 pm

    @ Elizabelle #26 – Beth Orton has a pretty good song by that name. If you dig Beth Orton, that is.

  41. 41.

    GregB

    December 31, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    Happy New Years all to all of the Balloon Juicers.

  42. 42.

    Alison

    December 31, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    I’m too lazy, too annoyed and also too wary of which sources to trust online to look around for my answer, but I just hope this doesn’t fuck with my disability payments :( Or anyone’s payments of course, but you know…that includes me. Sigh.

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 31, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    I would love to watch the Republicans have to choke on their bile and address him as “Senator Frank.” It would be even better if Frank’s husband would be willing to attend the senatorial spouses’ events, but that might be too much to ask of him since he doesn’t seem very comfortable in the spotlight.

    This would be cool beans with awesome sauce!

  44. 44.

    max

    December 31, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    I am sure some of you remember that this is not the first time the Republicans have decided to screw the country because someone hurt their delicate fee-fee’s:

    They haven’t completely screwed the country…because of this. Taxes will go up… eventually. Tomorrow our side will be in a better position and maybe then our side can stop trying to give away the farm. (We need a debt ceiling deal, one that makes the debt ceiling go away, otherwise, this is all a bunch of bullshit.)

    Charles Pierce latest post (which I full-throatedly and wholeheartedly endorse) about the FISA reauthorization is all about screwing the country. Real permanent like.

    max
    [‘You knew the House R’s weren’t going to vote for it. Make them pay until they scream for mercy, then deal.’]

  45. 45.

    MattR

    December 31, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    @PeakVT: Thanks. Did not know about that, but assumed I was not the first with that idea. I would prefer it was an automatic part of sponsoring a bill instead of a separate petition. Hopefully that would take away some of the stigma/retaliation aspect though I am sure that change would also have unforseen side effects.

  46. 46.

    SatanicPanic

    December 31, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    You’d think they could come up with something better than what a 12-year-old who wants a new video game would do, though.

    Their voters are just fine with “that black man was mean to us” as an excuse. That’s probably better than any rational reason they could come up with.

  47. 47.

    Rosie Outlook

    December 31, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    Do we now conclude that the nation has become ungovernable, and, if so, what, if anything, can we the people do about it? I have seen proposed solutions ranging from ignoring it all and building our own barter economy, to secession in reverse, kicking the most troublesome red states and their tea bagging Congresscritters out of the union. Less radical ideas, such as outlawing gerrymandering, have the inherent problem that to do so you have to enlist the cooperation of the foxes who guard the henhouse.

    My phone automatically types Congresscritters, so I wonder if the people who wrote the programming for it are also disgusted. Anyway–what can, or should, citizens do? Discuss.

  48. 48.

    Rosie Outlook

    December 31, 2012 at 6:14 pm

    @GregB: Likewise!

    I just tried my computer, which is considerably older than the phone. The computer does not automatically fill in “Congresscritters” as a word.

  49. 49.

    Villago Delenda Est

    December 31, 2012 at 6:15 pm

    Boner won’t allow a vote on a bill that isn’t guaranteed to pass with Rethug votes alone.

    So even if there are some Rethugs who haven’t gone batshit insane, they’re not allowed to officially demonstrate it by voting on some bill that the teahadists don’t like.

  50. 50.

    eemom

    December 31, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    Excellent tune! Love the Pointer Sisters.

    Impressive, Cole.

  51. 51.

    Paul

    December 31, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    @max:

    (We need a debt ceiling deal, one that makes the debt ceiling go away, otherwise, this is all a bunch of bullshit.)

    Is there a reason Obama/Geithner can’t simply refuse to give red states whatever money they were budgeted, same thing for defense etc etc? If so, I bet the GOP would pretty quickly surrender.

    How long can older folks in Mississippi handle it without Medicare/SS?

  52. 52.

    Rosie Outlook

    December 31, 2012 at 6:19 pm

    @Maude: I’m going to learn Spanish this year; stand by for bilingual insults! If I remember right from my previous exposure to the language, the Spanish for “jackass” is “cabron.”

  53. 53.

    Lojasmo

    December 31, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    @Southern Beale:

    Why in the hell is Rahm even up there?

  54. 54.

    Peregrinus

    December 31, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    @Rosie Outlook:

    Correct, plus it has the double punch (at least in Puerto Rican Spanish, which is what I grew up speaking) of suggesting the person “has the horns,” i.e. is being cheated on by his/her significant other.

    Oh, and BTW – happy New Year, all!

  55. 55.

    MattR

    December 31, 2012 at 6:24 pm

    @Rosie Outlook: Unforunately, all I’ve got is “wait a few more years until they go farther around the bend and a larger segment of the population figures it out”

    @Paul: Defense is where it’s at. Those contractors are the ones who can put pressure on the Republicans to get a deal done, even if they find it distasteful. IMO, they can make Grover Norquist look like a relative nobody.

  56. 56.

    Downpuppy

    December 31, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    @jp7505a: Well, there is the detail that to be a saint you have to be dead.

  57. 57.

    muddy

    December 31, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    @Lojasmo: Check the date. This video was from the last time. I’m wondering why he had his finger stuck on his lip through most of it.

    Funny that Frank says he would never have imputed that behavior to his Republic colleagues. Well, Corker imputed it as well, must be something in it, since he and the press both bring it up.

  58. 58.

    Davis X. Machina

    December 31, 2012 at 6:33 pm

    @Paul:

    Is there a reason Obama/Geithner can’t simply refuse to give red states whatever money they were budgeted, same thing for defense etc etc? If so, I bet the GOP would pretty quickly surrender.

    How long can older folks in Mississippi handle it without Medicare/SS?

    Not in the case of SS/Medicare. They’re called ‘entitlements’ for a reason.

  59. 59.

    Suzanne

    December 31, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    For the next two weeks, I am represented in Congress by David Schweikert. A monstrous douchecanoe. Calling his office in 3, 2, 1……

  60. 60.

    General Stuck

    December 31, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    For the current House, you would need 27 Republicans to vote for the bill if you assume that every Democrat votes for it.

    I was going to correct you, until I realized it is the lame duck and not next year.

  61. 61.

    JPL

    December 31, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    @Davis X. Machina: How many red states receive defense dollars? I know that GA does and why not move those bases to friendlier states. Kennedy and Johnson had no problem rewarding their home states.

  62. 62.

    Hill Dweller

    December 31, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    The Republicans’ whining sounds ridiculous to us, but the media is reporting their complaints legitimately. Even-the-liberal-Ezra Klein said Obama was being “jerky”.

  63. 63.

    sacrablue

    December 31, 2012 at 6:42 pm

    @Suzanne: Only two days! New congress gets sworn in on Jan. 3rd.

  64. 64.

    Paul

    December 31, 2012 at 6:45 pm

    @Davis X. Machina:

    Not in the case of SS/Medicare. They’re called ‘entitlements’ for a reason.

    Right. But if the debt limit is reached, there is no cash available, right? So entitlement or not, if there is no cash to pay out (thanks to the GOP Congress if they refuse to increase the debit limit), the Treasure will have to choose what bills gets paid.

    No?

  65. 65.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 6:45 pm

    @JPL: Because we don’t want to drive too far when these idiots secede.

  66. 66.

    Davis X. Machina

    December 31, 2012 at 6:45 pm

    @JPL: The base-closing regime presently in place did not exist in JFK’s and LBJ’s day — and was brought in inter alia to de-politicize the process.

  67. 67.

    lamh35

    December 31, 2012 at 6:47 pm

    Today would have been my grandmother’s 75th birthday. She died 7 years ago after Katrina. She’s buried in Thibodaux, La since at the time of her death no one was able to return to NOLA and the place where she had a plot was literally underwater.

    Anyway, my fam visited her grave in Thibodaux and placed some flowers on her grave…so bittersweet today.

    Happy New Year and RIP and Happy Birthday to my granny Beulah.

  68. 68.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937

    December 31, 2012 at 6:47 pm

    I watched the Obama remarks. WTF was their problem with it?

  69. 69.

    Quaker in a Basement

    December 31, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    @Southern Beale: When was this? What the hell is Rahm doing there?

  70. 70.

    Davis X. Machina

    December 31, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    @Paul: SS and Medicare, but especially SS, will get paid pretty much ahead of everything, even if there’s a shutdown.

    The debt ceiling doesn’t get raised, there’s still Federal revenue coming in from things besides Treasury auctions, and that much goes out again.

    From last time.

  71. 71.

    JPL

    December 31, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    @Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937: He was mean.

  72. 72.

    Napoleon

    December 31, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    @Quaker in a Basement:

    A few years ago.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    December 31, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    I am reminded of a book I gave my niece when she was small: Hurty Feelings.

    The hardcover version is available at Amazon for only 6.40. For 300.00 I could send one to every republican in the house.

  74. 74.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 6:51 pm

    @Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937: Uppity.

  75. 75.

    monkeyfister

    December 31, 2012 at 6:53 pm

    One piece of Good news is that the Payroll Tax Break is going to expire, as it SHOULD.

    Social Security will continue to be PROPERLY funded, once again.

    I understand that it was the only thing workable to provide a ***bit*** of relief at the time, but, it really took a big bite out of SS funding, and I was against it from the very start.

    The Firebaggers still have not forgiven me for my stance against it.

    They made all kinds of loop-de-loo contortions in saying that Payroll Taxes have nothing to do with SS funding… I was awestruck at the pretzel “logic.”

    This is one thing to be thankful for in this Fiscal Charade.

  76. 76.

    Linda Featheringill

    December 31, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    @lamh35:

    About your mom’s UE check: The checks run a week behind, right? So she’ll probably get one more check anyway? Maybe that will help.

  77. 77.

    monkeyfister

    December 31, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    @Quaker in a Basement:

    Yeah– what the hell WAS Rahm doing there?

    DAMNED good question Quaker In A Basement. I’d LOVE to hear that answer from someone.

  78. 78.

    Hill Dweller

    December 31, 2012 at 6:57 pm

    @Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937:

    I watched the Obama remarks. WTF was their problem with it?

    He gave them while being black.

  79. 79.

    JPL

    December 31, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    @monkeyfister: Technically it was an accounting gimmick. They replaced that with general funds.

  80. 80.

    lamh35

    December 31, 2012 at 7:01 pm

    @Linda Featheringill: hopefully so. it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, except like I said on another thread, I’m moving, so my few remaining paychecks from my soon to be former job will only go so far. Luckily since I’m starting my new job 5 days after my last day, I should be getting my first paycheck from my new job 2 weeks later, if they are at least on the same pay period I am on now.

    Until then I’m on limited funds.

  81. 81.

    askew

    December 31, 2012 at 7:04 pm

    @monkeyfister:

    He was still in Congress when the video was taken right? It was before the 2008 election.

  82. 82.

    Napoleon

    December 31, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    Well I guess after today it ought to be clear at what a complete incompetent Obama is as a negotiator. Dogs don’t roll over as quick as that bozo in the White House.

  83. 83.

    Kathy in St. Louis

    December 31, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    Does anyone else find it a little bit ironic, in light of the election ads we’ve just seen in 2012, that people who call their opponents every rotten thing, impugn their honesty, lie every time they speak about the Dems, as all hurt feelings if the prez doesn’t offer to wash their cars and run their kids to hockey practice? What a bunch of nasty, uncivil, ruthless, aholes these guys are. And drama queens of the first waters.

  84. 84.

    hildebrand

    December 31, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    @askew: Yep – the hint that this may have been from just a bit ago was the fact that the fucking Dow had dropped over 500 points that day. Jesus people – do pay attention. Of course, it may also have been a bit of a hint that Congressman Frank looked rather a bit younger than he does nowadays. Or we could simply remember things that actually happened in the past.

    Yeesh.

  85. 85.

    muddy

    December 31, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    My gob has been smacked. Just now on MSNBC the Junior Potatohead Russert just said that it was Republicans in the house who were being intransigent. That’s a big change from what he was spouting this morning (both sides BS), is there a fresh breeze through the brains of the punditry?

  86. 86.

    brendancalling

    December 31, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    @West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): when do i NOT want a good book and a beer buzz?

  87. 87.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937

    December 31, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    @Napoleon: Go smoke a bong. Its New Years. Then get a grip, but you do that tomorrow or the next day.

  88. 88.

    hildebrand

    December 31, 2012 at 7:19 pm

    @Napoleon: Please tell me this is snark – because if it is not, you have lost the thread, utterly and completely.

  89. 89.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    December 31, 2012 at 7:19 pm

    @monkeyfister: Wasn’t Rahm a congressman back then?

  90. 90.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    @Rosie Outlook:
    I need to learn it as well. We can trade words. I want to speak a bit in the Latino Grocery. I like them a lot.

  91. 91.

    redshirt

    December 31, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    Through the smoke I see a Tebow, confidently leading a team down field.

  92. 92.

    monkeyfister

    December 31, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    @muddy:

    “… is there a fresh breeze through the brains of the punditry?”

    I’ll quote Stephen Erikson, from the cover blurb of “Crack’d Pot Trail,” to answer your question:

    “Will honor, moral probity, and virtue prove champions in the face of brutal necessity? No, of course not. Don’t be silly.“

  93. 93.

    redshirt

    December 31, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    2+2=5

  94. 94.

    Comrade Jake

    December 31, 2012 at 7:29 pm

    @redshirt: LOL. The fact that they’re not firing Ryan is just mind blowing. That team is full of suck.

  95. 95.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    We got the preliminary plans for our addition and the princess/boss is pouring over them with a fine tooth comb while I nod, “yes dear”.

  96. 96.

    Comrade Jake

    December 31, 2012 at 7:33 pm

    Honestly I think the main problem Republicans had with Obama’s pressed was that he seemed upbeat. They feel like they can’t possibly be getting a good deal if The Negro is happy.

  97. 97.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    @Raven:
    Keep nodding. You know she’s right.
    Happy New Year.

  98. 98.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    @Maude: Back atcha.

  99. 99.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    December 31, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    @lamh35: Blessings to you and your grandmother.

  100. 100.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    @Comrade Jake:
    I think it’s more because he’s a black man and a lot smarter than them.

  101. 101.

    Goblue72

    December 31, 2012 at 7:44 pm

    @monkeyfister: Agreed. None of these tax cuts have been paid for. They ALL need to expire. We can’t spend on social welfare programs if we keep taxes this low.

  102. 102.

    Felonius Monk

    December 31, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    Happy New Year all — wake me at the foot of the cliff.

  103. 103.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    @Felonius Monk:
    Happy New Year.

  104. 104.

    Origuy

    December 31, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    @monkeyfister: The video was uploaded Sept 29, 2008. Not the current cliff.

  105. 105.

    WaterGirl

    December 31, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    @Napoleon: I’m having a hard time distinguishing snark from negativism today.

  106. 106.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 7:55 pm

    @WaterGirl: He’s a moron, don’t bother.

  107. 107.

    Maude

    December 31, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    @Origuy:
    Doesn’t one cliff look pretty much like another?
    Thunderbird is going away. It was in zdnet and TechCrunch.
    I went and checked.

  108. 108.

    WaterGirl

    December 31, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    @Raven: Yeah, but it happened to me three times tonight on Booman, so I’m starting to worry. :-)

    I was going to reply to your room addition comment, but Maude beat me to it with a better comment than the one I had planned.

    Happy New Year! I hope it’s a great year for all of us.

  109. 109.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:00 pm

    @WaterGirl: U2.

    Her dad was a builder and they designed all the stuff I did on this house when we first bought it. I learned then that I have no ability to visualize stuff. The guy we are working with is very good and they don’t need me gumming up the works.

  110. 110.

    Goblue72

    December 31, 2012 at 8:05 pm

    I’m looking forward to going over the cliff. If we can’t raise taxes on households earning over $20,000 a MONTH, we are totally screwed.

    And yes, there will be some pain. But frankly, as someone who has worked in the social welfare sector for two decades, the poor already have borne the brunt of cuts to date; it can’t really get that much worse for welfare programs at this point.

    And if we aren’t ready to hold firm and suffer some hurt, the GOP will continue to play economic terrorism. Every victory for social welfare in this country has required a will to endure some pain in order to win. Sometimes literally in the form of bricks to the head.

    Centrists need to find some balls.

  111. 111.

    Bob In Portland

    December 31, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    @MattF: Did he want to sit in the cockpit and fly the plane?

  112. 112.

    WereBear

    December 31, 2012 at 8:07 pm

    @Raven: Sounds like is in good hands then.

    And you are not alone with the visualization issue: that is why there is a whole industry devoted to “setting up” homes for sale.

  113. 113.

    WereBear

    December 31, 2012 at 8:08 pm

    @Goblue72: And if we aren’t ready to hold firm and suffer some hurt, the GOP will continue to play economic terrorism. Every victory for social welfare in this country has required a will to endure some pain in order to win. Sometimes literally in the form of bricks to the head.

    This does not make any sense. If we allow Republicans to starve children and have the disabled thrown out of their homes, the Republicans will say “Whee!” and do it some more.

  114. 114.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    @WereBear: Yea, we put a sun porch on the back of the house complete with salvaged columns and a brick floor. I thought they were nuts.

  115. 115.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    December 31, 2012 at 8:10 pm

    @Raven: Dawg! You watching LSU/Clemson? The conference beat the paycheck earlier today, and I was really surprised as hell that the Jackets beat the Laners earlier. Good game going on in Atlanta thus far.

  116. 116.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:11 pm

    @WereBear: This isn’t the best angle but. . .

  117. 117.

    Goblue72

    December 31, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    @WereBear: Complete and utter hyperbole is not an argument. And if we are unwilling to endure the prospect of some short term cuts in order to win more revenue allowing for future expansion of social welfare programs, we might as well call it quits.

  118. 118.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    @Evolving Deep Southerner: Is a bullfrog waterproof? We’re going up the street for a little bonfire at the half and I’ll kick on the dvr for the second. Watkins ankle looked pretty bad.

  119. 119.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    December 31, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    @Raven: Yeah, you ain’t seeing Sammy back tonight.

  120. 120.

    rikyrah

    December 31, 2012 at 8:16 pm

    Obama Punks The GOP, Yet Again

    Monday, December 31, 2012 |

    Posted by Deaniac83 at 11:42 AM

    If you watched the just concluded address the president gave on the Fiscal Cliff, tell me if you agree with the feeling I got from it: the president looked, sounded and smiled like a winner. And I can probably tell you why. Hell, he was practically gloating. Plainly spoken, he and his team just punked the Republicans, yet again. They got the Republicans to release the middle class hostage, without giving them a damned thing. Look at what he’s getting:

    ………………………………………………………………………….

    So, let’s recap. I was wrong to say that Republicans got nothing in this deal. They got less than nothing. They are in the red here. They are crying uncle and releasing the middle class hostage, in exchange for having to come up with even more revenues from the rich (maybe we can now see Boehner’s plan to raise revenue from “limiting deductions” on the rich only) when they seek any spending cuts, or to avert/replace any of the sequestration cuts they don’t like.

    You want to see what a master negotiator looks like? Then look at the guy who just got a deal to release the hostage (middle class and the poor) and in exchange gave the hostage takers less than nothing.

    I don’t know if Republicans – or for that matter, hair on fire Lefties – realize how big a win this is for the president. This is a BFD. Republicans are cornered, they can’t back out, they have no escape. They got us here. They rejected all the reasonable offers the president made just to protect tax rates for the rich. And now, they can’t even do that, and they have lost all leverage to force spending cuts without even more revenue. The Republicans went in for a fight all in, and they wouldn’t take yes for an answer, so the president just took all their chips and left them holding nothing but teabags.

    http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2012/12/obama-punks-gop-yet-again.html

  121. 121.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:16 pm

    @Evolving Deep Southerner: We open up there next year I’m sure you know.

  122. 122.

    ellie

    December 31, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    Too bad,
    So sad,
    Go home,
    And tell your dad!

  123. 123.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    December 31, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    @monkeyfister:

    Social Security will continue to be PROPERLY funded, once again.

    by law, the difference was made up out the general fund.

  124. 124.

    Elie

    December 31, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    @lamh35:

    with tribute to your grandmother and you — Happy Happy New Year!

  125. 125.

    Rosie Outlook

    December 31, 2012 at 8:27 pm

    Let’s see. While we hope for the best, we must plan for the worst. That way, the only surprises we get will be pleasant ones. It seems to me the worst would be that Republicans continue to refuse to cooperate with a man who insists on presidenting while black, and they continue to work the rules of the House and Senate to block the orderly conducting of the nation’s usiness. If this view of the problem is accurate, shouldn’t our line of attack be to get our Congressmen and senators to work on changing the rules? (If yours is insane, of course, all you can do is try to vote him out when the time comes.). Then, after the rules are corrected, perhaps the conducting of the nation’s business can resume. What do you think?

  126. 126.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    December 31, 2012 at 8:29 pm

    @Raven: I, I do indeed. While that last 30-0 beatdown from 2003 (04?) has held me nicely for most of the last decade, I think we can do better. I was there when Kevin Butler kicked the 60-yarder to beat them way back in the day. I hate big crowds, but I’ll be damned if I wouldn’t break my own personal rule to see them play live next year. God knows I’ve got ticket connections on both sides now.

  127. 127.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:29 pm

    @Rosie Outlook: Well, if 75% of the districts are bulletproof, like mine is, this won’t seem to work.

  128. 128.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:31 pm

    @Evolving Deep Southerner: That was my first Georgia game. I made a pretty penny on my SEC champ tix so I may think about ordering Clemson duckets. I have not done any away games in all these years.

  129. 129.

    General Stuck

    December 31, 2012 at 8:37 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Well, not so much according to the wizard of iz.

    Conceder In Chief?

    OK, I’ve had my own sorta-kinda briefing on the apparent fiscal cliff deal, and I’m pretty much with Noam Scheiber. Viewed on its own, it’s a bad and upsetting deal but not as terrible as initial rumors had it. But the strategic consequences are likely to be very bad indeed, and in very short order too.

    Your porridge sir, with lots and lots of smarm. Served in the ivory tower of white liberal privilege.

  130. 130.

    Rosie Outlook

    December 31, 2012 at 8:37 pm

    @Raven: OK, so what else can we do? Any legal beagles out there?

  131. 131.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    December 31, 2012 at 8:38 pm

    @Raven: Hell, that’s so close that it could hardly be called “away.” Not quite as close as a Tech game, but virtually guaranteed to be a metric shit-ton better as games go.

  132. 132.

    WereBear

    December 31, 2012 at 8:40 pm

    @Raven: Lovely!

    Happy New Year to all!

    Mr WereBear is having a bad day, so he’s taking a nap. If he doesn’t get up for EST we’ll just celebrate Central or Pacific. In the meantime, I’m enjoying watching Mystery Science Theater on Amazon Prime, a Christmas gift from my Mom.

    Cats will not like the fireworks…

  133. 133.

    Ash Can

    December 31, 2012 at 8:40 pm

    I feel sorry for the custodians who had to mop all that urine up from the chamber floor. I’m impressed at how many different ways those old white men can say “uppity” without actually saying the word.

  134. 134.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    @Evolving Deep Southerner: I’ve been to every Jacket-Hokie game in the ATL for 20 years but that’s an easy ticket. Somehow the ticket office screwed up and sent me Auburn instead of Fla tickets and I got really lucky to get the $85 face for them.

  135. 135.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    December 31, 2012 at 8:45 pm

    @Raven:

    … but that’s and easy ticket.

    Like the vast, vast majority of all GT home games over the last two decades, no?

  136. 136.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    @WereBear: Thanks, hope you have good one. I’ve never been much on all the NYE grabass. That silly shit of kissing all kinds of retrobates at midnight don’t cut it.

  137. 137.

    Raven

    December 31, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    @Evolving Deep Southerner: I think the Georgia tickets are pretty scarce. I’ve never wanted to go there for that game. I actually had to pop one of those idiots at a Hokie game.

    eta
    I did hear someone say the planes from Dehli were late coming back from Thanksgiving and that’s why the Tech crowd was so bad!!!!

  138. 138.

    WaterGirl

    December 31, 2012 at 9:34 pm

    @Raven: Yeah, I am like that, too, only for me it’s that I have no sense of direction. I like to think that keeps me humble and helps when I am working with clients who may not excel in the subject matter at hand.

    It takes a smart person to know what they’re good at and resist the temptation to get involved in something where your most likely contribution is to gum up the works.

    Hoping the room addition provides a good distraction from the on-going pain issue for your bride. Those kinds of projects can either be very fun, or drive you mad. Sometimes a little of both!

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