Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

We still have time to mess this up!

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Everybody saw this coming.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / David Brooks Giving A Seminar At The Aspen Institute / Let me understand your plan

Let me understand your plan

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What are the odds that Corker sticks to this?

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who announced last week that he won’t seek re-election next year, told NBC News he will not vote for a tax reform package if “we’re adding one penny to the deficit.”

He added: “I am not going to be for it, OK. I’m sorry. It is the greatest threat to our nation.”

My guess is Republicans come up with some kind of creative accounting that “allows” them to say that not one penny is being added to the deficit and Corker then votes for the thing.

But maybe since he’s retiring he can show some backbone. I doubt it though.

Reader Interactions

47Comments

  2. 2.

    Corner Stone

    I think Corker is also reaching petty grudge fucking level against the GOP as a party, ala McCain. So he might throw a spanner in the works.

  6. 6.

    West of the Cascades

    I don’t think these chuckleheads are going to be able to control the blue-state Rs in the House who are almost certainly shitting bricks over the proposal to eliminate the deduction for State and Local taxes. They need that to “increase” revenue to off-set the massive tax cuts for the wealthy, but it will obliterate some of the Rs in blue/purple states (including ones that are heavily gerrymandered like Pennsylvania). This tax cutting effort may end up being even more of an unsuccessful clusterfk than the health care repeal efforts.

  7. 7.

    Corner Stone

    @Gin & Tonic: Haven’t you heard? People here like throwing a spanner in the works because YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME, MISTER AND FUCK YOU THAT’S WHY!!

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    You’ve got to read the fine print. He won’t vote for it if it adds “one penny” to the deficit. Billions and billions of pennies, on the other hand, is just fine.

  9. 9.

    hueyplong

    It’s an odd thing for Corker to say at this particular point in time.

    The only thing I know is that very nearly the only GOPers who ever say anything remotely truthful are either out of office or not running for reelection. This is why we should probably appreciate Murkowski at least a little bit.

  12. 12.

    Corner Stone

    @Omnes Omnibus: The more you say blah the more I want to say FUCK YOU THAT’S WHY!
    You know why? BECAUSE FUCK YOU, THAT’S WHY! AND I’M REALLY AN ADULT, I FUCKING PROMISE!

  18. 18.

    hellslittlestangel

    The tax plan doesn’t add a penny to the deficit. It adds a trillion and a half dollars.

  20. 20.

    Another Scott

    It sounds like posturing to me, but who knows. Any net tax cut is going to increase the deficit, and Republicans are always (since Reagan) about cutting taxes (for the 1%) no matter the consequences. Smart politicians who know that every single vote is critical would be making noises about not voting for a bill unless they get their particular bits of pork.

    The Senate plan being worked on apparently can increase the debt by up to $1,500,000,000,000.00 over the next decade, but not a penny more. But it’s all kabuki so far:

    […]

    The [Senate] resolution sets topline discretionary spending in fiscal 2018, which begins on Oct. 1, at $549 billion for defense and $516 billion for nondefense discretionary spending. Those numbers align with the spending caps required under the 2011 Budget Control Act, but differ greatly from the $621.5 billion for defense and $511 billion for nondefense discretionary spending included in the House budget resolution.

    Those topline spending levels don’t indicate that Senate Republicans want to adhere to the budget law spending levels. There is a point of order against the Senate’s [sic. House?] budget resolution exceeding those spending caps. The spending caps will likely be increased later this year, once congressional leaders and the White House can agree on how to increase the fiscal 2018 caps and enact legislation codifying the higher numbers.

    [ No mention of the Democrats having a say – or a vote. Hmm… ]

    The reconciliation instructions in the Senate’s resolution also vary greatly from the House resolution, which the House Budget panel approved in July and is expected to receive a floor vote Thursday. The House’s budget resolution calls for 11 committees to find a total of $203 billion in mandatory savings during the next decade.

    While the discretionary spending levels in the final budget resolution won’t have any impact on altering the spending caps set in law, the reconciliation instructions will have to be worked out by a conference committee. Until they are, and a final budget resolution is officially adopted by Congress, the tax-writing committees cannot technically begin advancing Republicans’ tax overhaul bill.

    IOW, a few old Teabagger white guys will work in secret to craft a bill that they will madly whip their members into passing.

    If that happens, then there will be tremendous pressure for there to be enough votes to get it to Donnie’s desk.

    We’ll see.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    @Gin & Tonic: It was hard to keep track of. Some people wanted to talk about the flag and disrespecting our country. Then others started talking about daddy issues. Not sure how it got there, honestly.

  27. 27.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Duane: Is there such a thing as anti-clickbait? Most of the day my Google News feed has had a link in the “Health” section for “Woman turns discarded vagina skin into jewelry.” I wouldn’t click that in a million years.

    Although it brings to mind an old, old joke about a mohel and a wallet.

  28. 28.

    Suzanne

    @clay:

    Republicans at or near retirement tend to get a lot more honest.

    Mr. Suzanne has a pipe dream that McCain will switch parties right before he retires or dies in office, so that Governor Douchey has to appoint a Democrat to the seat.

    I told him it’s a fantasy, but I admit it’s a good one.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    @Duane: Don’t quite recall the nym, tbh. A burlesque dancer in Dallas in the ’20s? The lookout for the anti-Vietnam War group that committed a string of bank robberies in the ’60s?
    Drawing a blank, I apologize.

  32. 32.

    TS

    @hueyplong: In Alaska Murkowski won a write in election – against a RWNJ and 100% of her campaign was teaching people how to spell her name – because the GOP running the election were going to make sure she lost based on spelling. She never has to worry about the next election. If she stands, she will win regardless of how she votes in congress.

    Which is not to say she doesn’t deserve thanks for standing up to tRump and the GOP bribes.

  34. 34.

    NotMax

    @Duane

    A mohel performs ritual circumcision. Cut to the chase:

    “Ah, but it’s a very special wallet. When you rub it, it becomes a suitcase!”

  35. 35.

    Felanius Kootea

    Nice Arrested Development reference in the title. “Take me to another place,” indeed.

  39. 39.

    Corner Stone

    @Duane: Ah! The SLA! Of course. Didn’t one of the unindicted co-conspirators get no-billed after she ratted out all her compadres in exchange for going to work for the Canadian government?

  40. 40.

    catclub

    @West of the Cascades:

    blue-state Rs in the House who are almost certainly shitting bricks over the proposal to eliminate the deduction for State and Local taxes. They need that to “increase” revenue to off-set the massive tax cuts for the wealthy, but it will obliterate some of the Rs in blue/purple states (including ones that are heavily gerrymandered like Pennsylvania).

    I think if I looked at the history of the Democrats when they passed a somewhat unpopular bill – Obamacare- running from it does not help. The best choice for those guys is loud and proud.

  43. 43.

    randy khan

    @catclub:

    If tax reform passes with elimination of the state and local tax deduction, they are all dead men walking. And they’ve already started saying no.

  45. 45.

    Shalimar

    Corker isn’t just retiring. He most likely will run for Tennessee governor in the future. Sticking to “conservative principles” helps him in that race, and doesn’t cost him anything.

  46. 46.

    Mel

    @Gin & Tonic: “Discarded vagina skin”???
    How, exactly, would that have been obtained? Assuming that she’s not a human / snake hybrid upcycling her fall molt…

    The mind boggles!

  47. 47.

    Emily68

    @Suzanne: Couldn’t Gov. Douchey get around this by appointing a guy who’s really a Republican but who just switched parties himself to be eligible?

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