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| Supercommittee Wants to Get Things Done |
| 2011-08-14 |
| Skepticism that they will reach a mutually acceptable agreement is running high. But in their early public comments since receiving the assignment, several of the lawmakers appointed to the panel have sounded unexpectedly eager to find common ground -- and to avoid taking the kind of rigid stands that would be difficult to rescind once negotiations begin. "Look, I think this supercommittee is about as dumb an idea as Washington has come up with in my lifetime," Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said at the Iowa Republican debate last week. Unelectable, but not a moron. "The idea that 523 senators and congressmen are going to sit around for four months while 12 brilliant people, mostly picked for political reasons, are going to sit in some room and brilliantly come up with a trillion dollars or force us to choose between gutting our military and accepting a tax increase is irrational," he said. It is good news for the 511 remaining, who get to sit on their keesters and laugh. The group's 12 members are veterans who were chosen in part because of their close bonds with House and Senate leaders. They include the chairmen of the tax-writing committees in both the House and Senate, a former Democratic presidential nominee and a former budget director for President George W. Bush. For the most part, they are considered neither firebrands given to heated rhetoric nor mavericks likely to make a deal without the approval of their respective party caucuses. In Seattle, Sen. Patty Murray (Dim-Wash.), the group's Democratic chairwoman, pleaded that the panel be given time and space to do its work. "We need time and space to raise taxes!" Gene Clem, president of the Southwest Michigan Tea Party Patriots, said he would tell Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), a supercommittee member, "to come up with real solutions and put the politics aside." Last year, Upton faced a tough primary challenge from a local Michigan tea partyer who argued that Upton was too moderate on spending issues. Now, Clem said he wants Upton and other panel members to eliminate tax loopholes and corporate subsidies -- even if that results in higher revenue for the government -- provided tax rates are lowered overall and entitlements are also cut. We've been headed down this road since LBJ turned left in 1966; maybe it's time to get off the road and on to another route. "Maybe that's where the tea party needs to be," Clem said. "To bring the two sides together where there needs to be agreement. Like the parent, to bang their heads together." Somebody's got to act like a grown-up! |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #11 In the old days, a President Perry or Romney would have made Newt the Postmaster-General, just to have him around for generating ideas and keep him out of the way otherwise. That's why we've moved to the new, modern, up-to-date position of Tsar. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2011-08-14 20:29 |
| #10 I didn't hear a harumpf from that man! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2011-08-14 18:17 |
| #9 In the old days, a President Perry or Romney would have made Newt the Postmaster-General, just to have him around for generating ideas and keep him out of the way otherwise. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2011-08-14 16:31 |
| #8 I have to agree with Dennis Miller. Newt is not really running for President, Newt is stamping his brand. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-08-14 15:29 |
| #7 Newt's got a curious problem. The more unelectable people think he is, the more unelectable he is. The more debates he appears in, the more he sounds like the only mature adult with ideas that work and are basically acceptable by most of those who think he's unelectable. He's still unelectable, but it will be very useful for the GOP to keep him visible for as long as possible. |
| Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division 2011-08-14 14:08 |
| #6 How do I see it? Kerry's on it. The end. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-08-14 14:02 |
| #5 I thought we already had a committee, It's called Congress. Boy, has this government strayed from it's legitimacy. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-08-14 13:35 |
| #4 If I understand things correctly, which I doubt, the next encounter of the fecal material with the rotary device occurs on September 30, when the 2011 fiscal year ends and the Congress either has to pass a budget or pass continuing resolutions to keep the government operating (or not.). For those Rantburgers too young to remember when the US government had a budget, a quick Google search will fill you in. |
| Posted by: Matt 2011-08-14 12:08 |
| #3 Two wolves arguing about how to cut up the sheep. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-08-14 11:32 |
| #2 Of the 535 senators and congresscritters, 12 are on the committee and the other 523 are also going to sit around for four, or fifteen, months depoending on your perspective. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2011-08-14 11:00 |
| #1 the appointments of Clyburn, Becerra, Murray indicate the Dems are not serious about this. What? Moran or Boxer weren't available? |
| Posted by: Frank G on the road 2011-08-14 10:34 |