So we have the super committtee members

[nadinbrzezinski]

They are bad. Two tea Partiers in there.

We want tax increases.. Won't happen.

Kiss goodbye to the safety net... Though.

Talk about a rigged game.

[Cleita]

1. They were called a junta today on the radio.

I remember juntas from the days back in the forties and fifties when I lived in Latin America. I remember them and the banana republics they ruled. I guess we have become them.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Lemme see rigged elections,

Go after safety net, and this shit... Yep. It has a familiar feel, doesn't it?

[Selatius]

24. Rigged elections. We haven't progressed to outright suspension of civil liberties yet.

I guess we'll see that when whatever oligarchy assumes power actually has the galls to put troops and tanks on the streets to crush citizen protesters, like Mexico in 1968 when government troops killed several dozen to several hundred protesters of the National Strike Council that year.

[Capitalocracy]

33. Outright suspension of civil liberties is there, it's just better hidden

I mean, yeah, they're not killing people on the streets, but they have such a tight grip on the populace that they don't have to. We can complain on the internets all day long, but until we actually try to do something effective, they don't have to do anything about it. Anyone who does do something effective, like whistleblowers, are practically crucified.

And we have an extremely high incarceration rate, an extremely unfair justice system with ridiculous sentences, and massive slave labor in private, for-profit prisons. And we're basically the only supposedly non-third world nation with no public health care.

I think our civil liberties have been severely limited.

[Capitalocracy]

32. We instated them in Latin America

why not become them?

:hi: from Argentina

[brooklynite]

2. There's a simple solution...

Win back the House and hold the Senate and Presidency.

To do that however, it'll be necessary to support some candidates who, while much more liberal than the Tea Party, are more conservative than you...

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. You might want to check your timelines

These guys need to report well BEFORE the next election... Jayzus the obvious is missed at times.

[brooklynite]

6. You miss my point...

Restoring Democratic control to the Congress would allow the debt limit/deficit cutting bill to be overturned or amended responsibly. Most of the proposed cuts are in the out years and will have limited impact before the 2012 election.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. You miss mine, history does not support your POV

[closeupready]

14. Obama HIMSELF is the one who is pushing "entitlement reform".

So it wouldn't matter if we won back the House - if overturning or amending the debt limit law would make "entitlement reform" a no-go, Obama would NOT support a move from a Democratic Congress. Wake up, man.

[Selatius]

26. What if the extremists purposely deadlock the Super Committee in order to force penalty cuts?

Those cuts are going to be damaging no matter how we look at it. If the committee doesn't come to an agreement, automatic cuts across the board are going to go into effect.

I'm worried that the Super Committee was designed to fail in order to trigger the cuts, that the mere existence of the Committee in the first place was a compromise designed to anesthetize a confused public into thinking things are running fine.

[jtown1123]

5. It's not good and I feel helpless. Not a great feeling n/t

[politicasista]

8. Sorry the favorite liberals were not picked n/t

[starroute]

9. It's not about "favorite liberals"

It's about a committee with a majority of moderately right-wing Democrats and extreme right-wing Republicans.

Forget about "favorite liberals" -- it would be nice just to have a level playing field. And we don't.

[politicasista]

10. "right wing" Democrats LOL!

Yep, Kerry and Murray work for the right wing. :rofl:


Maybe if we would spin more time attacking the GOP, instead of our president and Democrats, we would have progress.

[Ruby the Liberal]

12. you DO get that it only takes a 7-5 vote to put legislation on the floor

with no debate and no amendment, right?

[jtown1123]

31. Notice you didn't say Baucus. It only takes one Blue Dog to pass the recs n/t

[jtown1123]

30. It only takes one Moderate Democrat to go along with the GOP's austerity plan

Way to shit all over me though!

[Marrah_G]

11. This "supercongress" cannot be constitutional

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. It is, new name for old one, Special Committee

it is as legal as the BRAC was.

Not happy to say it but it is.

[Marrah_G]

22. Ugh

It's just sooooooooo wrong.

[MzShantal]

13. THE TROJAN HORSE OF THE SUPER COMMITTEE

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was originally the brainchild of conservative activist and culture warrior Paul Weyrich, a onetime journalist who later coined the term �Moral Majority� for evangelist Jerry Falwell. Weyrich�s original vision was to bring together state legislators who were energized by such social issues as the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights and concerned about what they saw as an overbearing, over-regulating, and over-taxing government.

As Weyrich saw it, liberals had spent decades building up their own infrastructure of foundations, think tanks, and academicians; conservatives had not. And so he simply borrowed their techniques. �I always look at what the enemy is doing and, if they�re winning, copy it,� he told an interviewer at the time.

ALEC�s major benefactors have included:

Alcoholic Beverages

Coors Brewing Company
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Miller Brewing Company
Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc.
Seagram North America

Automobiles

Avis Rent a Car
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Ford Motor Company
General Motors Corporation

Banks/Financial Services

American General Financial Group
American Express Company
Bank of America
Community Financial Services Corporation
Credit Card Coalition
Credit Union National Association, Inc.
Fidelity Investments
Harris Trust & Savings Bank
Household International
LaSalle National Bank
J.P. Morgan & Company
Non-Bank Funds Transmitters Group

Criminal Justice

American Bail Corporation
Corrections Corporation of America
National Association of Bail Insurance Companies
Wackenhut Corrections

Energy Producers/Oil

American Petroleum Institute
Amoco Corporation
ARCO
BP America, Inc.
Caltex Petroleum
Chevron Corporation
ExxonMobil Corporation
Mobil Oil Corporation
Phillips Petroleum Company

Energy Producers/Other

American Electric Power Association
American Gas Association
Center for Energy and Economic Development
Commonwealth Edison Company
Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
Edison Electric Institute
Enron Corporation
Independent Power Producers of New York
Koch Industries, Inc.
Mid-American Energy Company
Natural Gas Supply Association
PG&E Corporation/PG&E National Energy Group
U.S. Generating Company

Health Care

American Physical Therapy Association
Baxter Healthcare Corporation

Insurance

Alliance of American Insurers
Allstate Insurance Company
American Council of Life Insurance
American Insurance Association
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Corporation
Coalition for Asbestos Justice. (This organization
was formed in October 2000 to �explore new
judicial approaches to asbestos litigation.� Its
members include ACE-USA, Chubb & Son,
CNA service mark companies, Fireman�s
Fund Insurance Company, Hartford
Financial Services Group, Inc., Kemper
Insurance Companies, Liberty Mutual
Insurance Group, and St. Paul Fire and
Marine Insurance Company. Counsel to the
coalition is Victor E. Schwartz of the law
firm of Crowell & Moring in Washington,
D.C., a longtime ALEC ally.)
Fortis Health
GEICO
Golden Rule Insurance Company
Guarantee Trust Life Insurance
MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company
National Association of Independent Insurers
Nationwide Insurance/National Financial
State Farm Insurance Companies
Wausau Insurance Companies
Zurich Insurance

Law/Lobbying

Skelding, Labasky, Corry, Hauser, Metz & Daws
Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker

Manufacturing

American Plastics Council
Archer Daniels Midland Corporation
AutoZone, Inc. (aftermarket automotive parts)
Cargill, Inc.
Caterpillar, Inc.
Chlorine Chemistry Council
Deere & Company
Fruit of the Loom
Grocery Manufacturers of America
Inland Steel Industries, Inc.
International Game Technology
International Paper
Johnson & Johnson
Keystone Automotive Industries
Motorola, Inc.
Procter & Gamble
Sara Lee Corporation

Media

American Lawyer Media, Inc.
R.R. Donnelly & Sons Company
Primedia, Inc.
The Washington Times

Pharmaceuticals

Abbott Laboratories
Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Bayer Corporation
Eli Lilly & Company
GlaxoSmithKline
Glaxo Wellcome, Inc.
Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc.
Merck & Company, Inc.
Pfizer, Inc.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America (PhRMA)
Pharmacia Corporation
Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc.
Schering-Plough Corporation
Smith, Kline & French
WYETH, a division of American Home
Products Corporation

Restaurants

McDonald�s Corporation
Wendy�s International, Inc.

Technology

America Online
Americans for Technology Leadership
Intel Corporation
KeySpan
Microsoft Corporation
TechCentralStation.com

Telecommunications

AT&T
Ameritech
BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.
GTE Corporation
MCI
National Cable and Telecommunications Association
SBC Communications, Inc.
Sprint
UST Public Affairs, Inc.
Verizon Communications, Inc.

Tobacco

Cigar Association of America, Inc.
Lorillard Tobacco Company
Philip Morris Management Corporation
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
Smokeless Tobacco Council

Transportation

Air Transport Association of America
American Trucking Association
The Boeing Company
United Airlines
United Parcel Service

Other

Amway Corporation
Cabot Sedgewick
Cendant Corporation
Corrections Corporation of America
Dresser Industries
Federated Department Stores
International Gold Corporation
Mary Kay Cosmetics
Microsoft Corporation
Newmont Mining Corporation
Quaker Oats
Sears, Roebuck & Company
Service Corporation International
Taxpayers Network, Inc.
Turner Construction
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Organizations/Foundations

Adolph Coors Foundation
Ameritech Foundation
Bell & Howell Foundation
Carthage Foundation
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation
ELW Foundation
Grocery Manufacturers of America
Heartland Institute of Chicago
The Heritage Foundation
Iowans for Tax Relief
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee
National Pork Producers Association
National Rifle Association
Olin Foundation
Roe Foundation
Scaiffe Foundation
Shell Oil Company Foundation
Smith Richardson Foundation
Steel Recycling Institute
Tax Education Support Organization
Texas Educational Foundation
UPS Foundation

[DevonRex]

15. Reid always appoints Baucus to at least slow down any progressive agenda, too.

Remember January 2009 when he said he doesn't work for Obama? Well he also said that the worst thing democrats could do is to move too quickly to the left. Remember how much Baucus slowed down HCR? That's why he got that assignment.

This time he'll do the same thing and we could get those triggers.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. That's my thinking

and triggers will NOT hit DOD anyway... they will protect it. Dying empires are so damn predictable.

[DevonRex]

19. But it's not just ours.

What worries me is that GB will go into recession because they made such huge cuts. What's up with that? At least we know that the right in this country has always been against entitlements. But GB? Used to be that their fiscal Righties were more sane than ours.

I'd be much less worried if cutting debt weren't a global craze right now, emphasizing cuts rather than revenue increases.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Here is the explanation

Ill Fares the Land

http://www.amazon.com/Ill-Fares-Land-Tony-Judt/dp/1594202761

Tony Judt explains it in detail... but essentially kids really do not get it why they need to spend all that.. their parents did and had all the services, The kids are not connecting,

[mmonk]

16. Dictatorship is so messy sometimes.

[Horse with no Name]

20. Seriously. The party is definitely over.

I don't feel that there is anyone that represents one iota of what is important to me and mine.

[Javaman]

23. I call it the unelected 4th branch of our government.

if there ever was a group of halfwits that will rule by fiat, it's them.

[spanone]

25. pelosi hasn't appointed her three, has she?

[Eddie Haskell]

27. Evil personified!

I spoke with a friend who's an expert on Constitutional law. He feels the super committee is illegal.

[closeupready]

28. I do, too. It's an attempt by Congress to shirk their Constitutional responsibilities.

It should be thrown out of court, and I hope it is.

[Johonny]

29. The Dems should let them put their wettest fantasy on congresses floor

Vote in mass against it, then let Obama veto that crap. Then watch the 2012 election results :) If they had smart leadership they'd use the super congress to politically destroy the Republicans at the polls next year.