Types of Government - Higher Level

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This Is What Broken Government Looks Like

Reps. Cory Gardner, Mike Coffman, Scott Tipton, and Doug Lamborn.

Politico:

In the end, it wasn’t only hard-line GOP conservatives that sank Speaker John Boehner’s plan to reopen the federal government and lift the $16.7 trillion debt limit.

The Ohio Republican, battered from three years of intra-party battles, was caught between at least three different GOP factions as he tried to craft a compromise agreement: Republicans who didn’t want to slash government health care contributions for Capitol Hill aides, members who thought repealing the medical device tax was a giveaway to corporate America and conservatives, who thought Republican leaders were too soft on Obamacare.

Boehner was unable to craft a deal that would satisfy all of the groups, forcing him to shelve his plan and show the world — again — just how hard it is for him to rule the raucous House Republican Conference.

Reportedly, GOP House leadership did not even attempt a whip count to gauge support for their latest "offer" to reopen the government, which included nonstarters like the repeal of the Affordable Care Act's medical device tax, and were dismayed to learn they didn't have the votes to pass it. The medical device tax has been floated a few times in negotiations with Democrats, but in each case it has come off the table as too great a concession. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's negotiations with Republican leader Mitch McConnell are once again on the front burner–a deal that will contain far less in the way of concessions to Republicans. It's an unknown whether House Speaker John Boehner will allow that bill a floor vote, though it would likely pass with mostly Democratic support in the form presently described.

Boehner's failure to pass a bill articulating a clear Republican position, with only hours remaining before the ongoing GOP-engineered fiscal crisis dramatically worsens with the expiration of the nation's borrowing authority, lays bare the enormous political disaster this situation has become for the Republican Party. The tactic of shutting down the government and threatening to default on the nation's credit obligations, over a law passed three years ago and upheld by the Supreme Court, was never considered legitimate by the public. As the shutdown wore on, vulnerable Republicans like Colorado's Rep. Mike Coffman tried to publicly back away, but couldn't ultimately do so while simultaneously maintaining the party line in Washington, DC. And now, each successive poll shows the public turning more lopsidedly against Republicans.

Today, Boehner can't even get the House Republicans who brought us to this moment to pass a bill. They can't agree on what they want in order to end the crisis the voting public believes they manufactured, but we now wait with the government shut for over two weeks, and default around the corner, for them to figure it out. Or agree to what grownups in the Senate cobble together to let them save face. Or go home and cry to their local "Tea Party." Or whatever. We're not sure how you describe what's happening, but it's the antonym of the word "leadership."

What they need to do most, either on their own or with voters' help next November, is get out of the way.

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Government Shutdown Day 16 Open Thread

"Only dead fish go with the flow."

–Sarah Palin

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Government Shutdown Day 15 Open Thread

"All nonsense questions are unanswerable."

–C. S. Lewis 

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Government Shutdown Day 14 Open Thread

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Government Shutdown Day 12-13 Open Thread

"The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision."

–Helen Keller 

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Government “Slimdown” Day 11 Open Thread

"So now there are rumors, and I'm not even comfortable passing the rumors along. There are rumors that the Republicans are getting ready to cave on everything after they've presented their piecemeal thing here on the debt limit. They're ready to just walk away from everything now, and I don't know why. I don't know what the thinking is."

–Rush Limbaugh, yesterday

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Government Shutdown Day 9 Open Thread

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Government Shutdown Day 10 Open Thread

To return to the topic of talk radio before Jason logs in with the latest "I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that talk radio hosts do not question republican guests."

Talk Radio outlets in the United States are approximately 90% conservative outlets.

This monopoly allows Republicansto do the following:

1) Consolidate the conservative base – talk radio demographics swing toward older people, who are rapidly becoming more conservative…

2) Feedback on talking points-talk radio gets callers when hosts can stir up anger…

so one can hear the same arguments from hosts across the radio band, nationally and locally.  Propagandists can fine tune their message by listening to the kind of response the talking points are getting….and adjust accordingly.  Democratics have not such feedback loop, except some sorry excuses for "push polls" and focus groups.  Conservative hosts also consistently reinforce what callers are saying…this gives the illustion to conservatives that they are being "listened to," and are an important part of the political process and party.

(None of the emails that I receive daily from top democrats…whom I am supposed to be really, really, impressed with because they address me by my first name…..allow a reply…..they all have, however, a link to give money…..even Jon Stewart screemed the othe night to dems, etc.."Stop sending me emails.)

3) GOTV…this is the most important in low turnout elections…ie. mid-term….ie. 2010.

4) Radio becomes important if and when people are in the car and heeding warning not to text or use cphones…..the casual listeners turns on the radio to get traffic and weather….and hears conservative talking points, also.  Since, there is absolutely no opposing views expressed, the casual listeners may think the talking points are valid or are even "news."

 And while we are focused on the "crazies"….remember that Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to mention four big northern states that voted for Obama but who have republican controlled legislatures and statehouses…all benefit from the conservative megaphone that is talk radio.

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Government Shutdown Day 8 Open Thread

"Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever."

–Francois de La Rochefoucauld 

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Government Shutdown Day 7 Open Thread

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

"I think, personally, it would bring stability to the world markets."

–Ted Yoho (R-FL) [on breaching the debt ceiling]

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Government Shutdown Day 5-6 Open Thread

"All morons hate it when you call them a moron."

–J. D. Salinger 

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Government “Slimdown” Day 4 Open Thread

"I actually think that the Democrats are showing signs of losing it in this shutdown. I really do."

–Rush Limbaugh, yesterday

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Government Shutdown Day 3 Open Thread

"The whole country is one vast insane asylum and they're letting the worst patients run the place."

–Robert W. Welch, Jr.

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Government Shutdown Day 2 Open Thread

This is the Tea Party strategy as I see it.

1)  Just about a week ago, Cruz did his 21 hour rant against Obamacare.  This did two things-Put Cruz in the spotlight and highlighted the arguments against Obamacare.

On the same day, tea party people fired a shot across the bow of the “Republican elite,” charging them with “thwarting the will of the people” and intimating them with the possibility of tea party challenges, not just in district elections, but for party positions.

The goal was to force Boehner into a “no compromise” position on defunding Obamacare or to delay funding for a year, in the Continuing Resolutions that the House sent to the Senate. And, to convince Boehner not to allow a vote on the “clean” CR from the Senate.  Cruz lobbied Republicans in the House and by Saturday, he had cowed Boehner, who is now on board with that strategy.

The Republicans are talking about a “united front” behind Cruz with Boehner supporting the Cruz/tea party faction.  Cruz was all over Sunday talk shows consolidating his position.

 (Evidently, there are enough Democratic and Republican votes in the House to pass the Senate clean CR resolution; but allowing that vote would cost Boehner his Speakership.  I don’t understand the latter contention because I don’t understand what the “rogue” Republicans would do….the “rogue” Republicans are now the moderates, like Peter King.)

The first part of the Tea Party strategy was successful.

2) The second part of the strategy was to allow the government shut down. 

3) The third part of the strategy is to capitalize on the glitches in the Obama care new health insurance “exchanges” and the increase in some premiums and other problems attributed to Obama Care.  Talk radio is critical to this PR effort.  Yesterday, the lines

were open all day as people called in to complain about crashing websites and in comprehensible instructions.  The goal here was to create public opinion that Obamacare

was so awful that the republicans were right to try and defund or postpone its implementation.

I am not so sure that this is working.  People are frustrated with the technological problems, but, my sense is that the public wants the problems fixed NOW without anymore delays.  This is strategy that may backfire on the Republicans.

4) The ongoing House republican strategy now is to:

  – Influence public opinion by sending small funding bills to the Senate that would fund popular programs…such as VA services and National Parks.  It is anticipated that Reid would not allow such bills to come to the Senate floor and the repubs would then publicize Reid’s refusal.

-Attempt to break the solidarity among Democrats in the Senate by “pealing off”

One or two vulnerable Democratic Senators with such bills.  Joe Manchin of West Virginia is sent as one potential break away.

-Work to shift blame from Congress to the President, i.e. “ The President won’t negotiate and won’t intervene to help break the deadlock.”  Chris Christie, certainly not a Tea Party favorite, but part of the new “United Front” initiated this campaign by his attack on Obama, yesterday, for not “being in charge.”  (Talk radio is reporting that Obama wanted to get Reid and Boehner together in the White House and Reid refused.  This may not be factual, but it is the kind of rumor that can be spread via talk radio.)

President Obama is scheduled for a trip to the Far East shortly. If he leaves the country, with the government shut-down and Congress in deadlock, I predict, the public will turn against him and with that, the dems will lost all leverage.

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Government Shutdown Day 1 Open Thread

"You can't make anything idiot proof because idiots are so ingenious."

–Ron Burns

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Do Ken Buck, Owen Hill Back Government Shutdown over Obamacare?

Ken Buck, Owen Hill, Randy Baumgardner’s ‘stache.

The Hill newspaper noted that nearly every Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014 supports Republican efforts to sacrifice the entire federal budget at the Tea Party altar in hopes of defunding Obamacare. As The Hill noted, there appear to be few 2014 candidates in opposition:

Two notable exceptions are former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) and Alaska Lieutenant Gov. Mead Treadwell (R), who have not fully embraced the efforts.

Rounds applauded the House bill, but he didn’t go as far as saying he’d be willing to have the government shut down in order to force the issue.

"I support the House CR — keep government running and shut down ObamaCare,” he said. “We don't know what (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid will do to the CR on the Senate side, but it's a fight worth having. This is a prime example of the importance of Republicans recapturing the Senate in 2014."

Treadwell, who is facing Miller, said he supports “any attempt to defund and repeal ObamaCare” but that “shutting down the government is not a good idea.” [Pols emphasis]

Not mentioned by The Hill, however, is how Colorado Senate candidates Ken Buck, Owen Hill, and Randy Baumgardner's mustache think about the budget sacrifice. Both Buck and Hill have signed a petition from the Senate Conservatives Fund to "defund Obamacare" (we just assume nobody bothered to ask Baumgardner), but neither have been publicly chatty about whether they support shutting down the entire federal government as a strategy to try to get there.

Do Buck and Hill have both feet firmly off the fiscal cliff, or are they just peering over the edge and maintaining a link to reason?

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Local Government Guide to Social Media - 2012 FACC Summer Academy

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