US government shutdown - your thoughts?

[safeorigin]

PRINCETON, NJ -- Amid the government shutdown, 60% of Americans say the Democratic and Republicans parties do such a poor job of representing the American people that a third major party is needed. That is the highest Gallup has measured in the 10-year history of this question. A new low of 26% believe the two major parties adequately represent Americans.

Trend: Perceived Need for a Third Major U.S. Political Party

The results are consistent with Gallup's finding of more negative opinions of both parties since the shutdown began, including a new low favorable rating for the Republican Party, and Americans' widespread dissatisfaction with the way the nation is being governed.

The prior highs in perceived need for a third party came in August 2010, shortly before that year's midterm elections, when Americans were dissatisfied with government and the Tea Party movement was emerging as a political force; and in 2007, when the newly elected Democratic congressional majority was clashing with then-President George W. Bush.

A majority of Americans have typically favored a third party in response to this question. Notably, support has dropped below the majority level in the last two presidential election years in which Gallup asked the question, 2012 and 2008. Support for a third party was lowest in 2003, the first year Gallup asked the question. That year, 40% thought the U.S. needed a third party, while 56% believed the Republicans and Democrats were doing an adequate job.

In U.S., Perceived Need for Third Party Reaches New High

drum roll please...

[uls]

this is what happens when you play brinksmanship and lose

the other side becomes bolder

the Democrats, seeing how badly beaten up the Republicans are at the polls, now want automatic spending cuts that kicked in this year reversed

Talks to End Shutdown, Raise Debt Ceiling Deadlocked - ABC News

Oct 13, 2013 8:25am

Talks on ending the government shutdown and preventing default have once again deadlocked, but this time it is Democrats who are demanding changes to current law as a condition for ending the impasse.

With the two sides now negotiating to extend government funding until at least January 31, Democrats are now insisting on spending increases — they want to end most of the cuts put in place as part of the so-called sequester. Democrats are still willing to accept a short-term deal to reopen the government at sequester spending levels (the Senate, of course, passed a 6-week extension on those terms), but now that talks are centered on funding the government into 2014, they are insisting on undoing some of sequester cuts. To Republicans, this is a non-starter, unless the sequester spending cuts are replaced with cuts to entitlement programs — and that is a non-starter for Democrats.

The impasse makes it more likely there will be no agreement when markets reopen Monday morning. If an agreement is not soon reached, it may be impossible to pass anything before October 17, the day the Treasury Department says the government risks default if Congress does not extend the government’s ability to borrow money.

[CVT]

The American War Cemetery in Taguig City was also shutdown when we passed by that area yesterday....



21.3K:loopy:

[Monseratto]

https://www.facebook.com/JonStewartF...ed_target_id=0

[uls]

On Oct 17 the US Treasury can no longer borrow money by issuing bonds

[Monseratto]

[niky]

Goodbye two party state. Hello communism/fascism.

[Monseratto]

Shutdown powerplay update...

Q&A: THE STATE OF PLAY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

What were the House Republicans offering?

House Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders wanted to raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7 and end the shutdown by funding the government through Dec. 15. They proposed virtually no spending cuts but also no increases. Their plan would have canceled special Obamacare-related insurance subsidies for the president, vice president, political appointees, members of Congress, and all their staffers. They had already given up on demanding a repeal, delay or defunding of the entire Obamacare law.

What do Senate Democrats want?

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid wants the same debt-ceiling time-frame, but prefers to fund the government through Jan. 15. The Senate plan would also require a joint House/Senate committee to find a longer-term solution by Dec. 13. Reid wants to roll back the March 2013 'sequester' budget cuts, adding approximately $100 billion in new spending, mostly on entitlements. His proposal would also delay a 'reinsurance' plan that could cost labor unions $63 per year for each employee they cover

What changed on Tuesday?

GOP efforts in the House stalled when conservatives announced they wouldn't support any deal that failed to cut government spending or significantly weaken Obamacare, two measures that would be 'dead on arrival' in the liberal-controlled Senate. President Obama had earlier told House Democratic leaders he would veto any bill that stripped Obamacare subsidies from senior government executives – including himself – and their staffers. Republicans also nixed their plan for a two-year delay on a controversial medical device tax slated to raise $30 billion for Obamacare.

What's likely to happen before the Treasury Department's Oct. 17 debt deadline?

House Republicans could still call a vote on their plan if conservatives back down or moderates beef up their offering with more tea party-friendly language, but that's unlikely. The Senate will likely vote to pass a package by Wednesday, dropping the hot potato back in Republicans' laps. Senate conservatives, however, would still block a vote in that chamber by refusing to end debate 'by unanimous consent.' If a tea party senate like Ted Cruz or Mike lee were to object, a super-majority of 60 senators would be needed to call a final vote. That scenario will depend on what's in the Senate's final bill.

Why would Senate Republicans go along with Reid and the Democrats?

Mitch McConnell and most other Republican senators believe Republicans should focus on the 2016 election and re-establish their majority before focusing on cutting government spending or derailing Obamcare. They tend to scoff at more strident Republicans who stir up controversy because polls generally show the public blames Republicans for the resulting fallout.

Why were Democrats so angry at Boehner on Tuesday?

Until Tuesday morning, the Senate's proposal was the only one with any momentum so Harry Reid believed the House would settle for making minor amendments to his plan. But on Monday night Texas Sen. Ted Cruz -- a tea-party darling loathed by liberals -- met secretly with a group of conservative House members and urged them to stand their ground. After that contingent spoke during a Republican policy meeting Tuesday morning, Boehner announced that he wouldn't be passive. Democrats understood that Cruz temporarily outflanked them by working with members of the other house of Congress, an unconventional move that they didn't anticipate.

Will the U.S. really reach economic Armageddon on Thursday of a deal isn’t reached?

The U.S. has actually been spending past its official debt limit since mid-May 2013, and few in Washington believe that the sky will fall on Oct. 17 if Congress fails to find a solution. Tax revenues are $240 billion every month, compared to just $18 billion in interest on the national debt. So the government will have what the Treasury Department needs to satisfy America's creditors for weeks, if not months, and conservatives like how the government shutdown has served as an illustration that some expensive government programs are 'non-essential.' Only the president can order the Treasury to skip interest payments. But if bond ratings agencies jump the gun and downgrade U.S. creditworthiness, the effect in the markets could be the same even if there's no real default.

Read more: 'Armageddon' comes Thursday, warns banking chief, as House GOP and Senate Democrats spar | Mail Online
Follow us: *MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[uls]

it's over

U.S. House passes bill to reopen government, increase debt limit | Reuters

WASHINGTON | Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:20pm EDT
(Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives late on Wednesday passed legislation to avoid a damaging default on government debt and to reopen federal agencies shuttered when funding ran out on October 1.

The House vote came hours after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill. President Barack Obama earlier on Wednesday said he will promptly sign the bill into law.

[roninblade]

looks like obamacare came through relatively untouched and the republicans have conceded defeat

read the first part of the article here

~snip~

But under the compromise just passed, the law commonly known as Obamacare escapes relatively unscathed.

"We fought the good fight," Republican House Speaker John Boehner said in an interview with an Ohio radio station. "We just didn't win."

Meanwhile, the political autopsy has already begun.

"This has been a really bad two weeks for the Republican Party," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said.

Senator John McCain, who was the party's 2008 presidential nominee, told the upper chamber it had been "one of the more shameful chapters I have seen in the years I have spent here in the Senate".