Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a far-right Republican from Tennessee, spoke to MSNBC's Chris Jansing about the Republican debt-ceiling crisis yesterday, and the congresswoman said a couple of things that stood out for me.
For one thing, Blackburn kept using one word over and over again: Republicans want to be "thoughtful in what is done." The GOP leadership team will "move forward on this with a very thoughtful plan." Congress should "be very thoughtful," and the process "requires thoughtfulness."
To borrow an Inigo Montoya line, Blackburn keeps using that word, but I do not think it means what she thinks it means.
Not to put too fine a point on this, but there's nothing "thoughtful" about a hostage crisis. Blackburn and her colleagues are threatening to hurt Americans on purpose unless their still-undefined demands are met, and though GOP focus groups may responded well to the word "thoughtful," it doesn't change the fact that Republicans' tactics fall well outside the norms of the American political tradition.
Blackburn's rhetorical strategy seems to be, "If I keep saying we're being 'thoughtful,' maybe the public won't notice how completely insane the hostage strategy really is."
But even putting rhetoric aside, there's a related substantive problem.
Take a look at this exchange:
JANSING: Would you be willing, if you don't get the kind of cuts that you think are necessary, would you be willing to go into default or to shut down the government?
BLACKBURN: I think that there is a way to avoid default. If it requires shutting down certain portions of the government, let's look at that. Let's put these options on the table, be very thoughtful, but get this spending pattern broken. We cannot afford a $4 billion-a-day deficit and trillion-dollar-plus deficits every single year.
For the record, we can afford a $4 billion-a-day deficit and trillion-dollar-plus deficits, and the fact that Blackburn doesn't understand this is discouraging. But what's especially important here is the congresswoman's belief that we can "avoid default" through a kind of partial default, better known as "prioritization."
When Blackburn talked about "shutting down certain portions of the government," she's referencing the notion that the United States would only default on some of its legal obligations. If the debt ceiling is breached next month, the government would be able to pay about 60% of its bills, and what Blackburn and other Republicans are suggesting is that policymakers start deciding which of those bills we pay and which we ignore.
Maybe we keep sending Social Security checks, but tell the FBI to shut down for an indefinite period of time. Perhaps we keep the Pentagon's doors open, but tell the FAA to take a nice long break without pay.
For unhinged conservatives, so long as the United States continues to pay bondholders -- under "prioritization," they'd be at the top of the list -- we could mitigate the damage of a global economic catastrophe.
How very "thoughtful" of them.
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"No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die," said Auric Goldfinger thoughtfully.
Sorry, voted up in error. This doesn't make us look any better.
Daddy Bush was a good President now that is laughable. The only good thing Daddy Bush could do was launch the killing machine to kill kill and bred a family of morons that brought stupidity to the GOP. Daddy Bush’s son was called out as power craving, corrupt, arrogant, a hypocrite, greedy, and deceiving pig. And Daddy Bush’s other sons are just as stupid in those same terms. How does Daddy Bush feel about his junior son going to hell? Of course, who knows good old Daddy Bush will probably join junior there anyway.
I may not be a Republican, but have some respect for a man who just was released from the hospital. George W. Bush was a good president, not great. He raised taxes even though he promised not to because he had to (probably why he lost re-election). He went to a war in the middle east to protect Kuwait, and after kicking Saddam out of Kuwait, he sent the troops home instead of pursuing an ideological war. For that, I give him big props. He may not have been ideologically in the same court as myself, but when I look at the current crop of Republicans, I pine for the days of a practical minded Bush Sr.
All of that said makes me believe he cared more about the American people than his own political party or agenda. This is something that is lacking on both sides of the aisle now a days. Have some decorum and respect for venerable men who served our country, please, if you ever expect the other side to be held accountable to the same standards.
Should we really do that Bolbis, when we even haven't learned the very lessons of history? As a species we just keep repeating the same old things just as an ape without any real thought behind it. We as a species keep claiming we are filled with intelligence and we cannot even learn the things that really matter. Are we as a species deserve to be called intelligent, when it is our very stupidity that keeps causing all these problems? Just as it has been said in that bible that is incomplete about fools and that is in essence the same as dumb, stupid or a moron. Credit should be given when actual credit is deserved, especially as a species we could have been doing things really a lot better than we have. We are just some species trying to crawl out of kindergarten and keep proving we haven’t even really learned a thing to move and advance to something better. We are still more like’s apes than any actual human being with an intelligent working brain. And as typical, when we are still in that same stupid frame of mind that will eventually lead us to a very destructive path and extinction.
Bolbis: you have George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush mixed up. It was George H.W. Bush who kicked Saddam out of Kiwait. It was George W. Bush who invaded Iraq on the pretext of weapons of mass distruction and because the Iraqis threatened his father George H. W. Bush. It was George H.W. Bush who raised taxes and George W. who cut taxes and caused much of our current economic trouble. Geo. H.W. Bush was a tolarablely good president; Geo. W. was one of the worst presidents we have ever had, and that includes Buchannan.
bflynch, I suspect that Bolbis made a typo. I doubt that he would have described HW so well in the way he differed from the shrub and then named him W on purpose.
Ok, how about the first thing we do, is to stop paying the salaries of the members of both houses of Congress, and their staffs, and the pensions of political retrees?
And then we stop paying the military contractors?
You know they won't NOT send out SS, because that would really create a ruckus in their home states and districts.
"Thoughful," my @$$.
"Stupid," is what it is.
Make that "FECKIN' STUPID!!!"
Don't be so sure. By far the easiest "prioritization" to justify legally would be simple FIFO: pay the bills in the order they come due, regardless of the nature. Which means that SS and Medicare, retirement of bonds, etc. would slip about ten days a month (not uniformly, since receipts are not uniform.)
I confess that I am biased on this matter: I believe that spreading the agony evenly this way would be enormously educational to the American public, who have forgotten where all of those goodies come from when they scream about "Obama's runaway spending." It wouldn't take long before the pressure on Congress became unbearable even for the thickest teabugger on the Hill, but the lesson would stick for a long, long time.
My biggest problem here is that NBC (MSNBC) gives airtime to Blackburn without actually pointing out the absurdity of her comments. I'm not asking for 24 hour opinion journalism, but doesn't the public deserve to be informed by informed spokespeople? And if the Republican party simply gets to assign their spokespeople, shouldn't Jansing say something like, "sorry folks, this is who they send us."
I was thinking the same thing . Republicans say earth is flat , Democrats disagree.
Is there no one apart from Jon Stewart and Solidad O'Brian who is not afraid to cal BULL$hit.
Lame stream media indeed
Yeah, effectively the beltway media is just a microphone for politicians to get their message out without any comment by the supposed journalists. All we get is what the horses mouth is saying even if it's an incoherent lying mess. The journalists who would actually call out these people (Maddow, O'Donnel, O'Brian, Stewart, and lets be honest O'Reiley) do not actually get the opposition on their shows and thus the opposition is never actually called out. It's unfortunate because what we really need is for the more left leaning stations to call out Democrats (if and when they actually lie or distort) and the right leaning to do the same.
Don't read this wrong I am absolutely not one of those "both sides do it" people but there are some limited areas where I think Democrats should be called out directly (drone strikes and Gtmo Bay come to mind).
I have this shiny new quarter I am willing to wager that she will NOT appear on MSNBC at 4PM with Martin Bashir.
A man who does NOT suffer fools gladly. (Like Our Miss Rachel!)
Yes I neglected to mention the stalwarts of MSNBC no BS , who everyday attempt to offset the creampuffery and softballs of the "SERIOUS" discussion on the Sunday talk shows .
(Quick , we need to fill a spot- call John McCain)
I think you are looking for a latter day Mel Blanc . After consideration and speaking for the content of Serious People who litter the respectable "public" airwaves ...
"Sorry Folks"
"Thats all"
be nice if they actually participated in thought of any type.
Oh, they do. It's thoughtful concideration of their own needs and wants.
Thoughtfulness about the needs and wants of the citizenry who installed them in these cushy power positions appears to be secondary.
Now they, the House T-Party Republicans, under the brilliant tutelage of Ms. Blackburn, have redefined the word "thoughtful" to mean, "We may have crazy thoughts, but we are thinking them constantly."
"I was being very thoughtful about not funding hurricane relief for Sandy victims. I thought about how NY and NJ are East coast states who vote Democrat. So why should I care to help them? They don't fund my reelection!"
Blackburn... yeah... remember election day... she was saying how women were really connecting with Mittless Romney. She is also one of the Sandy 67 who voted no on the first bill. She is also going after WOMEN, along with Black and Ryan.
"Hi. I don't have a brain. Can you program a bunch of immoral junk into me? Okay, I will do as you wish, no matter how crazy it is."
STUPID.
Jango,
And you can't fix stupid.
India,
I know... but, it feels good to vent. Blackburn is a disgrace to women.
Jango,
Yes, she is. In fact, I'd go so far as to say she is a disgrace to humanity.
Political cretins abound in the House of Representatives - they're known as Tea Partying Republicans!
Blackburn is articulating a mean perspective aimed at Americans she knows not of, and yet wants to judge unworthy so much! She is but a lone example of her political kind who are holed up in the People's House in an ugly, grotesque gerrymandered way! -Kevo
The peoples house being used as a Fauxhole since 2001
Praise the Faux and don't pass the thing that stops what Faux bullet points cannot stop , ideas .
Blackburn is the female version of a Louie Gomert or a Joe Walsh, MSNBC is not the place to let these loons spew their garbage. Send'em back to Fox where they belong.
What is the REAL bottom line on such thoughtful Republican machinations?
"We want cuts"...either they hurt the American people by gutting social safety nets or they hurt the American people by feeling the power of shutting down government. Is this punishment for daring to keep Obama in office?
I agree with CUND as usual...Congress paychecks and benefits and perks should be the first to be shut down. They want to inflict pain, let 'em feel it too, all of 'em.
I'm guessing Blackburn was a Mean Girl in high school.
And an airhead.
And again no one thinks of the government workers affected by this. I can't take a month off, unpaid, of work. I have rent, I have to buy groceries, I have two kitties. The government is seen as this nebulous "oh who cares if the government shuts down" sort of thing, but there are people working their asses of who come in every day scared that these idiots in Congress are just gonna say "good luck" to me next month.
What? You aren't rolling in dough, Katherine?
Aren't you one of the Obama Get-Free-Stuff worshippers, sucking up the money for doing next to nothing? Apparently, you aren't reading the right propaganda to know who privilaged you are...
/total and utter snark/
(PS: the comments underneath linked article lifts the lid on the sewer a bit)
Well, I'm upset cause I don't have one of those vaults like Scrooge McDuck (Mc or Mac? I can't ever remember.) I want to swim through my money!
I hate the whole right-wing vendetta against government workers.
Katherine Lorraine,
I think the sooner we face the fact that they don't give a tinker's damn about the people in this country, the better we and the president will be able to deal with them.
They care about nothing but their reelection and hurting Obama. They are safely ensconced in their districts till 2020. They have no fear of offending anyone in their crazy little enclaves of whack jobs and racists who elected them to obstruct the president. These little hornet's nests agree with them!
Their goal is to destroy our government and replace it with a fantasy they have in their heads about Mayberry RFD. A place that exists only in their fevered imaginations.
Another thought-less GOTP know nothing blathering on with the talking points! One more time - the debt ceiling is to pay for money that has already been spent in a prior year by CONGRESS! To hold America hostage because NOW you don't want to pay for what you've already put on VISA and pretend that NOW WE must "cut" social programs to pay for your largesse is ridiculous!
I'm frankly disgusted by these members of Congress who bleat loudly about bs (equating apples & oranges) and clearly show that they haven't a clue about what their JOB is, how government is supposed to work, or how their decisions impact everyday Americans! By their "logic" the people who are indebted due to (credit cards, medical care, mortgage fiasco, etc.al) shouldn't have to repay their debts either until they can "cut" something out of their household budgets! SMH!
Hey Ms. Blackburn - the next time that Tennessee has a "natural disaster" WE need to be just as "thoughtful" as we contemplate sending money to help with the relief! IDIOT!
How about we turn off electricity and utilities to the Capitol building, tell the facilities staff to take unpaid leave until further notice, and cancel paychecks to any Representative aides on the federal payroll? I know the Constitution makes it unlawful to take any action that prevents Congressmen from getting paid, but that doesn't mean they're entitled to do it in comfort...
The idea that paying only some of your bills is not default is crazy. It means that it is much more risky to lend you money. Why would I lend you money (buy your bond) if I think that you might 'thoughtfully' decide not to pay me back on time? I think I want a much higher interest rate, before I take that risk.
Well put. One thing you forget is that it isn't about reality, it is about a narrative in the media. Ever since the 'death panels' and 'government takeover of healthcare' lies worked, the gloves are off. It is no longer about fact versus fiction it is about how many times and people you can get to say the same thing over and over again until the narrative is believed as truth.
Bolbis,
That's a fact. These lies and half truths have been so promoted by Fox "news", and Rush and the whack jobs on talk radio, that many ignorant, bigoted people in these southern red states have come to believe them.
These people, like Blackburn, are living in a lily white fantasy world where the president is an evil, dark creature who is coming after them. He will take away their 2nd amendment rights, all their guns and prevent them from rolling in the aisles on Sunday morning. He will implement Sharia law! He is a Muslim.
He is anti-American. They must restrain him. They give this a lot of thought.
So do I and it scares me to death to think these people are in our congress.
I met this gene pool years ago, in her very state. The conspiracy then was that we had never sent men to the moon. They believed that. You could not tell them otherwise. I guess this is the second generation of great thinkers.
Shall we ignore the minor detail that the Administration has no legal authority to make those "prioritization" decisions? That doing so is, in fact, an arrogation by the Administration of the powers that the Constitution assigns exclusively to Congress?
Because I freaking well guarantee you that if the Administration does arrogate those powers to itself we'll see a Bill of Impeachment coming out of the House in a figurative eye blink (remember, it only takes a simple majority of the House to bring in that Bill.)
totally agree. well said. in a way it's a bit of an impeachment trap. If he decides what doesn't get paid he's violating an appropriation bill and the budget impoundment act. if he pay everything that comes due he's violating the debt limit. they'l find a way to impeach him anyway.
is this the end of compassionate Republicans
whit apologies to little Cesar
Who are these compassionate Republicans you speak of? Is this an extinct species that has made a re-appearance? I am still scouring the globe for such a thing, and have yet to find one. Let me know where I can find these "compassionate Republicans", please.
watch the kiss of death Richard Widmark comes close
Bolbis:
You will find the*compassionate Republicans* in the ranks of the lately become Democrats and Independents.
Don't leave out her bow to Norquist: "There is the option of government shutdown. There is an option of raising the debt ceiling in short term increments...There is the plan of three dollars in cuts for every dollar of increase."
I wonder if she's thoughtfully considered the option of not sending the government into default and instead taking the spending debate to budget and sequester negotiations where it belongs?
Wow, I just want to punch her in the face.. Another "C#nty McMongoose-Rogers" evil villainess; "Wey-uv got the Cay-en".
I wonder if her, McMongoose-Rogers, Victoria Foxx and Jean Schmidt plan winter weather events together or on their own independently?
This is what l think
The best way to keep our childrens safe in school , just 3 words Security/ Security /Security.
First of all .All those guns nut out there,whoare buying all these weapons of war guns claiming that the Government want to take away their guns ,the could put that money to better used, by giving it to their schthey ool District for better security for there childrens,God forbid those same guns may one day turn on there own family,
If every one would donote some thing to there school district foe security camera foe one or two of the main entries in the school ,one 12 inch monitor foe each class room .plece them on the upper back wall,where only the teacher can see it or glance at it during class,that would be the best respones to danger,so they lock there doord ,But first things they will have to do,is to replace the door with a steel frame door,or a steel sheet on the in side of the door with adead bolt lock on the inside ,l am quite sure the community would go along with that,Keep gun out of teachers hands mWe dont our childrens have to live with nightmare, And also the NRA and the guns labby out,School should be a safe environment for our childrens away from home thnks C Wilson,
She is a MORON and the GOP rolls her out and MSNBC gladly gives her airtime EVERY SINGLE TIME they need a 'credible woman'...BS. Read Plummer today in WONKBOOK.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/14/if-we-hit-the-debt-ceiling-can-obama-choose-which-bills-to-pay/
Would it be impolite for the "journalist" to ask what those demands are? Such as, such as "is the Dept of Education to big"? Should we cut SSI?
I think they're called "follow up" questions..
It would be as useless as when all the other journalists have asked the question.
Ryan: Well, it's too big to really explain right now.
Romney: Well, we would have to work that out.
Boehner: We need the President to lead on these issues.
McConnell: We need REAL spending cuts, the discussion on taxes is over.
Why waste time on expecting them to come out and say what they plan? They just want to deal with it behind tightly closed doors before the public can come unhinged. They figure that if they can get their dirty little tricks passed through the legislature, the public will just give up.
Will we?
These GOP folk think we are stupid and have no shame.
c w West,
Psychologists call that "projection".
Bringing flower is" thoughtful". Baking cookies is "thoughtful". Shutting the Government down? Not "thoughtful".
If these people want to shut the government down, let them start with their own tax payer funded salary and tax payer funded health care. I wonder how long it would take before they realized this is a dumb idea.
Two or three years, I figure. Extrapolating from their other lead -lined, whacky ideas.
Nothing dawns quickly on them.
It is not 'thoughtful" action we need but sensible action. Not all thoughts are reasonable or in line with reality. A lot of people think a lot of crazy things. What we need is logical thought which looks at the facts and the consequences of action.
Although many of the poor would be the first to suffer the consequences of a government default, it is Wall Street and all those who hold government bonds that would lose the most. They might just lose their billions and have to live like the rest of us. When the market crashed in 1929, it was the rich bankers who jumped out of windows because they had lost everything. Not enough is being said about how much the rich would lose because they are the ones who may have some leverage with these idiots they helped elect.