timeline of US debt

[anon87311]

www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_08/a_timeline_of_events031362.php

granted, it doesn't cover everything, but it's not meant to do so

[RavynousHunter]

Best quote outta there:

There have been several instances since the mid 1990s in which I genuinely believed Republican politics couldn’t possibly get more blisteringly ridiculous. I was wrong; they just keep getting worse.

THANK YOU.

[verasthebrujah]

Sad truth of a republic: the people can't follow what happens all the time-- there is just too much. In electoral politics, what you do is far less important than the narrative that you present, and the Republicans have been far more successful in recent decades at establishing the narrative.

So, they constantly engage in fiscally irresponsible behavior, while condemning Democrats for being fiscally irresponsible. All most voters see is Republicans accusing Democrats of being fiscally irresponsible. This is why the estate tax is now called the "death tax" and taxing the rich is referred to as taxing "job creators."

[booley]

Aug 7, 2011 13:48:43 GMT -5 RavynousHunter said:

Best quote outta there:

There have been several instances since the mid 1990s in which I genuinely believed Republican politics couldn’t possibly get more blisteringly ridiculous. I was wrong; they just keep getting worse.

THANK YOU.

I disagree.

I think this was the best even though it is a bit long..

Have you tried discussing anything with a wingnut in the last few years? Do you know what will happen if you show Benen's post in it's entirety to a wingnut? Answer: they'll laugh at you. They'll note that S&P also said the U.S. failed to address the DEBT problem satisfactorily. They'll deny Reagan's responsibility. They'll blame all the problems on the last two years, and only attribute blame to Obama and/or the safety net. They'll ignore the fact that by 2010 the country would be debt free had it not been for the Bush policies. They'll simply not pay any mind to Benen's post. (One reason is Benen didn't include the things in S&P's statement that could be used against Democrats, though it would have to be done disingenuously.)

Don't believe me? Then try posting Benen's post in the comments section of a related article on the Washington Post.

The only way the facts are ever going to make a dent in things is if Democrats get a pair of balls, and go after Republicans with some tenacity. And they'll need to do it in places that aren't their comfort zone. MSNBC won't get it done. I'm thinking they ought to take it to daytime TV, as godawful as that is.

That republicans are good with the economy and Democrats are profligate spenders has become a faith based argument. The only facts allowed are those thats support the argument.

Just like with creationism or climate change denial.

And I think we all know what arguing with those guys is like.

[the sandman]

Here's what the GOP candidates have said about the US credit downgrade:

Michelle "The Flake" Bachman:
"We were warned by all of the credit agencies that a failure to deal with our debt would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating, but instead he submitted a budget that had a $1.5 trillion deficit and then requested a $2.4 trillion blank check. President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time. I call on the President to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with a list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.”

Yeah, you crazy bitch, because cutting Social Security, Medicare, and social spending to the bone and beyond will TOTALLY put people back to work. Hey, Earth to Bachman! You can't fix the debt problem handed to us by Reagan/Bush/Baby Bush by crossing your fingers and wishing.

You want to "Balance the budget" this year with cuts? OK. End the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan RIGHT NOW. That would do it. Oh, but we CAN'T because those are messes we can't just walk away from. And neither are any of the other things you want to cut.

Mitt "The Pit" Romney:
“America’s creditworthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama’s failed record of leadership on the economy. Standard & Poor’s rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country’s decline under President Obama. His failed policies have led to high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, and now, the unprecedented loss of our nation’s prized AAA credit rating. Today, President Obama promised that ‘things will get better.’ But it has become increasingly clear that the only way things will get better is with new leadership in the White House.”

Yeahhhhhh....except that the policies in place currently are not Obama's. Congress has effectively blocked any real change from Republican Reaganomics. And you think that the best way to fix the horrible mess handed to us by Bush is to put another Bush in the White House. Honestly, if the American people are stupid enough to hand the keys back to you people, we deserve everything we get.

Jon "Pick Me!" Huntsman:
“Out-of-control spending and a lack of leadership in Washington have resulted in President Obama presiding over the first downgrade of the United States credit rating in our history. For far too long we have let reckless government spending go unchecked and the cancerous debt afflicting our nation has spread. We need new leadership in Washington committed to fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and job-friendly policies to get America working again.”

I kind of agree, to be honest. But the "reckless government spending" is the asinine wars started by dickless Bush, not Social Security and Medicare. If you fucknut Republicans hadn't let Bush-Cheny assrape the entire national finances for their little Middle East pissing contests, the budget would be balanced and the US deficit may well have been GONE a year ago.

But no, let's blame Obama instead.

OK, after you have finished raging at their sheer balls (especially Bachman), you will notice a few things...

All three candidates are blaming Obama for the downgrade, despite the fact that the entire situation was manufactured by Republicans for political purposes, despite the fact that it was the obstructionist and utterly unreasonable refusal of the Republican party to negotiate in good faith that led to the downgrade, and despite the fact that S&P specifically stated that it was the lack of new revenue that resulted in the downgrade...new revenue that Obama was pushing for but the Republicans directly and specifically blocked.

If Congress had gone along with even some of Obama's plans, then there would have been no downgrade. The credit downgrade is absolutely, obviously, provably, demonstrably, and utterly the fault of Tea Party Republicans and the moderate Republicans who were too spineless to say anything. Yet they are all loudly and shamelessly blaming Obama for it.

This is what makes me more furious than anything else. They piss on your head, swear to you it's raining, and when they get caught with their dicks out, they insist that it was Obama doing it all along.

[ironbite]

It's amazing the type of disconnect these people have with the rest of reality.

Ironbite-it really is.

[anon87311]

yeah, but they're experts in denying reality.


Still, I'm disappointed in them. in both parties, for being failures. Screw the republicans for stopping everything anyone else wants to do, and screw the dems for not taking a stand.

[Radiation]

So does this mean that Social Security and Medicare are still gonna get cuts, cause that sucks.

Hopefully in the next elections people will see the fiasco that the Republicans have done with the debt ceiling and get smart and vote Obama back in, because honestly, I think that man is trying his hardest and damndest to get this shit straightened out but is surrounded by a bunch of water heads that oppose him at every chance.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Rad, you know full well that the American voters have a worse memory than goldfish are purported to have. The time that matters is six months prior to elections.

[HarleyThomas1002]

Would anything even change if Obama was re-elected? I'd like to think so, but there's a good chance it'll just be another four years of the same crap going on.

[MaybeNever]

The Democratic Party in general is pretty much like the Weimar Republic of Germany: powerless, rife with internal divisions, beset by domestic enemies, and entirely preferable to what is likely to replace it.

[Radiation]

Aug 7, 2011 23:16:37 GMT -5 Napoleon the Clown said:

Rad, you know full well that the American voters have a worse memory than goldfish are purported to have. The time that matters is six months prior to elections.

True.

Still if shit keeps going like this we might have some kind of revolution on our hands in the future.

[ltfred]

Aug 7, 2011 23:58:40 GMT -5 MaybeNever said:

The Democratic Party in general is pretty much like the Weimar Republic of Germany: powerless, rife with internal divisions, beset by domestic enemies, and entirely preferable to what is likely to replace it.

And totally economically incompetant.

I think this wins the thread. Best comparison I've seen all year.

[ltfred]

Aug 7, 2011 21:18:57 GMT -5 the sandman said:

Michelle "The Flake" Bachman:
"We were warned by all of the credit agencies that a failure to deal with our debt would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating, but instead he submitted a budget that had a $1.5 trillion deficit and then requested a $2.4 trillion blank check. President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time. I call on the President to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with a list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.”

Which does she want? Recovery and employment or austerity? You can't have both.

[tolpuddlemartyr]

Aug 7, 2011 23:16:37 GMT -5 Napoleon the Clown said:

Rad, you know full well that the American voters have a worse memory than goldfish are purported to have. The time that matters is six months prior to elections.

For evidence click link in OP.