Heh.

I do believe that there is something in the Constitution that says something about faithfully executing all the laws..

Would ya'all have let Bush get away with this kind of crap, simply to serve a political agenda??

We both know the answer to that...

Michale
158

I salute your use of the hand grenade metaphor. Explosive!

:-)

Michale [4] -

Because the Democrats in the Senate have not been doing their jobs.

Let's call a spade a spade here..

Also, because the Republicans have refused to even talk about compromising.

Spade, meet spade. In spades, so to speak:

Part 1

Part 2

The ONLY convictions they have are the criminal type. Past, Present and Future...

Mark Twain (attributed): "America has no permanent criminal class. Except, of course, Congress."

You're welcome. Heh.

[8] -

See, this is truly a non-partisan idea. Elections should matter! Fight for what you believe (both sides!), right before people vote on you!

Common ground, my friend, common ground...

TheStig [9] -

OK, big points for using both "pol" and "poll" in one sentence! Heh.

Wasn't it Tip O'Neill (sp?) who wrote the book on "All Politics Is Local"?

:-)

Michale [10] -

Context is all. The celebration was closer to an Irish wake (see: pretty much any video of the crowd) than a grim Protestant funeral here at home. Context.

I am interested, though, what you thought of the Raul Castro handshake?

[11] -

You mean, like the Constitution says the president should be able to?

Heh.

-CW

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/us/politics/senate-confirms-georgetown-law-professor-to-powerful-appeals-court.html?_r=0

Now ya know...

And there is no bottom in sight...

Dems will reap what they have sown....

Michale
153

Maybe he went into sugar shock over a Danish pastry.

In front of 91 world leaders, the mourning nation of South Africa and Obama’s clearly furious wife,
Michelle, the president flirted, giggled, whispered like a recalcitrant child and made a damn fool of himself at first sight of Denmark’s voluptuously curvy and married prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
http://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/obama81.jpg?w=720&h=480&crop=1

Michelle looks PISSED!!

I would have hated to be POTUS that night...

Michale
146

I think all the pols are reading all the polls, but there is a different Public Opinion in each district. If Public Opinion in a politician's district wants him or her to set there hair on fire, they will dutifully set their hair ablaze. National party prospects and greater National Interests be damned.

Play the local game and you, the local politician stay safe. It's rational, cynical and usually successful. It's almost Darwinian, which is ironic in many cases.

I *want* a budget battle right before the election.

I *want* the public to see the pettiness and immature petulance of our so-called "leaders"...

Vote ALL the bums out!

As long as Democrats don't retain control of anything higher than the county animal control office, I'll be a happy camper. :D

Michale
145

What did you expect? Both sides to hold the live grenade of budget negotiations right before the elections, in the hope the shrapnel would hurt the other guy more? Politicians learned one thing from the shutdown, the budget has become a political third rail, for better or worse.

Gotta admire the logic...

Frankly, I think the shutdown hurt the Democrats more than the GOP, regardless of any cheery picked polls...

All the horror stories about the crassness of the Obama Administration and having armed troops face off against WWII Veterans and the memos telling Parks people to "make it hurt"..

Democrats definitely came out on the short end of all that..

Given that, it's not so unusual that Democrats would want to avoid a repeat..

Michale
143

Or, maybe, Republicans avoid looking incapable of basic governing, before 2014 elections.

Or, maybe, Democrats avoid looking incapable of basic governing, before 2014 elections.

Now THAT works even better!! :D

Michale
142

This budget deal can be summed up in one sentence: Republicans try to look respectable before 2014 election

This budget deal can be summed up in one sentence: Democrats try to look respectable before 2014 election

Yep.. It still works. :D

Michale
141

And why is that??

Because the Democrats in the Senate have not been doing their jobs.

Let's call a spade a spade here..

Instead, the Tea Partiers demanded not just "no compromise!" but in fact "no negotiations!"

Bugs ya'all when the TP'ers take a page from the Democrats, eh? :D

This is called "not having the courage of your convictions," at least on some level.

Of course.. They all ARE politicians after all..

The ONLY convictions they have are the criminal type. Past, Present and Future...

Democrats and Republicans alike showed their craven nature by cutting a deal to avoid the subject of the budget until the end of 2015, so that they can have an easier (perceived) path to re-election. To me, that is the story the news should now be telling.

Looks like you were channeling yer inner "Michale" when ya wrote this... :D

Yep, yep, yep, yep...

Democrats. Republicans. Simple different sides of the same corrupt and perverse coin..

Michale
140

What did you expect? Both sides to hold the live grenade of budget negotiations right before the elections, in the hope the shrapnel would hurt the other guy more? Politicians learned one thing from the shutdown, the budget has become a political third rail, for better or worse.

Or, maybe, Republicans avoid looking incapable of basic governing, before 2014 elections.

Sigh.

-CW

-David