Obama Tries to Pre-empt GOP Debate at Reagan Library

The GOP televised debate at the Reagan Library is scheduled for Sept. 7th. So naturally, after a "laser like focus" on jobs for the past 2 1/2 years and after coming back from his fundraising and vacation, Obama has decided that it is so important to give a jobs speech that he has selected...Sept. 7th. He has asked Boehner to call a special joint session of Congress for his campaign speech as well. Unless Boehner wants to be part of Obama's hyper-partisan re-election campaign, he should tell him no.

More Liberal Hate Speech Against the Tea Party

First we had Obama's VP Biden call them terrorists. Then Maxine Waters said, "they can go to hell." Now Indiana Congressman Andre Carson says "they would love to see you and me hanging from a tree."

Just a few months ago, some liberal gunman shot a congressman, and everyone blamed someone for mentioning the term "cross-hairs." The liberal media ate it up, blaming Republican politicians of targetting Democrats.

Now we have tons of Democrats going after Tea Party members, using much more inflammatory speech.

This tells me one thing: they fear the Tea Party. How do I know this? Take a look at Obama's approval numbers. They feel that they need to do this. Maybe they do. Funny that Obama was supposed to unite the country. In a weird way, I guess he is doing that.

Where Obama Needs to Start on Jobs

Obama is going to give his "major" jobs speech soon, but everyone knows it's going to be more empty rhetoric that doesn't address the major problems. The WSJ has two articles this morning, both new and detrimental to job creation.

The first piece explains that under President Bush, there were 103 federal rules with economic costs of more than $1 billion. Under Obama, that has ballooned to 219 rules, and that excludes those that are still in the planning stage like Obamacare and Dodd-Frank which are both going to be scary huge.

The second piece explains the menace that Obama's highly politicized NLRB has become. It will require ALL businesses to put up posters that advertise for unions to help promote union membership.

The new rule issued last Thursday requires management to post notices about employee rights to unionize, collectively bargain and strike under the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB believes that workers are not familiar enough with that 76-year-old law "and therefore cannot effectively exercise those rights." The ostensible basis for that conclusion is "the comparatively small percentage of private sector employees who are represented by unions."

These are just a couple of the regulations, and that doesn't count the EPA's extremely onerous new regulations. But don't expect Obama to reverse course and eliminate these damaging regulations or even mention them in his speech. The sad fact is that every action this man takes is a job killer. The only way the job market is going to recover is if Obama quickly loses his own.

Obama Creates Office of Diversity and Inclusion via Executive Order

I missed this the other day, but Obama just created an "Office of Diversity and Inclusion" to ensure that federal agencies have enough "diversity."

In other words, white males need not apply to these jobs. By the way, has anyone been in a federal building elevator at 4:30 when the employees get out? You might get trampled by the number of overweight African American females rushing for the doors. I know it's only anecdotal, but I would bet that the number of "minorities" working in the public sector is much higher than the private sector and population at large.

What's Going On Between Barack and Michelle?

I'll start off by saying - none of mine or anyone's business! I don't care.

But I've read now for the second time in the past week, that there is or might be something going on between Michelle and Barack. The first time I read something, it was in the Boston Herald. Now this time, it's in the Washington Examiner. OK - both are two newspapers that unlike 98% of all newspapers in America, do criticize the President from time to time.

But here is what the Examiner is saying today:

...there’s something going on there. How else to explain all those vacations away from President Obama — to Florida, California, South Africa, Latin America, Colorado, Spain? (That last trip was also a “mother-daughter” jaunt, although along for the ride were 40 “family” friends and a security squad of 75 agents.) How else to explain her decision not to accompany her husband to Chicago the day before his 50th birthday, when the first couple could have spent the night in their real home?

I think the writer is being too hard on the President, for two reasons. First, most Presidents travel a lot, and President Obama travels even more - he probably has quadrupled the average mileage because he's a full-time campaigner. It's also true he spends 6 hours of his leisure time every weekend golfing, but again, who cares. Second, even if it is true, who cares? It's no one's business!

There are plenty of things to criticize the President on - I'd say 95% of his policies have been dismal failures. Let's talk about that - not his relationship with his wife.

Obama's Illegal Uncle Caught Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

No it's not his welfare Auntie, who you've all heard about a couple of years ago. This is a new one - Uncle Omar. I don't blame Obama for the actions of his family members, especially ones that he might not be close with. I also don't blame Obama's relatives for wanting to come to America.

But it sucks for Americans that while President Obama talks about our need to make sacrifices, we seem to be paying for all his illegal relatives to live in America (by we, I'm talking about taxpayers). Does anyone feel like President Obama maybe should lend a hand, rather than having average Americans foot the bill? It also appears that his relatives are above the law, or act as if they are. I will let you judge to see if Uncle Omar "felt" like he was above the law:

Framingham Public Information Officer Lieutenant Delaney said when Onyango Obama was asked at the station if he wanted to make a telephone call to arrange for bail, he replied: “I think I will call the White House.

If it were any other politician in America, let alone the President, this would make front page news on EVERY PAPER. What's weird is that this doesn't even make the front page of the BOSTON GLOBE. Wonder why?

ESPN's Double Standard with Azinger

ESPN says publicly that Paul Azinger's tweet about Obama was wrong because it was political and its employees shouldn't engage in this type of politics.

Of course, as Big Journalism points out, they didn't seem to have a problem with Kenny Mayne's anti-Palin views or Adam Schefter's pro-Obama views. Nor did parent company Disney have a problem with donating $8 million to Obama's campaign in 2008.

Why is Obama DOJ Trying to Destroy Gibson Guitar?

Gibson Guitar, based in the U.S., is being targeted by Obama's Department of Justice for...get this....violating laws of India that dictate what type of finished wood can be sold. That's right. He's so concerned with jobs in the U.S. that he has his DOJ shutting down American companies that haven't broken any American laws.

This is just symbolic of the absolute destruction Obama appears to be trying to inflict on the U.S. economy. And then he'll probably come out next week and tell the Gibson Guitar CEO that he needs to start hiring.

*Update*
Gateway Pundit says that of the guitar manufacturers, only Gibson and Peavey are in right to work states, while all the others are in union friendly environments. Peavey also seems to be the subject of third party lawsuits over regulatory concerns. Like the Boeing / NLRB example, this is not at all a far fetched reason.

Paul Azinger Slams Obama

You gotta love this tweet from golfer Paul Azinger, while the President is trying to figure out what he's going to say about his "jobs speech" when he gets back in September.

Facts: POTUS has played more golf this month than I have. I have created more jobs this month than he has.

I can't remember if he is a commentator for NBC or CBS, but this type of criticism could get him canned by the networks dedicated to protecting Obama...

Romney Turns Down DeMint Invitation

Mitt Romney will not be attending a conservative forum organized by Jim DeMint in South Carolina on Labor Day. But Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich will be there. I don't think Romney has to be there just because the others will be, as he may be focusing on New Hampshire more to ensure victory there.

But it's also possible that Romney is "playing it safe." It's also possible that he will aim for the independent voters, and would rather not be seen with the more conservative branch of the GOP.

Let's hope he's not playing it safe. In most elections, that's good enough to win it. But 2012 is a year for being bold. If Romney moves to the middle, he runs the risk of losing to someone like Ron Paul, who doesn't know the meaning of safe.

Michelle O Spends $10 Million in Taxpayer Money on Vacations This Year

"Let them eat cake." That is how most taxpayers must feel when (or if, since this will unlikely ever see the light of day in the U.S. media) they learn that Michelle Obama has spent $10 million of taxpayer money this year alone on her vacations.

Perhaps this is why she is so adamant about people working in the public sector rather than the private sector - she assumes everyone gets these perks (including traveling separately from Barack on her own private jet).

But seriously, if the Obamas promised not to speak another word in public or pass another piece of legislation, I would let them spend $1 billion on vacations. It's a lot cheaper than the wealth they are destroying by continuing their work at the White House...

Why Obama is in Trouble

As I've posted results of Obama's Approval/Disapproval ratings, according to Rasmussen, some may wonder why this poll is different to lots of the other polls, many of which are biased. Commentary Magazine has an interesting insight, particularly regarding the Strongly Approve/Strongly Disapprove Survey.

...one of the useful aspects of the Rasmussen poll is it reflects “likely voters” (not simply adults or registered voters), and measures their intensity. As Professor Larry Sabato has observed, elections are decided by those who show up; those who strongly disapprove are very unlikely to stay home, and they are approaching an absolute majority.

So Where is Obama today? He is at -26, but 45% of Americans Strongly Disapprove. By contrast:

George W. Bush, in his last full month in office, was at 43 percent “strongly disapprove” and Minus 30 overall – at the end of an exhausted eight-year administration pummeled throughout by the MSM.

I think in a two man race, Obama is looking like George McGovern, and I don't even think Massachusetts is a done deal. (Of course, in terms of policy-making, I surely would prefer McGovern over Obama!) It's possible that Obama could beat someone like Bachmann, who is a weakish candidate, but even that is uncertain. My belief is that the only thing that can save him is a third party. Unfortunately what will save him, will crush our country.

Interesting that while liberals agree that a majority of Americans intensely dislike Obama's policies, they often will sight that Americans really like him personally. I find this very hard to believe. The President is a cool (cold even), calculating man. His jokes fall flat, and his smiles don't appear genuine. If he has a charming personality (like Clinton or Reagan) he certainly keeps it to himself. When I see polls indicating that people really like him personally, I wonder if people are saying they like him because they don't want to be accused of not liking him.

Quake Hits DC - 5.8-6.0 Magnitude

An earthquake hit the VA-DC area a little while ago which registered 5.8-6.0 on the Richter scale. The building I was in shook for about 20 seconds, which was a bit strange when you've never felt one before.

Of course, all federal buildings are being evacuated. I wonder if Obama will use this as his latest excuse of his bad luck on the economy...

Obama in Free-Fall

Rasmussen says -26 today. New all-time low.

He may be able to hide from photographers while at Martha's Vineyard, but he can't hide from public opinion.

Obama Disapproval at All-Time High

According to Rasmussen, Obama's strong disapproval rating has tied its previous peak of -24. Only 20% of Americans strongly approve of him.

And I predict it will only get worse.

S&P plummets 4% - Obama Off to the Vineyard

Another vacation. So what else is new?

By the way, Obama's approval ratings are at all time lows again. And the market is just beginning to go down. I predict that in 2 months, his approval sits at -30 according to Rasmussen.

Obama to Order a Third Stimulus

I think this will happen. He will call it a "JOBS PROGRAM" just so people won't be tempted to call it "stimulus" or "spending program" which Americans generally regard as Obama-faila. And if anyone opposes it, then he can say "Republicans oppose jobs!" Sound stupid? That pretty much sums up Obama's plan. Don't worry - you won't read it anywhere, that this is the strategy, but after seeing how he acts for three years, the man is so predictable.

Of course he will include an extension for unemployment benefits, which used to be 13 weeks, but under Obama, now stretches to 3 years and counting. Obama of course, will advocate extension until at least after his election - so a cool four years.

I realize being unemployed sucks for most people. But for others, having four years off, while the government pays you ain't so bad. And for Obama, hey - it'll buy a few votes.

For every dollar that Obama spends today to prop up our economy falsely, that just means we will have further to fall in the future. Hard to believe that the President of the United States cannot understand this, or it's possible he does understand it, but will sacrifice our country for his election. What did Rick Perry call this?

Obama Owns the Economy

As IBD points out, Obama is solely responsible for the economy, despite his attempts to blame everyone else.

Just to be clear, Obama's policies alone are to blame for the current sorry state of the economy.

In his first two years, Obama had free rein to get his economic agenda through a heavily Democratic Congress: An $830 billion stimulus, billions more in auto bailouts, mortgage bailouts and cash for clunkers, ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank.

None of those packages worked. They produced the worst recovery since the Great Depression. That was true before the Arab Spring, the tsunami, Europe's debt crisis and before Republicans won back the House.

At a press conference this summer, Obama said: "I'm not interested in finger-pointing."

But that's all he's been doing for months.

Wouldn't it be nice if Obama instead were to live up to his inaugural credo and start his own "era of responsibility" by admitting his role in the country's economic slump?

Boston Firefigher/Body-Builder Wins Case

This has been a famous case in the Boston area. Albert Arroyo was a fire-fighter in Boston for 20 years, until he claimed that a back injury prevented him from returning to work in 2008. He then filed for permanent disability, where he hoped to receive $65,000/year in pensions.

Well, 6 weeks after filing for his claim, he was found participating in a bodybuilding competition. (See video). He was seen in the gym working out multiple times per week. He was also pitching in a baseball league. This is the same man who said it was "too painful to bend down and pick up a piece of paper."

Prosecutors charged fraud. Arroyo admitted filing the papers for permanent disability and even mentioned that it was a mistake, and then later, that he didn't know what he was signing.

Anyway, the verdict came yesterday. Acquitted. Unbelievable.

By the way, Albert today works at a LA Fitness to support himself, but may reapply to the fire department.

The Difference Between Warren Buffett and the Rest of US

You'll no doubt continue to see Warren Buffett call for higher taxes on the wealthy. You know why? Because Buffett doesn't care about money. He's already made his money, and at 80 years old, he's admirably given most of it to charity, and today he's just living off an estimated $2 Billion in savings, generating dividend and interest income which is taxed at 17.4%.

I have a big problem with what Buffett advocates - increasing taxes on those who make $1 million/year. Here's why:

ONE EXAMPLE: Say you're 35 years old, and this year, you killed it. You worked very hard in sales over the past 15 years, and this year you've had your first great year, and you are paid $1 million. Now say you are taxed at 75%, instead of 35% top rate. You'd be left with $250,000 at the end of they year - actually - let's call it $165,000 after state and other local taxes, which is reasonable. Now a person with a couple of kids, and a mortgage, might be able to save $100,000 if he's doing well on this income. And if you have 10 incredible years in a row, you might be lucky enough to say you have $1 million in the bank. A nice sum. Probably enough to be able to afford a decent house, and you might even be able to send both of your kids to private universities if they stop inflating at 8%/year.

BUFFETT EXAMPLE: Now let's say you're Warren Buffett, and you have $2 billion in the bank. Let's say he makes a 2% dividend/interest income off his savings, thus generating $40 million of income. If he's taxed at 75%, he will still be making $10 million/year. Moreeven, he'll still have $2 billion in the bank. Even if Obama implemented a 99% tax on all financial ASSETS for Billionaires, Buffett would still be worth $20 million dollars, and at his age, I would think that would be enough savings.

So are these two people really comparable?

When you hear the President talking about "millionaires and billionaires" you wonder if he knows how to add.

Obama-Appointed Judge Throws Out Obama's Drilling Regulations

Irony. It will be interesting if Obama decides to comply, since generally he has preferred to be held in contempt of court when he's been overturned.

A judge on Friday threw out Obama administration rules that sought to slow down expedited environmental review of oil and gas drilling on federal land.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal ruled in favor of a petroleum industry group, the Western Energy Alliance, in its lawsuit against the federal government, including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The ruling reinstates Bush-era expedited oil and gas drilling under provisions called categorical exclusions on federal lands nationwide, Freudenthal said.

Rick Perry Announces; Promises to Make DC As Inconsequential as Possible

Rick Perry finally announced his candidacy. I'm sure we're going to learn plenty about him in the coming weeks, but I love this:

“In America the people are not subjects to the government. The government is subject to the people.”

"We will repeal this president’s misguided, one size fits all, government health-care plan."

“I promise I will work everyday to make Washington DC as inconsequential in your lives as I can.”

Quick Thoughts on GOP Debate

The debate last night in Iowa was surprisingly excellent. Rich Lowry offers his quick views here, which overall I agree with. It was nice to see real questions from the moderators rather than the sort the Leftist media trots out (with the exception of a couple of silly questions, one from Byron York about whether women should be submissive to their husbands. Huh?).

I also thought Romney is going to be very tough to beat. Despite what may be too many moderate tendencies, they do not show at all in a debate and he is by far the most knowledgeable about the economy. I was impressed because he among others would destroy Obama in a debate.

P.S. The one comment that truly bothered me in the debate was when Bachmann said that, once the GOP gets 13 more Senators to create a filibuster proof majority, she would overturn Obamacare. This is absurd - it was passed via budget reconciliation because we were told it would reduce the deficit and therefore didn't need a filibuster-proof majority, so why wait for that to overturn it? It makes no sense - especially since overturning truly would help reduce the deficit.

Larry Kudlow is Right About the Fed

Nice article here by Larry. He sums it up best with this sentence:

...the Fed can print all the new money in the world and the federal government can spend itself into oblivion, and none of it will resurrect the economy.

Unfortunately that's all the Obama/Bernanke show has to offer.

Next Week (Obama Vacation) Good For Market?

With the market down over 500 points in three of the last five trading sessions (before today), in most cases a reaction to Obama's not-so-soothing words, I can't help but wonder if Obama's absence from tv sets for a while will help the market.

Let's face the facts - Obama is a disaster to the market and all for-profit businesses. If he disappears, I think the market will (if only momentarily) forget about Obama and his destruction and might even cheer. Another reason I've always been in favor of him getting in as much golf and vacation time as possible.

London Riots All About Race?

All I've seen here in the U.S. media is that there are riots in the UK by the "underclass." I haven't seen anything about who these rioters actually were - until now. The UK's Telegraph says that they are entirely about race.

What colour is Mark Duggan? Mark Duggan is the man who was shot dead by the police on Thursday in Tottenham. The Tottenham riots last night were sparked when people protested his death. This morning, I first heard of the riots on the radio, then on the television. I read articles on the internet. But oddly, no one would say what colour Mark Duggan was. No one would say the unsayable, that the rioters were, I suspect on the whole, black. Then, finally, Toby Young's Telegraph Blog Post on the riots was published. Is Toby Young the only journalist out there who will dare say that these riots are about race?

Perhaps that's why we never heard a physical description of these rioters.

Reid Chooses Super Committee Members

Is it just me, or is this Super Committee which will decide another $1.5 trillion in cuts, a very stupid idea? Not sure why McConnell or Boehner would have ever agreed to this, unless of course, they were drunk or blackmailed.

Ok - it's a committee of 6 dems and 6 GOP. But President Obama says he will cast the deciding vote. I think we all know where this is going to end up.

Harry Reid chose his senators yesterday and showed how un-partisan he can be: by selecting two of the most radical lefties in the entire senate in Patty Murray and John Kerry. And I'm hearing McConnell and Boehner will not choose anyone who voted against their budget plan, so that excludes pretty much anyone with any spine.

Sounds dreadful.

Wisconsin Retains a Republican Majority

It's tough to get too excited about last night's result if you're a conservative because there was only downside. The GOP held on to 4 out of the 6 elections, and lost a nail-biter in one of them. Next week, the Democrats have two seats where they could potentially lose. Nonetheless, the results are that that Republicans control 17 seats, vs 16 seats for the Democrats.

This comes after an election for the Supreme Court Justice where a Republican victory was upheld earlier in the year.

It's good news that the GOP retains control, but does anyone have a feeling that the Unions in Wisconsin are acting a bit like Al Gore in 2000? My sense is they will keep going after people until they go up by 1 man, and then they will call it quits. Dems are vowing to go after the Governor himself next year.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin is one of the few states in the country where elected officials can be recalled for almost no reason at all. Most states do not allow it, and of the few that do allow it, half of those restrict recalls to people who have committed crimes while in office. Wisconsin is an outlier.

It's definitely sour grapes if you're a democrat or if you simply want lots more spending and sustained higher wages and benefits for all unions. But if you're in favor of common sense, you should be happy today with the result.

-634: Obama Credibility Long Gone

Dow down 634.

Well, I actually thought this would happen a lot sooner than it did, but at this point, the investor class has made its judgement - Obama's credibility is entirely gone - even among his original believers - or at least those with a slight clue.

Obama Takes No Blame For Debt; Dismisses Markets

After showing up 45 minutes late to a press conference and while the Dow was plunging another 400+ points, Obama had the gaul to say that: 1) the market reaction was a result of the "political wrangling" over the last 30 days rather than his spending policies; and 2) the downgrade isn't that big a deal because even Warren Buffett says the U.S. is creditworthy.

So relax guys, it's not Obama's fault - and besides, it's not that big a deal...let's just spend more.

Geithner's Clueless Prediction on Downgrade

Just a couple months ago in April, Tim Geithner showed his true cluelessness by declaring that there was "no risk" that the U.S. debt would be downgraded.

There is no chance that the U.S. will lose its top credit rating, Geithner said, forcefully disputing the notion that S&P or other ratings services might downgrade U.S. bonds from their current AAA rating.

"No risk of that, no risk," Geithner said on the Fox Business Network.

Obama: It was Japan's and the Arabs Fault!

Obama, never afraid to blame problems he created on others, now says that our economy is so bad because of the tsunami in Japan and the "Arab spring."

Really.

...Oh, and the scary thing is that Obamacare and the taxes associated with it, as well as the Consumer Financial "Protection" Board costs haven't even kicked in yet...

Balanced-Budget Amendment Set to Pass? In Italy!

Rumor has it that Italy is going to announce that they're introducing a balanced-budget amendment into their constitution - this is according to Jeffrey Donovan of Bloomberg. (I can't find the link, but I'm reading the article). It says:

Italy's government will announce plans to spped up state-asset sales, liberalize the labor market and introduce a balanced-budget amendment.

Interesting, because I also read that Finance minister Tremonti spoke with Tim Geithner earlier today. I suppose Tremonti decided to do exactly the opposite of what Geithner and Obama are proposing in the US. Good for them!

Market Figures It Out - Obamanomics a Disaster

The Obama market seems to have figured out that the recent debt deal is going to turn into a fiscal disaster for the U.S. Obama has spent trillions of dollars on failed stimulus and now we still have no economic growth, a possible double dip recession and massive possible tax increases to pay for it all. I am not just referring to today's market drop - we all know there are volatile days - but there is very little to look forward to from an economic standpoint.

The tiny silver lining is that if the nation's not bankrupt come next November, there might be a landslide victory for those with a mandate to cut government spending dramatically (yes, I thought that happened last November, but some didn't get the message).

The most amusing thing about this market slide is listening to people like Wolf "Mercy Rule" Blitzer, who seems completed confounded why we didn't rally at the prospect of only $7 trillion of additional debt over the next decade.

Whopping 22% of Americans Like Debt Deal

According to Rasmussen, an underwhelming 22% of the country like the debt deal. Hmm...$7 trillion in extra debt over the next decade with no cut in spending and an almost guarantee of massive tax increases as far into the future as one can see?

What's not to like?

Wow: Dems Now Plan Focus on Jobs!

After telling us for the last two years that they had a "laser like focus" on jobs, with Pelosi even claiming that Obamacare would create a million jobs, they now say that their attention will turn to....creating jobs.

Someone tell these idiots how and why businesses create jobs.

Obama and The "Manufactured" Crisis

Obama today said that this debt crisis was "manufactured" and in a way, he is right. He, Pelosi and Reid created it by three straight years of $1.5 trillion deficits.

CNN Attacks Rand Paul

Actually, Beck uses the word "attack" and that might be a little harsh. But if you'd like to know why CNN is getting crushed by Fox in every news category, then watch this video. I agree with Beck that the reporter's journalistic integrity is substandard, and I'd say just his line of questioning is very infantile. It's like he's trying to trap Paul with his questions. Nonetheless, Paul looks so much more impressive than this junior reporter in articulating why he is against the latest budget bills.

Why Rand Paul Opposes Budget Bill

As you might expect they are the voice of reason again. Paul says,

To paraphrase Jim DeMint: When you’re speeding toward the edge of a cliff, you don’t set the cruise control. You stop the car.

The current deal to raise the debt ceiling doesn’t stop us from going over the fiscal cliff. At best, it slows us from going over it at 80 mph to going over it at 60 mph.

Read Paul's whole letter.

Obama's New Deal: Where's the Beef?

Ok - the stock markets are rallying today on news of Obama's Great Compromise. "it was an historic deal" - according to Yahoo news. Somehow the media thinks everything with this president is historic. "1 trillion of IMMEDIATE CUTS..." the article said. Really?

I say show me the cuts. Does anybody know what they are? If so, why is no one telling us. And are the cuts off the insanely bullish CBO budget details? Because I'd bet big money they are and to me these are not cuts. And it's great that there will now be another new commission to study where future cuts will come from, but how is this new commission different from the last one? And will there be a press conference telling us what the plan is? I bet not. And these "immediate cuts" are no such thing. Doe anyone really think Obama will cut a dime in the year of his election? Not gonna happen.

The only time the GOP has leverage is right now. Obama's approval ratings keep falling by the day as Americans see the man doesn't know how to balance a checkbook. And now we're settling for a trillion today and we'll figure out the rest later? And wow - Boehner and McConnell won a vote for the balanced budget amendment. The dems will shoot it down, and even if they don't, Obama will veto it - so big deal - a vote is not a result.

If Republicans have any spine, and want to save the country, they'll just say no.