The games politicians play: Barack Obama is having a lot of fun using the government shutdown to squeeze the public in imaginative ways. The point of the shutdown game is to see who can squeeze hardest, make the most pious speech and listen for the applause. It’s a variation on the grade-school ritual of “you show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”
President Obama is not a bad poker player, but the man with all the chips always starts with the advantage (and he gets all the aces). He has closed Washington down as tight as he dares, emphasizing the trivial and the petty in making life as inconvenient as he can for the greatest number. It’s all in a noble cause, of course. Access to most of the memorials is limited, and often in curious ways. The Lincoln Memorial is easy to reach, with the streets around it remaining open. But the Martin Luther King Memorial is made difficult to reach, relegating it, you might say, to the back of the bus. Not very nice.
The Park Service appears to be closing streets on mere whim and caprice. The rangers even closed the parking lot at Mount Vernon, where the plantation home of George Washington is a favorite tourist destination. That was after they barred the new World War II Memorial on the Mall to veterans of World War II. But the government does not own Mount Vernon; it is privately owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. The ladies bought it years ago to preserve it as a national memorial. The feds closed access to the parking lots this week, even though the lots are jointly owned with the Mount Vernon ladies. The rangers are from the government, and they’re only here to help.
" It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”
The Republicans, fighting with smaller-bore weaponry, keep trying to get some things reopened with carefully targeted legislation. The Senate, under the thumbs of Sen. Harry Reid and the White House, refuses to budge from the trivial and the petty. It says here that Harry Reid’s critics, and they are legion, should give the guy a break. No man in Washington is under the pressure he is, and it doesn’t seem quite cricket to do that to an old man, even one who deserves it.
Harry is at the breaking point, weary from exhausting his thesaurus for synonyms for “arsonist” and “terrorist” and “pillager.” Everyone could see the cracks in his exchange with Dana Bash, a reporter for CNN, who asked why, if he is concerned about children with cancer who are unable to enter clinical trials for new drugs because Mr. Obama shut down the National Institutes of Health, why stifle Republican attempts to grant a little relief?
“If you can help one child who has cancer, why wouldn’t you do it?” the reporter asked.
“Why would we want to do that?” Mr. Reid snapped back. “I have 1,100 people at Nellis Air Force Base that are sitting home. They have a few problems of their own. This is — to have someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing maybe means you’re irresponsible and reckless.”
The games politicians play: Barack Obama is having a lot of fun using the government shutdown to squeeze the public in imaginative ways. The point of the shutdown game is to see who can squeeze hardest, make the most pious speech and listen for the applause. It’s a variation on the grade-school ritual of “you show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”
President Obama is not a bad poker player, but the man with all the chips always starts with the advantage (and he gets all the aces). He has closed Washington down as tight as he dares, emphasizing the trivial and the petty in making life as inconvenient as he can for the greatest number. It’s all in a noble cause, of course. Access to most of the memorials is limited, and often in curious ways. The Lincoln Memorial is easy to reach, with the streets around it remaining open. But the Martin Luther King Memorial is made difficult to reach, relegating it, you might say, to the back of the bus. Not very nice.
The Park Service appears to be closing streets on mere whim and caprice. The rangers even closed the parking lot at Mount Vernon, where the plantation home of George Washington is a favorite tourist destination. That was after they barred the new World War II Memorial on the Mall to veterans of World War II. But the government does not own Mount Vernon; it is privately owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. The ladies bought it years ago to preserve it as a national memorial. The feds closed access to the parking lots this week, even though the lots are jointly owned with the Mount Vernon ladies. The rangers are from the government, and they’re only here to help.
" It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”
The Republicans, fighting with smaller-bore weaponry, keep trying to get some things reopened with carefully targeted legislation. The Senate, under the thumbs of Sen. Harry Reid and the White House, refuses to budge from the trivial and the petty. It says here that Harry Reid’s critics, and they are legion, should give the guy a break. No man in Washington is under the pressure he is, and it doesn’t seem quite cricket to do that to an old man, even one who deserves it.
Harry is at the breaking point, weary from exhausting his thesaurus for synonyms for “arsonist” and “terrorist” and “pillager.” Everyone could see the cracks in his exchange with Dana Bash, a reporter for CNN, who asked why, if he is concerned about children with cancer who are unable to enter clinical trials for new drugs because Mr. Obama shut down the National Institutes of Health, why stifle Republican attempts to grant a little relief?
“If you can help one child who has cancer, why wouldn’t you do it?” the reporter asked.
“Why would we want to do that?” Mr. Reid snapped back. “I have 1,100 people at Nellis Air Force Base that are sitting home. They have a few problems of their own. This is — to have someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing maybe means you’re irresponsible and reckless.”
It doesn't surprise me if the Park Rangers were told to make life difficult for the public. (Remember the games Barry played during the Sequester, squeezing the flying public with attempts at limited Air Traffic Control?).
There are many things that upset me about Barry, including his lack of leadership, management. His antagonistic style is destructive, and leads to frustration.
Boehner's frustration yesterday was a bit funny to see. "This isn't some damn game!" he said. This being paraphrased from a White House Aid.
His job is to build consensus and move the ball forward. But O'bama is more concerned with scoring points now with the public, inflicting as much pain to the public as possible.... all in an attempt to flip the House and put Stretchface Pelosi in hands with the gavel again. O' what a sight!
It doesn't surprise me if the Park Rangers were told to make life difficult for the public. (Remember the games Barry played during the Sequester, squeezing the flying public with attempts at limited Air Traffic Control?).
There are many things that upset me about Barry, including his lack of leadership, management. His antagonistic style is destructive, and leads to frustration.
Boehner's frustration yesterday was a bit funny to see. "This isn't some damn game!" he said. This being paraphrased from a White House Aid.
His job is to build consensus and move the ball forward. But O'bama is more concerned with scoring points now with the public, inflicting as much pain to the public as possible.... all in an attempt to flip the House and put Stretchface Pelosi in hands with the gavel again. O' what a sight!
Put Obamacare care on the ballot and let The people vote on it. Very sole!
When a *unt like Nancy P tells me how good it is and you have to vote yes for it before I can read it.....I just know its not something I hold in my best interest.
My the dear politician needs to have a new sit down with a group of 5 year olds!
Put Obamacare care on the ballot and let The people vote on it. Very sole!
When a *unt like Nancy P tells me how good it is and you have to vote yes for it before I can read it.....I just know its not something I hold in my best interest.
My the dear politician needs to have a new sit down with a group of 5 year olds!
It doesn't surprise me if the Park Rangers were told to make life difficult for the public. (Remember the games Barry played during the Sequester, squeezing the flying public with attempts at limited Air Traffic Control?).
There are many things that upset me about Barry, including his lack of leadership, management. His antagonistic style is destructive, and leads to frustration.
Boehner's frustration yesterday was a bit funny to see. "This isn't some damn game!" he said. This being paraphrased from a White House Aid.
His job is to build consensus and move the ball forward. But O'bama is more concerned with scoring points now with the public, inflicting as much pain to the public as possible.... all in an attempt to flip the House and put Stretchface Pelosi in hands with the gavel again. O' what a sight!
There should be a proclamation that henceforth 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will be known as:
It doesn't surprise me if the Park Rangers were told to make life difficult for the public. (Remember the games Barry played during the Sequester, squeezing the flying public with attempts at limited Air Traffic Control?).
There are many things that upset me about Barry, including his lack of leadership, management. His antagonistic style is destructive, and leads to frustration.
Boehner's frustration yesterday was a bit funny to see. "This isn't some damn game!" he said. This being paraphrased from a White House Aid.
His job is to build consensus and move the ball forward. But O'bama is more concerned with scoring points now with the public, inflicting as much pain to the public as possible.... all in an attempt to flip the House and put Stretchface Pelosi in hands with the gavel again. O' what a sight!
There should be a proclamation that henceforth 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will be known as:
@ chilltokid - Obamacare was on the ballot. It was called the 2012 Presidential election. Romney lost by 5 million votes and around 130 electoral votes. Additionally your side screamed about how its Constitutional rights were being violated. Supreme Court said "nope".
Your side should stop whining about things you don't like. You lost multiple times.
@ chilltokid - Obamacare was on the ballot. It was called the 2012 Presidential election. Romney lost by 5 million votes and around 130 electoral votes. Additionally your side screamed about how its Constitutional rights were being violated. Supreme Court said "nope".
Your side should stop whining about things you don't like. You lost multiple times.
@ chilltokid - Obamacare was on the ballot. It was called the 2012 Presidential election. Romney lost by 5 million votes and around 130 electoral votes. Additionally your side screamed about how its Constitutional rights were being violated. Supreme Court said "nope".
Your side should stop whining about things you don't like. You lost multiple times.
Why is it that Obamacare was "on the ballot" when Obama won in 2012....
but it wasn't "on the ballot" in 2010 when the Republicans re-captured the House and gain seats in the Senate
@ chilltokid - Obamacare was on the ballot. It was called the 2012 Presidential election. Romney lost by 5 million votes and around 130 electoral votes. Additionally your side screamed about how its Constitutional rights were being violated. Supreme Court said "nope".
Your side should stop whining about things you don't like. You lost multiple times.
Why is it that Obamacare was "on the ballot" when Obama won in 2012....
but it wasn't "on the ballot" in 2010 when the Republicans re-captured the House and gain seats in the Senate
@ chilltokid - Obamacare was on the ballot. It was called the 2012 Presidential election. Romney lost by 5 million votes and around 130 electoral votes. Additionally your side screamed about how its Constitutional rights were being violated. Supreme Court said "nope".
Your side should stop whining about things you don't like. You lost multiple times.
While I agree with you it is the law and as much as I think it is a detriment they should let it run it course at this point. If it is successful great, if it is a miserable failure then they can girl about it then and use that failure for political gain.
However, don't tell me it is ok for the government to mandate that I HAVE to purchase anything or get penalized (taxed) if I don't. The SCOTUS amended the ACA penalty to a "tax" to make it fly. It was a bullsh!t cop out.
Health care needs reform no doubt but why is it so F'n hard to implement a streamlined common sense simple plan instead of the complicated bloated BS we always end up with. This doesn't just apply to the ACA it applies to anything and everything they try and do.
So God damn sick of BOTH parties pissing on our backs and telling us it is just raining.
@ chilltokid - Obamacare was on the ballot. It was called the 2012 Presidential election. Romney lost by 5 million votes and around 130 electoral votes. Additionally your side screamed about how its Constitutional rights were being violated. Supreme Court said "nope".
Your side should stop whining about things you don't like. You lost multiple times.
While I agree with you it is the law and as much as I think it is a detriment they should let it run it course at this point. If it is successful great, if it is a miserable failure then they can girl about it then and use that failure for political gain.
However, don't tell me it is ok for the government to mandate that I HAVE to purchase anything or get penalized (taxed) if I don't. The SCOTUS amended the ACA penalty to a "tax" to make it fly. It was a bullsh!t cop out.
Health care needs reform no doubt but why is it so F'n hard to implement a streamlined common sense simple plan instead of the complicated bloated BS we always end up with. This doesn't just apply to the ACA it applies to anything and everything they try and do.
So God damn sick of BOTH parties pissing on our backs and telling us it is just raining.
The Obama health law this administration is trying to impose on Americans is not the Affordable Care Act as it was written... it does not comply with the law. Obama is making his own law for healthcare as it goes along....
What is being sold as Obamacare it’s not the original law that was signed into law by Congress.....statutory deadlines have been removed and thousands of waivers were added,, just to mention a few of the many Obama changes to the ACA law....
Since the health care reform law the federal government is imposing on America is not the same law voted on in the first place...Sen.Cruz is right...this Obamascam should be defunded and repealed.
The Obama health law this administration is trying to impose on Americans is not the Affordable Care Act as it was written... it does not comply with the law. Obama is making his own law for healthcare as it goes along....
What is being sold as Obamacare it’s not the original law that was signed into law by Congress.....statutory deadlines have been removed and thousands of waivers were added,, just to mention a few of the many Obama changes to the ACA law....
Since the health care reform law the federal government is imposing on America is not the same law voted on in the first place...Sen.Cruz is right...this Obamascam should be defunded and repealed.
Why have people forgot that the Rupublican's maintained the majority in the House. That is control of the purse strings. I love the fact that the Dems refuse/will not disclose how many of the 30,000,000 uninsured Americans have purchased the cherished Obamacare health insurance plan. Must be less than 1,000. Looks like the truckers are going to plug up DC this weekend! They will have a few more people than the 1,000,000 man Muslim march.
Why have people forgot that the Rupublican's maintained the majority in the House. That is control of the purse strings. I love the fact that the Dems refuse/will not disclose how many of the 30,000,000 uninsured Americans have purchased the cherished Obamacare health insurance plan. Must be less than 1,000. Looks like the truckers are going to plug up DC this weekend! They will have a few more people than the 1,000,000 man Muslim march.
#1 - House votes on it. Republicans have this and have tried like 42 times to repeal Obamacare. So now the process gets started!
#2 - Senate votes and approves this. Unfortunately the Republicans don't have this based on not having a majority of US Senators (or in the case when a Democratic President wants something that "majority" is 60 votes). In fact in the last election voters increased the Democrats advantage! No incumbent Democrat who voted for Obamacare and ran for the US Senate lost. None of them. Even in red states.
#3 - You have the President sign it into law. Mitt Romney said this was his #1 priority on day 1. Well he lost by 5 million votes and 130 electoral votes so clearly his #1 priority wasn't the #1 priority for the majority of Americans.
Since the GOP doesn't have #2 and #3 they can't repeal Obamacare. Imagine if in 2007 Democrats would have demanded that President Bush repeal his tax cuts and withdraw all troops from Iraq or else they would shut down the government? He would have rightly said FU I won re election on those issues. Take a hike. Why any different for Obama here?
#1 - House votes on it. Republicans have this and have tried like 42 times to repeal Obamacare. So now the process gets started!
#2 - Senate votes and approves this. Unfortunately the Republicans don't have this based on not having a majority of US Senators (or in the case when a Democratic President wants something that "majority" is 60 votes). In fact in the last election voters increased the Democrats advantage! No incumbent Democrat who voted for Obamacare and ran for the US Senate lost. None of them. Even in red states.
#3 - You have the President sign it into law. Mitt Romney said this was his #1 priority on day 1. Well he lost by 5 million votes and 130 electoral votes so clearly his #1 priority wasn't the #1 priority for the majority of Americans.
Since the GOP doesn't have #2 and #3 they can't repeal Obamacare. Imagine if in 2007 Democrats would have demanded that President Bush repeal his tax cuts and withdraw all troops from Iraq or else they would shut down the government? He would have rightly said FU I won re election on those issues. Take a hike. Why any different for Obama here?
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