Thursday Open Thread
Welcome to your Thursday open thread. Don’t forget, today is the special election for New Castle County Council president. Vote!
The Republicans have their marching orders from the Chamber of Commerce – don’t mess with the debt ceiling.
Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, played a critical role in electing a new Republican majority to the House. While he’s no doubt aware of some of the pressure from the GOP’s activist base, Donohue also knows his Republican partners can’t — or at least shouldn’t — do anything that undermine the nation’s business interests.
Consider this exchange from MSNBC this morning:
CHUCK TODD: Are you going to be actively working on these folks that you supported in the election, telling them, ‘Hey, don’t mess around with the debt ceiling,’ or ‘Don’t mess around with these trade deals’?
TOM DONOHUE: We absolutely support the expansion of the debt. We think, by the way, it’s in everybody’s interest to do a few things on spending while we’re at that, to demonstrate we’re moving in the right direction. But who could imagine that new people come to town and cut the most significant deficit while we have high unemployment two weeks into the deal? So we’ve got to do the debt ceiling. There’ll be a lot of political carrying on, but it will be done.
It should be interesting to watch the Republican in-fighting on this issue. I doubt the new Teapublicans will just go along. What will the GOP establishment do?
Article I, Section 8 of the Arizona state constitution:
Officers Subject to Recall; Petitioners
Every public officer in the state of Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from such office by the qualified electors of the electoral district from which candidates are elected to such office. Such electoral district may include the whole state. Such number of said electors as shall equal twentyfive per centum of the number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for all of the candidates for the office held by such officer, may by petition, which shall be known as a recall petition, demand his recall.
363,909 total votes were cast for sheriff in 2008, meaning that 90,978 residents of Pima County would have to sign a recall petition to force a recall election of Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. (Dupnik’s Republican opponent received 128,146 votes.) The petition would have to contain a general statement of 200 words or fewer outlining the case for recall.
Dupnik would have five days to resign his position following the filing of a successful recall petition. If he failed to do so, a recall election would be scheduled as provided by law. The Pima County Board of Supervisors would be required to call for a recall election within 15 days, to be scheduled for the first available election day — provided it is more 90 days away from the announcement. Pima County holds elections in March, May, and November — so May would be the first plausible date.
Remember with Dupnik’s original remarks, he didn’t mention anyone in particular he only mentioned the rhetoric in general. The rightwing reacted furiously, perhaps because of a guilty conscience?
Tags: Open Thread
“It should be interesting to watch the Republican in-fighting on this issue. I doubt the new Teapublicans will just go along. What will the GOP establishment do?”
UI, i think you are wrongly (sorry) assuming that the Teapublicans are independent thinkers or even different from the regular GOP. Bishop Grover will issue the talking points to Fixed news who will instruct the followers why it is a good American and Rebellious idea to raise the debt ceiling. the “new fresh” elected officials will repeat them and all the Baggers will feel like they won because their masters tell them. The Tea party isn’t grass roots, or original, or anything they claim to be. They are just another arm of the repubs and when it is time to “listen to daddy” they will all follow along….. also pointing out the hypocrisy will be blasted by Palin as unfair and un civil. Remember, repeating a conservative’s words back to them to demonstrate how wrong they are is a sin against white ‘merican God.
Here’s some good faith Republican leaders could do . . . just state that Obama is a citizen and tell the birthers that they are wrong!
If Dupnik is recalled – Obama should appoint him to a high ranking spot in ICE.
“we think, by the way, it’s in everybody’s interest to do a few things on spending while we’re at that, to demonstrate we’re moving in the right direction”
More free tax money for banks, a stick in the eye for Veterans.
March 20, 2006: This was the last stand-alone debt limit vote on which then-Senator Obama voted. He was one of 48 members to vote against the increase, which passed with 52 votes.
He said: “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”
Here’s then-Senator Joe Biden speaking on the issue in 2006 :
“But as the rest of the world copes with the waves of U.S. debt, we are now all in the same leaky boat. There is just so much of our debt other nations want to hold. The more of it they accumulate, the closer we are to the day when they will not want any more. When that happens, slowly or rapidly, our interest rates will go up, the value of their U.S. bonds will drop, and we will all have big problems. We need both more awareness, and more understanding, of this fundamental threat to our economic well being and the global economy. … The President’s budget plans will bring that number to $11.8 trillion at the end of the next 5 years. This is a record of utter disregard for our Nation’s financial future. It is a record of indifference to the price our children and grandchildren will pay to redeem our debt when it comes due. History will not judge this record kindly. My vote against the debt limit increase cannot change the fact that we have incurred this debt already, and will no doubt incur more. It is a statement that I refuse to be associated with the policies that brought us to this point.”
Assuming Ishy’s quotes are accurate, he’s got something there.
In other news, Jerry Brown introduces a tough budget with $12 billion in spending cuts and $12 billion in tax increases to close the deficit. Conservative heads must be exploding. Liberal heads too I imagine.
Kay Hutchison not running for re-election.
Nemski, President Obama is a citizen, native born. Since you and Jason have promoted me to being a spokesperson. There you go. It feels good that Tom Kovach won the special election. Do I see good will back with congratulations and outreach to him?