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"All 6 Democrats on Deficit-Reduction Panel Earned 'F's From Taxpayers’ Union"

It’s a balanced approach to deficit reductionthat we need, you see. Because the American people want compromise. And what better way to insure compromise on spending cuts than to stack this ridiculous “super committee” with some of the biggest spenders in Congress? CNS:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) announced today that she has assigned Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (S.C.), Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (Calif.) and Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (Md.) to serve on the panel. Previously, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had named Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (Mont.) to serve on the committee.

None of these Democrats had voting records that scored even as high as 10 percent in the NTU’s annual rating of Congress for last year. Among the six, Rep. Clyburn earned the lowest score of 2 percent and Sen. Baucus earned the highest score of 9 percent. Rep. Van Hollen earned a score of 4 percent and Rep. Becerra and Senators Murray and Kerry earned scores of 6 percent.

In [National Taxpayers Union] rating system, all members of Congress who score below 20 percent for their voting record are given a grade of “F” and named a “Big Spender.”

[…]

The NTU, a nonpartisan organization, grades all members of Congress each year on the stands they take on “every vote that significantly affects taxes, spending, debt, and regulatory burdens on consumers and taxpayers.” In 2010, the group scored 165 votes in the House and 145 in the Senate.

“Unlike most organizations that publish ratings, we refuse to play the ‘rating game’ of focusing on only a handful of congressional votes on selected issues,” NTU says of its congressional scoring. “The NTU voting study is the fairest and most accurate guide available on congressional fiscal policies. It is a completely unbiased accounting of votes.”

The median NTU score among Republicans in the Senate was 96 percent and in the House 88 percent. The median NTU score among Democrats was 7 percent in both the Senate and House.

Best deal we could get!

And when this goes south? I’ll join with the media, the GOP cognescenti, the Democrats, et al., and put the blame right where it’s deserved: on the intransigent TEA Party purists who warned that this deal would once again end up screwing the citizenry and lead to no real positive change for the nation.

Bottom line: either the GOP agrees to raise “revenue” and fix “loopholes” in the tax code to prevent “tax expenditures,” or the military takes the brunt of the triggered cuts. The rest are on Medicare providers, not on Medicare entitlements, and so do nothing really to address the underlying problems. It just punishes the productive at the expense of the takers.

So it’s a lose, lose.

Which, if you’re part of the GOP establishment, you spin as a win!

Somebody send Bill Kristol a nice floral arrangement. In the shape of a Hobbit flipping him the bird.

14 Replies to “"All 6 Democrats on Deficit-Reduction Panel Earned 'F's From Taxpayers’ Union"”

newrouter says:

August 11, 2011 at 3:09 pm

or a bird flipping him a hobbit.
happyfeet says:

August 11, 2011 at 3:22 pm

how did the Rs on the panel score?
newrouter says:

August 11, 2011 at 3:29 pm

mostly squish with upton as their leading light
newrouter says:

August 11, 2011 at 4:03 pm

Democrats have had field day attacking Republicans, and the Tea Party in particular, for their refusal to “compromise.” They might ask one of their own — Rep. Xavier Becerra (D., Calif.) — who will be representing them on the debt-reduction super committee, why he appears to have such disdain for bipartisan agreements. Not only did he vote against the recent debt-ceiling bill (the only Democrat on the panel to do so), Becerra also opposed the long-term continuing resolution passed in April and the final recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson deficit commission. Three bipartisan compromises. Three no votes from Becerra. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) might as well have appointed an empty chair.

Link
newrouter says:

August 11, 2011 at 4:08 pm

Here’s one guy, Chris VanHollen, for instance:

“Tonight’s vote was a political stunt. Republicans are demagoguing the debt ceiling increase for political gain, but their own budget would add $8.8 trillion to the debt over the next decade. By threatening to default, they are simply holding jobs and the economy hostage in order to pass their extreme budget that dismantles the Medicare guarantee. Indeed Republicans have now embraced the argument that they will pay China and foreign creditors, but not cover Medicare and Social Security. Republicans have doubled down on their plan to end the Medicare guarantee, and it is amazing what they will do to impose what Newt Gingrich rightly described as ‘right wing social engineering.”

You can almost taste the bipartisan spirit.

Link
newrouter says:

August 11, 2011 at 4:18 pm

In my post here yesterday assessing the Republican members of the debt-ceiling deal “super-committee,” I noted:

Pelosi has yet to name her bench. Bet on radical nutcases (someone from the black caucus, for example) or bare-knuckled partisans like Chris Van Hollen.

Well, today Pelosi named her picks: Jim Clyburn (of the Congressional Black Caucus), Xavier Beccera, and Chris Van Hollen. Now, if only my stock market picks this week were this on target.

I hear that some lefties are already complaining that the whole 12-member committee lacks–wait for it . . . –diversity. Only one woman (Murray) in the whole bunch. Oh, this is going to go well.

Link
sdferr says:

August 11, 2011 at 4:36 pm

Obama’s little rhetorical temper tantrum today was a paint by numbers set-up for later casting blame on the deadlocked super-committee who just won’t get along. He’s a cheap ass doofus this Obama character, who’ll refuse to spend any time working at what he ought.
Ernst Schreiber says:

August 11, 2011 at 5:10 pm

Now we know how Obama plans to lose in Afghanistan: The Tea-Party led Republican Congress will have defunded the war for him.
newrouter says:

August 11, 2011 at 5:39 pm

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., three picks to serve on the joint Congressional deficit-reduction panel have all advocated massive tax hikes this year, with two of the appointees having voted for the radical budget plan put together by House liberals.

The so-called “People’s Budget,” proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus as an alternative to Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan, was so liberal that it only received 77 votes in the House (with 108 Democrats voting “no.”) But Reps. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., whom Pelosi named to the committee today, were among the few “yes” votes.

According to Ryan’s office, it would hike taxes by $16 trillion relative to his House-passed plan.

Link
Swen says:

August 11, 2011 at 8:31 pm

And on the Republican side, only one of the six, Toomey, voted against the debt limit increase. Even in Vegas the games aren’t this badly rigged.
LBascom says:

August 11, 2011 at 8:34 pm

The country(and maybe the world) is now clearly divided into two groups, the looters and the looties.

The looties better get together and repel the mob, or civilization will turn to ashes.
Squid says:

August 12, 2011 at 7:48 am

The looties better get together and repel the mob, or civilization will turn to ashes.

I’m just hiding all my stuff, so that the mob has nothing to loot. Without a prize to share, they’ll soon turn on one another. In the end, I get the same result (fewer looters) without all the hard work and expense.
cranky-d says:

August 12, 2011 at 8:15 am

I’m on the “I’ve got nothing to loot” track right now. At least, if you’re talking about money saved or invested somewhere.
mojo says:

August 12, 2011 at 8:45 am

Am I to understand that you tea-whatsis’ think that the “super committee” might not be on the total up-and-up?

Why, that’s just CRAZY TALK!!