This, that, .....and the Republican's Temper Tantrum

Being Liberal

(M) We're sick and tired of this childish BS!

Thanks to Occupy Democrats for creating this.

The Shutdown in 10 Infuriating Sentences

—By Kevin Drum

| Fri Oct. 4, 2013

At its core, the dispute over the budget and the debt ceiling isn't complicated at all. But it is full of misconceptions and urban myths. Here are the 10 facts worth remembering past all the obfuscation:

1. Democrats have already agreed to fund the government at Republican levels.
2. Despite what you might have heard, there have only been two serious government shutdowns in recent history, and both were the result of Republican ultimatums.
3. Democrats in the Senate have been begging the House to negotiate over the budget for the past six months, but Republicans have refused.
4. That's because Republicans wanted to wait until they had either a government shutdown or a debt ceiling breach as leverage, something they've been very clear about all along.
5. Republicans keep talking about compromise, but they've offered nothing in return for agreeing to their demands—except to keep the government intact if they get their way.
6. The public is very strongly opposed to using a government shutdown to stop Obamacare.

             

Contrary to Republican claims, the deficit is not increasing—it peaked in 2009 and has been dropping ever since, declining by $200 billion last year with another $450 billion drop projected this year.

A long government shutdown is likely to seriously hurt economic growth, with a monthlong shutdown projected to slash GDP in the fourth quarter by 1 percentage point and reduce employment by over a million jobs.

No, Democrats have not used debt ceiling hostage taking in the past to force presidents to accept their political agenda.

This whole dispute is about the Republican Party fighting to make sure the working poor don't have access to affordable health care.

Kevin Drum

Political Blogger

Kevin Drum is a political blogger for Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. RSS | Twitter

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/10/shutdown-debt-ceiling-explained


 
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES:

30 Ways the Shutdown Is Already Screwing People

The government shutdown is bad news for children, children with illnesses, and people who care for children with mysterious illnesses. Also: unemployed goats.

Can Obama Disrupt the Shutdown Narrative?

Perhaps it's time for a "have you no decency" moment.

No, the House GOP Isn't Standing Up for Kids With Cancer

The National Institutes of Health has become a symbol of the shutdown. But the GOP's preferred budget enshrines massive cuts.

Now the Government Shutdown Is Stopping Blood Drives

Canceled federal agency blood drives threaten to leave DC-area hospitals in short supply.

 

 

Should Obama Reveal His Inner Pissed-Off President?

48 Ways a Government Shutdown Will Screw You Over

The 10 Saddest Government Shutdown Goodbye Notes