Politics Plus

Here is the thirtieth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is birther Randy Neugebaur (R-TX), infamous for yelling “Baby Killer” at Democrats on the House floor, apologizing publicly, and afterwards, bragging about it in a fundraising attempt to fleece sheeple.  He is honored today for hypocrisy above and beyond the call of TEAbuggery!

Texas Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, got into a public spat with a National Parks Service employee Wednesday over who should have access to the World War II Memorial during the government shutdown.

Neugebauer was visiting the memorial Wednesday with a group of tourists, but was not allowed past police-imposed barriers. Earlier this week, police removed the barriers to allow World War II veterans into the memorial, which has sparked more controversy about keeping the monuments and museums open.

Neugebauer was caught on NBC Washington’s cameras fighting with the officer at the memorial, telling her she should be ashamed of not allowing people in the park.

“How do you look at them and…deny them access? I don’t get it,” the Republican Congressman said.

“It’s difficult,” the park service officer responded.

After saying the Parks Service should be ashamed of their actions of denying people access to the memorials, the officer said, “I’m not ashamed.”

“You should be,” Neugebauer is heard replying before walking away…

Inserted from <Houston Chronicle>

What a jerk!  Chris Hayes covered his hypocrisy.

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Kudos to the guy who put that two-faced SOB in his place, until his aide rushed in to save him and pulled him away.  The one good thing here is that there is no way Republicans can deny owning him.  His Texas village is missing its idiot, because fools elected him.

Now, I’d like to sit down with you and work out a compromise, but the entire time we’re talking, I get to hold a loaded gun to your head, and if I don’t like what you have to say, I just might pull the trigger.  Could you negotiate effectively under those conditions?  Would you agree to do so?  I couldn’t and wouldn’t, so nobody should be surprised that Barack Obama is savvy enough to refuse to talk until ALL the loaded weapons are cleared from the table.

In their first meeting since a budget impasse shuttered many federal operations, President Obama told Republican leaders on Wednesday that he would negotiate with them only after they agreed to the funding needed to reopen the government and also to an essential increase in the nation’s debt limit, without add-ons.

The president’s position reflected the White House view that the Republicans’ strategy is failing. His meeting with Congressional leaders, just over an hour long, ended without any resolution.

As they left, Republican and Democratic leaders separately reiterated their contrary positions to waiting reporters. The House speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, said Mr. Obama “will not negotiate,” while the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said Democrats would agree to spending at levels already passed by the House. “My friend John Boehner cannot take ‘yes’ for an answer,” Mr. Reid said.

The meeting was the first time that the president linked the two actions that he and a divided Congress are fighting over this month: a budget for the fiscal year that began on Tuesday and an increase in the debt ceiling by Oct. 17, when the Treasury Department will otherwise breach its authority to borrow the money necessary to cover the nation’s existing obligations to citizens, contractors and creditors… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Photo credit: USA Today

Linking the two prevents Republicans from settling this crisis and immediately causing another.

Alex Wagner covered how Obama explained his reasoning.

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Obama and the Democrats have always been willing to negotiate with the Republican Party. But they rightly refuse to do so under coercion. LaTourette is dead wrong. Both sides have not painted themselves into a corner. Only Republicans painted themselves into a corner. As much as Republicans are trying to blame the Baggers for this, the leadership are the ones responsible, because they refuse to put a clean CR on the House floor.

Chris Hayes explains just how far Obama and the Democrats have moved toward a Republican position.

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Kudlow. A Republican Corporacon, is so full of you know what that his eyes are turning brown. Democrats aren’t “getting religion” about budget levels. They are bending over backwards to bed agreeable to Republicans.  Look at that chart again yourself!

In summary, Democrats have already given to much. For them to negotiate further concessions with a gun to their head would be patently absurd.

Yesterday Republicans put three items on the House floor that might have created exceptions in the Republican Shutdown for Washington DC, the VA, and the National Parks Service.  These are areas over which Republicans have received a lot of complaint for their hateful blackmail, so they hoped that they could take some heat off themselves by creating the appearance of wanting to pass these exceptions.  At the same time they are blaming Democrats for blocking them, but that’s a lie too.

The latest proposal from House Republicans to reopen only certain parts of government failed Tuesday night as Democrats insisted they would not pick winners and losers among federal services, and the White House threatened a veto.

The latest Republican plan was to keep open national parks, veterans services and the District of Columbia, an approach modeled on recommendations by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has led the GOP’s strategy in the standoff that resulted in the first shutdown of the federal government in 17 years.

“If the Democrats are really concerned about funding the VA, let’s fund it,” said Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), as House Republicans emerged from an afternoon strategy session.

But three bills failed in the face of Democratic opposition. House Republicans used a procedure that required a two-thirds vote, hoping that would pressure Democrats to vote for them, knowing the bills would fail without their support. All three, however, were rejected largely on party-line votes… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <LA Times>

As heartless as this may appear, Democrats were absolutely correct to vote against these measures.  Why?  Because we’re all in this together, except the bastards causing it.

Republicans proposed that Democrats agree that the people of Washington DC are more important that the people suffering in hundreds of cities and towns all over America, because that’s politically convenient for Republicans.  They are not.  That’s just a divide and conquer strategy.

Republicans proposed that Democrats agree that Veterans’ care, as much as they deserve it, is more important than care for the people who may die, since the funding for their care has been cut off, because that’s politically convenient for Republicans.  It is not.  That’s just a divide and conquer strategy.

Republicans proposed that Democrats agree that allowing people to go to National Parks, watch Panda Cam, etc. is more important than EPA cleaning up toxic waste sites, because that’s politically convenient for Republicans.  It is not.  That’s just a divide and conquer strategy.

Moreover, the article missed the boat in one way.  Republicans weren’t trying to get Democrats to support these measures.  They had been informed that would not happen.  Republicans did not want to pass the measures.  If they had, all they had to do is bring them to the floor using normal procedures.  Instead they chose a procedure that requires a 2/3 supermajority, knowing in advance that the measures would fail.  I’m guessing their next ploy will be to actually pass refunding for some small project with strong emotional appeal and send it to the Senate, where Democrats must say No and hold out for the millions od Americans that desperately need a clean CR.

This was all kabuki: a divide and conquer scam.