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Post by JP5 on Oct 9, 2013 16:04:57 GMT
Although this fact did not make the headline on the NPR (liberal) outlet......it's inside their article. Obama is now at a 37% approval Rating!!
"Most Americans disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, the poll suggests, with 53 percent unhappy with his performance and 37 percent approving of it. Congress is scraping rock bottom, with a ghastly approval rating of 5 percent."
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=230635128
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Post by ShivaTD on Oct 10, 2013 12:30:48 GMT
No president can be consider successful when Congress is failing. It's the approval rating of 5% for Congress that is the real problem because it's dragging down the approval rating of the President.
Americans tend to always blame the president when it's almost always Congress that is the problem. The president cannot pass laws and cannot make anything really happen. Congress controls almost all of the actions of the president. The president, as "Chef Executive Officer" of the United States is highly limited as he (or she) can only do that which Congress authorizes.
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Post by JP5 on Oct 11, 2013 17:35:54 GMT
You need to keep in mind that simply stating Congress' approval rating does not tell the whole story. Much of that is coming from Republicans and even Independents who are mad as hell at the Republicans for always caving and NOT doing the jobs we sent them there to do.
If someone called and asked me today to rate them, I'd give them a ZERO. And it's NOT because they are NOT cooperating with Democrats and Obama. It's because they are on the verge of caving to the left......yet again.
Most of them are more concerned about keeping their jobs than doing what we sent them there to do. But I think they'll soon find out that it will be just the reverse for their careers. We will do everything in our power to kick out the old guard and replace them with new blood. It won't happen soon.....probably not even in 2014.....but it WILL happen. And if it doesn't happen.....then our country will forever NOT be what it used to be. Our grandchildren will NOT have the opportunities we had. And it's because we had no one willing to fight for what is right.
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Post by ShivaTD on Oct 12, 2013 1:25:49 GMT
Our government is based upon compromise but that is not what's happening at least in the Republican controlled House. The Senate can be seen in a slightly different light because it agreed to the House "continuous resolution" for spending amount although it rejected the 42nd attempt to repeal "Obamacare" that had no Democratic support in the House.
The fact is that the House Budget Committee had about seven months to work out a compromise budget proposal between the Republicans and Democrats for the 2014 budget but completely failed to accomplish that because the House Republicans refused to compromise on key issues. Not a single Democrat voted for the House Budget Committee's budget proposals and that reflects a complete refusal to compromise by the Republicans on that committee that controlled the vote.
Our current budget crisis is exclusively because of House Republicans that refuse to compromise at all with Democrats so that bi-partisan budget for 2014 can be passed by Congress. They had seven months to reach a compromise but didn't because the Republicans wouldn't compromise.
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Post by 12th on Oct 13, 2013 16:53:56 GMT
Two kinds of people still support pbama. The ones who have nothing invested in this country and the ones who have their own ego invested in pbama. The former don't pay taxes. They vote themselves free stuff. The latter were fooled by pbama's personality and they will never admit it. They believed him when he said spending was unamerican. They were the ones who went "awww" when pbama blew his nose. Anything pbama does that was wrong, he was forced to do by Bush even 5 years later. They have no understanding of the genius of the Constitution so they will never feel the loss of it. They cling to their religion but their religion is pbama.
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Post by 12th on Oct 13, 2013 17:51:32 GMT
Most of these people would choke if they were required to give an example of something pbama has done that they approve of.
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Post by ShivaTD on Oct 14, 2013 10:57:20 GMT
Most of these people would choke if they were required to give an example of something pbama has done that they approve of.
A) I approve of President Obama
B) I neither approve or disapprove of President Obama
C) I disapprove of President Obama
I'd select "B" because there are numerous things I agree with and that I disagree with. Because the question is limited to what I approve of let me provide some examples (along with some caveats).
I approved of removing the restrictions of DADT from the US military and allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.
I approved of the change by President Obama from his belief in civil unions to equality in marriage for gays and lesbians after it was proven in court that "civil unions" did not provide equality for same-sex couples.
I approved of President Obama siding with the US Constitution in the Supreme Court case on DOMA Section 3 and look forward to his support when DOMA Section 2 comes before the US Supreme Court as it will also be found to be unconstitutional.
I approved of President Obama's wanting to close GITMO but condemn him for not doing by executive order immediately upon taking office before Congress had a chance to intervene.
I approved of President Obama and the DOJ's desire to prosecuted the 9/11 defendants in a criminal court because they are charged with criminal offenses and not violations of the laws and customs of war. I condemn him for not carrying through on that and instead prosecuting them at GITMO before a military tribunal.
I currently approve of President Obama insisting that the funding of government to keep it fully operational and of raising the debt ceiling not be tied to any political agendas.
I agree with President Obama when it comes to ensuring that the poor have something to eat and that everyone in America should have health care even if they can't afford it but I disagree with the specifics of the Affordable Care Act as this could be accomplished through other means that are better (but which Republicans aren't offering).
I support President Obama and the DOJ in filing lawsuits against States that impose Voter ID laws that will prevent millions of US citizens from voting.
I support President Obama's call for immigration reform that will provide a pathway to citizenship for the "illegal" immigrants in the US but condemn the continuing inclusion of "quotas" which was the same problem that happened under Reagan's immigration reform because it will create the identical illegal immigration problem in the future.
I approve of President Obama addressing deficit reduction with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases but condemn him because he doesn't go nearly far enough with either.
I agree with President Obama that our tax codes are unfair and that the wealthy (investors) are not paying their fair share but I disagree with how he goes about proposing fixing it.
I approved of President Obama ending the torture of people held under the authority of the United States but disapprove of his extra-judicial executions that are technically acts of murder under US statutory law and for which I've called for his impeachment and removal from office.
There are, of course, many things that I'm completely opposed to President Obama on but that is a different list.
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Post by ShivaTD on Oct 14, 2013 11:13:05 GMT
They have no understanding of the genius of the Constitution so they will never feel the loss of it.
Currently the House Republicans are refusing to pay for the "Debts" created by Congress that provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States. Are they in compliance with this provision of the US Constitution or not?
Let's look at another part of the US Constitution.
To "lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived" establishes that all incomes, regardless of source, should be treated identically under the law "without regard to any census or enumeration" but "Capital Gains Taxes" are taxed at completely different "rates" based upon enumeration in our statutory laws. The "Capital Gains Tax" loophole is expressly in violation of the 16th Amendment's provisions because it enumerates the "source" of the income. Do Tea Party followers oppose the Capital Gains Tax loophole because it violates the 16th Amendment?
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Post by 12th on Oct 14, 2013 19:33:01 GMT
BS. You say the Congress has congressional authority, then you accuse them of acting unconstitutionally. If they have the power of the purse, why aren't you blaming the senate for not passing one of their 4 bills?
The Congress was duly elected to perform their duties. If their duties included giving the other govt entities anything and everything they wanted, why bother to have a Congress?
And BTW, there is plenty of revenue to pay our debts. If we default, it is the choice of the tyrant in the WH.
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Post by ShivaTD on Oct 15, 2013 6:26:00 GMT
BS. You say the Congress has congressional authority, then you accuse them of acting unconstitutionally. If they have the power of the purse, why aren't you blaming the senate for not passing one of their 4 bills? The Congress was duly elected to perform their duties. If their duties included giving the other govt entities anything and everything they wanted, why bother to have a Congress? And BTW, there is plenty of revenue to pay our debts. If we default, it is the choice of the tyrant in the WH.
One of the "Duties" of the Congress is to fund the expenditures it authorizes either through collected revenue or by borrowing as authorized under Article I Section 8.
No, the federal government does not have enough tax revenue to pay the Congressionally authorized expenditures. It has an average shortfall of $30 billion/mo. but that is not spread equally. Some months it actually collects more than is necessary while other months it falls far short of collecting enough revenues to pay the Congressionally authorized expenditures. It happens that November is one of those months where there will be a shortfall and that shortfall is estimated to be $130 billion. Those expenditures don't simply go away if they're not paid. They include payments to private industries like Lockheed (that's already laid off over 2,000 workers because of the shut down) and the government will not only have to pay Lockheed there will be financial penalties for late payments. These private enterprises have contracts and our government is going to default on the contracts and that default will cost more money, not less.
I also find it extremely weird that Republicans suggest the President and the US Treasury should pick and choose what to pay and what not to pay. The President and the Treasury doesn't have that authority. The President and Treasury is required to pay ALL OF THE EXPENDITURES authorized by Congress even if they don't agree with them. If there is a "priority" then that priority has to be established by Congress and not by the White House.
Bottom line the US government is going to be $130 billion in the hole next month. Except for certain priorities established by law (e.g. payment of Social Security) the bills have to wait to be paid until there is enough money to cover them all. Late payment penalties will add to the amount of money owed by the federal government which delays payments even longer for the following month and the problem grows worse. With the current layoffs of federal employees, about 800,000, plus the additional layoffs in the private sector that have now exceeded the number of government layoffs the tax revenues are also diminishing. That means less money coming in to pay for the mounting bills waiting to be paid.
Everyday the shutdown continues the problem gets worse and worse and costs the American People and the Federal Government more. Assembly lines producing Abrams tanks (that the US military doesn't want) are going to be shut down. The F-35 line in Ft Worth is going to be shut down. The lumber mills that rely on logging from federal lands have already begun closing down. About 10% of the entire US housing market has been shut down.
Every economist in the United States has stated that the continued shutdown of the government and the failure to raise the debt limit is going to be catastrophic to the US economy plunging us back into a recession worse than the Bush Recession of 2008. What part of that do those in the "Tea Party" fail to understand?
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Post by JP5 on Oct 15, 2013 14:29:41 GMT
What are you talking about? What has Reid and Obama said they would agree to, while taking out the other parts? They have summarily rejected in total everything the Republican Congress has submitted. If you can prove otherwise, then please do so.
The House controls the purse strings....and it's because they are closest to the people, as THEIR representatives. Each one that votes is voting what their constituents are telling them to vote for.....or against.
Harry Reid and Obama have done nothing but turn down EVERYTHING submitted to them by the Congress; all the while demonizing them. They could have done what most who are truly serious about negotiating and compromising would do. They could have said......okay, we can't live with defunding Obamacare, but we can live with delaying the mandate for individuals for one year. Especially considering their opening of the websites has been such a debacle. BUT NO......Harry and Obama want it ALL their way in TOTAL.
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Post by ShivaTD on Oct 15, 2013 16:52:58 GMT
What are you talking about? What has Reid and Obama said they would agree to, while taking out the other parts? They have summarily rejected in total everything the Republican Congress has submitted. If you can prove otherwise, then please do so.
The House controls the purse strings....and it's because they are closest to the people, as THEIR representatives. Each one that votes is voting what their constituents are telling them to vote for.....or against.
Harry Reid and Obama have done nothing but turn down EVERYTHING submitted to them by the Congress; all the while demonizing them. They could have done what most who are truly serious about negotiating and compromising would do. They could have said......okay, we can't live with defunding Obamacare, but we can live with delaying the mandate for individuals for one year. Especially considering their opening of the websites has been such a debacle. BUT NO......Harry and Obama want it ALL their way in TOTAL.
My position is simple. The government needs to be funded and the debt ceiling must be raised. This needs to be accomplished without any "partisanship" by either party. Then, once government is operating it is up to Congress to work out their differences though the legislative process of compromise. Neither side should be using the debt ceiling or funding of government as a weapon to pass purely partisan legislation that would have no chance of passage through the normal budgetary process.
Once again we've already seen two million or more jobs lost because of the shutdown. We'll also see a catastrophic impact to the US economy if the debt ceiling isn't raised. As previously noted there will be a financial shortfall of $130 billion in November alone. Republicans are delusional in believing that the government takes in enough revenue to pay the bills if the debt ceiling isn't raised. We will soon default on our debt interest payments because of a lack of revenue and that will easily double the interest rates on the $17 trillion national debt. That alone will add hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending each year. That's exactly opposite of what we might want in lowering the deficits and national debt.
Remember a simple fact, all of the authorized spending for November must be paid before the December bills are paid. The interest on the national debt for November might be paid but it won't be paid in December until all of Novembers authorized expenditures are paid.
In the meantime with more than 2 million people already out of work and more to be laid off as the "shut down" continues that creates a huge loss of revenue from income taxes and FICA/Payroll taxes as well.
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newsman
Scribe
Posts: 37 
Politics: Independent
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Post by newsman on Oct 15, 2013 19:31:33 GMT
And the Congressional Republicans have a 5% approval rating.
What was your point again?
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Post by ShivaTD on Oct 16, 2013 9:30:49 GMT
And the Congressional Republicans have a 5% approval rating. What was your point again?
In other threads I've addressed a fundamental problem in that both the Democrats and Republicans have lost the common denominator that allowed for compromise. The nation was founded based upon the political ideology of classical liberalism and while there were political differences there was this common denominator that allowed compromise.
Both Republicans and Democrats abandoned "classical liberalism" during the 20th Century and they lost this common denominator that allowed them to compromise. We see that becoming more and more problematic as we're suffering Congressional gridlock on issues that should never be disputed between the two major parties.
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