Obama Down Plays the Nuclear Option, I mean, the Constitution

A legitimate argument has yet to be presented against the 14th Amendment case.  Yet, President Obama, in his Twitter Town Hall Forum downplayed his use of the option.  "I don't think that we need to make it a constitutional issue." he said during the hour long session today.

Which is weird because I thought that all branches of government kind of had to deal with things that were constitutional or not.  

(And, quick sidebar, how weird was it that he had a Twitter Town Hall Forum??  I mean, I'm not upset or frustrated, just perplexed.  It... it was... eh.  I don't have the energy.)

And Sen. Mitch McConnell said today that his side wasn't "absolutist".  "We have a better term for it -- common sense."  Now, say what you want about liberals being condescending, what McConnell said, that is condescending enough for Barbara Streisand.

Think of the debt crisis as this:  You have a credit card that you're way, way, way over.  You've been on time on payments, so you're credit is good, but you're getting to the point where you are going to make sacrifices.  Otherwise, men in black suits are going to break down the door and take you and your family away in silent helicopters to a compound in Nebraska.

You could a) stop spending money on the card in the amounts that you have, b) raise your income level or c) both of these things.  The "common sense" option is C!  You deal with the issue that much faster and you don't have to have it continual hanging over your head!  

But then you're spouse comes in and says "Don't get a better paying job!!!  Why would you do that?  You're going to stifle the growth of this house if you get a better paying job!!!"  And all you can really do is stare back and wonder how is it that you've been married for so long.  

"But we have to do something to deal with this credit card."

"Well, turn off a light switch when you leave a room."

"That's not going to help with the debt I owe, just the amount of bills that I would have coming in."

"If you get a better paying job, it's socialism."

Okay, it's not a perfect metaphor, but it's sound.  By insisting on spending cuts, the GOP are only fixing the issue of the amount of debt that will be owed, not the current amount of debt.  Obama/WH/Democrats/Rational people are trying to take a balanced approach, one that appeases the Right by making drastic (and I mean drastic cuts to spending) but one that shares the burden of supporting the government to those that afford to take a hit.

And it's not to say that having a balanced approach is always the right thing to do, but in this case, it makes good sense.  It's good economics, it's the only way that the debt is going to be taken care of any time soon and that must be the only reason why the GOP is so adamant against it.

But back to the Nuclear Option/14th Amendment/The Constitution:  Obama downplayed his thoughts on the option.  He didn't say "I will not cite the 14th Amendment to prevent the country from defaulting on it's debt." He's given the process another two weeks.  In two weeks, we will either have a balanced approach on the matter or you'll need a Geiger Counter to start walking through the halls of Congress.

On a side note, I'm going to starting writing this blog on a site called www.nuzcom.com.  Please go over and give the site a once over.  It's a good forum and has good writers about the place.  Check it out!

Weiner Shrinks to Nothing: the Political Obituary of a Horny Democrat

Weiner Gone but Boehner Remains?

This sort of thing happens to the best of them.

I think that the first thing to point out would be that the sex scandals are by no means a strictly Dem problem.  The last several have included the GOP (John Ensign, Mark Sanford and Mark Foley... I hate thinking about that last one...) but it seems like a stigma that is on the Donkey Party.

While there is a feeling that this one is different, mostly because there was never any real physical contact, it doesn't FEEL as much like cheating as crossing the line of touching.  But emotionally and spiritually it IS cheating.  That's something that Clinton never cleared up properly.  You have to remember, kids, in the 90's, we didn't talk about Oral Sex that much and there was, if only for a brief moment, a conversation as to whether or not BJs counted.  Then, we lost our minds as to the fact that we actually asked that question.

Now, Weiner is resigning and there's one thing that should be made abundantly clear.  This isn't a move from the constituents of Weiner's own district in NY.  This is a plain and simple move from the Dem Leadership.

On the one hand, I feel bad because Weiner, in all honesty, was good for business.  He was a firebrand, unashamed, unabashed liberal and he was fun to watch.  And he stood up to dicks on Fox News and in the halls of Congress.  At the very least, he was funny and most of the time, he was passionate.  Which is rare on both sides.

Then he had to take pictures of his cock and send them to people online (first mistake).  Then he got caught (second mistake).  And then, he lied about it (third and biggest mistake).  Reason why the last one is the biggest is because for the few weeks that have followed the scandal, everyone said the same thing for criticism:  if he's going to lie about this, what else would he be willing to lie about?  And THAT was the moment Weiner lost everything.

But, again, his decision to step down from the seat is strictly because of pressure within the party, notably from Pelosi from the beginning and now, in the last few days, Obama, who sent a quiet "Fuck you" through the media by saying that if he were in the same position, he would have resigned.

As much of a fan of Weiner (hehehehe) as I am, I also have to give it to the Dem leadership.  They're not taking any chances and their cutting a guy out from a district that more than likely is going to be safe the next time around.  Sure, it has a history of going between the two parties, but I think that with the current Dem fervor going through NY, it's going to be safe.

I suppose if the Congressman was in any higher position or if the district he represented wasn't a swing one, the Dems would have fought harder for him.  But, in my opinion, everything turned out the way that it should have in any case.  You fucked up.  You got to go.

In a related note, since we lost Weiner, can we go back and pronounce Boehner as Boner?

GOP Debate - Pick Romney and Cut the Fat

If the moment could be crystallized and maintained, it would seem that the GOP would be able to rectify the mistake that they made last prez election cycle by supporting Mitt Romney.  The fact of the matter is that he is the most sensible of the entire group, both in 2008 and now again in 2012.  Reports seem to indicate two things: first, he's the man to beat.  Second, that he would be the only chance at diversity that the GOP would have.

Michelle Bachmann also quietly announced that she was running for prez.  I can only imagine that she feels qualified because she took care of so many foster kids and, oh yeah, GOD told her to run for prez.  Because we will live in a country where when we tell others that a voice told them to do something, unless it was child rape or murder, we accept it.  Here's a woman who said that God told her to run for the House, but still had to raise the most money EVER for a House Campaign.  What, even with God on your side, you don't have the capital necessary?  I thought you just need the go ahead from the Big Guy Upstairs?

Also, on behalf of the state of Georgia, I would like to apologize for Herman Cain.  People are getting excited about him, but they also got excited about Alan Keyes (which nothing ever came of, I would remind the audience.)  The fact that the man hasn't apologized for the comments regarding Muslims and, in addition, hasn't resigned from the campaign entirely is ludicrous and shows that there are still bigots that can run for office and bigots that are going to support other bigots.

Even when given more than ample opportunity to redact the statement, he just doubled-down and said that he wouldn't hire those that were trying to kill him.  Well, what a brave fucking position!  Unlike Obama, who hired assassins and thugs to surround him... what President would hire people that are trying to kill him?  Even for the flourish and rhetoric, Cain is just a distraction.  If the GOP is smart, they'll ignore him and drop him like a bad habit.  But, as an Obama supporter, I hope he stays in the race through several primaries.

Back in 2008, the GOP had a very simple choice to make:  first, they had to find someone who was willing to run for president that didn't have strong or blatant ties to the previous administration.  They managed to cock that up relatively quickly.

Second, they had to find someone that appealed to the center more than Bush II.  They had (and have) that in Romney.  Romney managed to get elected Gov. of Mass. as a Republican!  And everyone that I've talked to from Boston that remembers the Romney years all said, "he was a great governor!"  Understanding of course that during the primaries and caucuses you have to appeal to the base, but the smart campaigner will be able to appeal to the base and convince them that they have to think about the general election now.

Having said all that, I will reiterate that I'm an ardent Obama supporter and will advocate for his re-election.