Sequester blame game continues as government shutdown looms
President Obama on Saturday called for a "caucus of common sense" to step forward and stop the sequester, which began cutting $85 billion of federal spending out of the economy on Friday.
Sequester to affect all federal agencies
"I know there are Republicans in Congress who would rather see tax loopholes closed than let these cuts go through," he said in his weekly address. "And I know there are Democrats who'd rather do smart entitlement reform than let these cuts go through. There's a caucus of common sense. And I'm going to keep reaching out to them to fix this for good."
The deadline to avoid the across the board cuts outright came and went on Friday evening, as Mr. Obama officially signed the sequester into effect. Both parties blamed each other for the failure to secure a deal before the deadline, and the finger-pointing continued Saturday.
The sequester "took effect because President Obama and Senate Democrats failed to act," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. and a member of House GOP leadership, said in the Republicans' weekly address. "In the last year, the House of Representatives has passed two proposals to replace the president's sequester with smarter spending cuts," but that the president's desire to "continue singling Americans out for tax increases" prevented Democrats from passing a "responsible plan to replace" the sequester.
"The president must stop using this debate as an excuse to raise taxes," she said, "and start seizing this opportunity to cut spending."
Americans to feel sequester cuts in few weeks
Mr. Obama, for his part, pinned the blame squarely on Republican obstinacy, accusing the GOP of protecting tax loopholes for the rich at the expense of middle-class families.
"None of this is necessary," the president said. "It's happening because Republicans in Congress chose this outcome over closing a single wasteful tax loophole that helps reduce the deficit. Just this week, they decided that protecting special-interest tax breaks for the well-off and well-connected is more important than protecting our military and middle-class families from these cuts."
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And "while not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away," Mr. Obama said, "the pain will be real."
Instead of submitting to the "perpetual partisanship and brinksmanship," the president suggested, "we can and must replace these cuts with a balanced approach" that combines targeted spending cuts with entitlement reform and closes tax loopholes.
"This is America," he said, "and in America, we don't careen from one manufactured crisis to another. We make smart choices."
Bipartisan leaders from the House and Senate met with President Obama at the White House Friday to continue negotiations before he officially signed the cuts into effect.
No agreement emerged, but both parties forged on, already looking ahead to the next fiscal fight. A temporary budgetary measure funding the government expires March 27, and if the parties cannot reach an agreement on continued funding by then, the government will shut down.
Despite the potential for another bout of budgetary drama, the president and House Speaker John Boehner each signaled after their meeting on Friday that a government shutdown looks unlikely.
"With respect to the budget and keeping the government open," Mr. Obama said, "what's called the continuing resolution, which is essentially just an extension of last year's budget into this year's budget to make sure those basic government functions continue - I think that's the right thing to do to make sure that we don't have a government shutdown. And that's preventable."
Boehner said, "The House is going to move a continuing resolution next week to fund the government past March 27th, and I'm hopeful that we won't have to deal with the threat of a government shutdown while we're dealing with the sequester at the same time. The House will act next week, and I hope the Senate will follow suit."
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Please go to the link below and sign. Our childern and grandchilderns futures are at stake, No more do nothing congress. We will take thewm out leagally which our constitution allows us to do when congress is unable to govern. Fir these white colored theives!
Impeach Congress!
letters2congress.rallycongress.com
All existing members of congress (Senate and House) will be forced to resign when their current term is over! No existing member of congress will be eligible to run for any public office, ever again!
Impeach Congress!
letters2congress.rallycongress.com
All existing members of congress (Senate and House) will be forced to resign when their current term is over! No existing member of congress will be eligible to run for any public office, ever again!..
Demented teabaggers are carrying the water for their fellow bedsheet and pillow case wearing republicans.
.
Impeach Congress!
All existing members of congress (Senate and House) will be forced to resign when their current term is over! No existing member of congress will be eligible to run for any public office, ever again!.
SAVE THE ECONOMY!
IMPEACH CONGRESS, NOW!
All existing members of congress (Senate and House) will be forced to resign when their current term is over! No existing member of congress will be eligible to run for any public office, ever again!
We the American Taxpayer are sick and tired of they way you WASTE our money! You are FIRED!
These politicians whether Obama,Democrats or Republicans have no right to put their needs above he countries needs(taking a 10 day break across the sequester date).This was the act of a bunch of babies not wanting to take any responsibility for their previous actions.Now they come back and want to put another band aude on it so there is no government shutdown.These politicians are a joke.
We as Americans should be calling on Obama to take some responsibility at the least.Remember what John Kennedy said "THE BUCK STOPS HERE."This came from a truly great man with a well eserved legacy.What is obamas true legacy going to be.Hsis phrase is going to be "take no blame for the negativeand pass the buck to someone else."
Sequestering WAS Obama's idea. Now he has ramped up the rhetoric to ensure the GOP gets blamed for it, as is the norm with the Dems, it's never their fault.
According to ultra liberal Bob Beckel, "Yes it was Obama's idea. That's a fact. But poll after poll proves the public doesn't care about the facts, it's all about perception. And the perception is that it's the fault of the GOP". (Nuff said)
In other words, the deception has been so successful that even though the facts are so starkly clear, the propaganda coming out of this admin, and being liberally (pun intended) spread around by main stream media, chief of which is MSNBC, has been so successful in the brainwashing that many have been led around by the nose long enough that they eschew the facts and accept the propaganda. Hence the perception Beckel spoke of! Especially given that the propaganda is spewing forth from the guy they the brainwashed see, as Jamie Foxx puts it, their lord and saviour.
Sequestering WAS Obama's idea. Now he has ramped up the rhetoric to ensure the GOP gets blamed for it, as is the norm with the Dems, it's never their fault.
According to ultra liberal Bob Beckel, "Yes it was Obama's idea. That's a fact. But poll after poll proves the public doesn't care about the facts, it's all about perception. And the perception is that it's the fault of the GOP". (Nuff said)
In other words, the deception has been so successful that even though the facts are so starkly clear, the propaganda coming out of this admin, and being liberally (pun intended) spread around by main stream media, chief of which is MSNBC, has been so successful in the brainwashing that many have been led around by the nose long enough that they eschew the facts and accept the propaganda. Hence the perception Beckel spoke of! Especially given that the propaganda is spewing forth from the guy they the brainwashed see, as Jamie Foxx puts it, their lord and saviour.