It’s Been an Especially Extreme Week for the GOP

May 19, 2011

It’s Been an Especially Extreme Week for the GOP

First, Supporting the Wildly Unpopular House Republican Plan for Eliminating Medicare to Pay for Another Tax Break for Millionaires Became the New GOP Litmus Test as Former GOP Speaker Gingrich Incurred the Wrath of the Party Establishment After Calling the Ryan Plan What It Is -- “Radical Change” :

CNN:  Newt Gingrich sparked this firestorm on Sunday when talking about Ryan's Medicare proposal, saying, "I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering. I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate."  Since then Gingrich has apologized to Ryan and conducted interviews with conservative commentators in what appears to be an attempt of damage control.
[…]
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer is also weighing in on the Gingrich controversy, saying on Twitter Wednesday that the "biggest takeaway from the Gingrich flap – ending Medicare as we know it is the new GOP litmus test."

Meanwhile, at the same time the GOP establishment was turning up the heat on Newt for assailing the “radical” Ryan plan, House Republicans continued to feel the heat back home in their districts for voting for it :

Las Vegas Review-Journal: ‘Heck town hall meeting sparks passions’
VIDEO: Town Hall Constituents To Rep. Allen West: ‘Hands Off Medicare!’

Palm Beach Post: At town hall meetings, critics confront GOP Rep. West over Medicare cuts
Duluth News Tribune: Sparks fly in Cravaack’s visit to Iron Range.

Sun Sentinel: Rep. Allen West faces tough questions at town hall in Pompano Beach.

AP: Freshman Rep. Cravaack defends Medicare vote

Herald-Review: Schilling defends possible changes to Medicare during town hall in Decatur

Then on Tuesday, Senate Republicans blocked legislation supported by more than 70% of the American public to eliminate $21 billion in wasteful and unnecessary subsidies for the five largest, most profitable oil companies in the world that made $30 billion in profit in just the first quarter of 2011 :

New York Times: The Senate on Tuesday blocked a Democratic proposal to strip the five leading oil companies of tax breaks that backers of the measure said were unfairly padding industry profits while consumers were struggling with high gas prices. … The defeat on Tuesday was expected since most Republicans were dug in against what they saw as a politically motivated plan in advance of the 2012 elections. … Under the proposal, Democrats would have eliminated five different tax breaks enjoyed by the multinational oil companies, producing an estimated $21 billion over 10 years.

And Throughout the Week, More and More House and Senate Republicans Climbed Aboard the “Default Deniers” Crazy Train, Despite Warning from the Economic, Financial and Business Communities of the Dire Consequences of Failing to Raise the Debt Ceiling, including “likely push[ing] the U.S. into recession and drag down the stock market” :

Politico, May 17: Default deniers: The new skeptics They are the newest breed of government skeptics, the swelling ranks of Republicans who don’t believe the Obama administration when it says a failure to raise the debt limit will prove catastrophic.   And they stand ready to make negotiations over raising the cap on debt as grueling as possible, making Treasury officials and Wall Street more nervous than ever that the country could suffer an unprecedented default with consequences no one can predict.  The suspicion, which once flourished on only the conservative outskirts of economic circles, has seeped into the mainstream in recent weeks, gaining broader acceptance among establishment Republicans, even as the administration issues increasingly dire warnings. 

MSNBC: GOP congressman: Default would benefit the U.S.  By now, it shouldn't be a surprise that House Republicans are against raising the debt ceiling -- unless it's joined by a significant effort to reduce spending.  But it is surprising when one GOP member says that defaulting on the debt and going through "a period of crisis" could actually be a good thing. California Congressman Devin Nunes (R) said in an interview:  “By defaulting on the debt, in the short and long term, it could benefit us to go through a period of crisis that forces politicians to make decisions” on major policies that affect the budget, he told POLITICO.

Think Progress: Toomey: ‘I Doubt’ That Failing To Raise The Debt Ceiling ‘Would Be Disruptive To The Economy’: As former Reagan economic official Bruce Bartlett noted, “failure to raise the debt limit not only threatens a default that could potentially roil the entire world financial system, but would potentially deprive federal workers of their salaries, deny payments to businesses for goods and services sold to the federal government, renege on Social Security benefits to retirees, and shortchange savers who depend on interest income.” Bank of America analysts noted that not raising the debt ceiling “would necessitate politically unpopular and potentially economically crippling budget cuts that would likely push the U.S. into recession and drag down the stock market.” It would also make paying off the debt much more expensive (through higher interest rates). Those sure sound like adverse effects.

Posted by Kombiz