Three Cheers For Alan Simpson

[Lord Jim]

Simpson: 'Show me a guy who won't compromise and I'll show you a guy with rock for brains'

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com ... or-brains/

(Scroll down a bit for video.)

[rubato]

so every Senator and Congressman who signed the Grover Norquist pledge has a rock for brains?

I'd agree.

But that is most of your party.

The Democrats deserve a better party of opposition.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

LOL

That's rich coming from you....

The guy who regularly refers to those who disagree with him as members of "the party of treason"....

Yeah, I'm sure you're all about compromise...

There ain't a dime's worth of difference between you and the most hardcore Tea Party type, rube...

And the funniest thing is you don't even realize it...

[dgs49]

I AGREE WITH RUBATO!!!!!

Signing a "no new taxes" pledge is stupid and counterproductive. It is a good starting point for discussion, but a poor substitute for a principled position on the issue of taxation.

[Guinevere]

Good lord, I agree with rubato *and* Dave. Real leadership requires the ability to negotiate, compromise, and make principled choices. Sometimes that requires drawing a line in the sand, but that shouldn't be the beginning and end of the discussion.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Must be the second coming because I agree with rubato (first sentence), dead d and Guin all at the same time. What is the world coming to....

[Econoline]

What is the world coming to....

e.t.a.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3MiD_U4CHQ

[Andrew D]

The extent to which the aspiring leaders of my party have been driven paralytic to the point of borderline madness by a small group of hyperactive Randians, was on full display when they were asked the question in a recent debate if they would be willing to accept a deal that had 10 dollars in spending cuts for every dollar in tax increases....

Not one of them raised their hand...

Ronald Reagan would have taken that deal in a heartbeat....

All of us agree that the Republicans are the problem.

[Lord Jim]

The extent to which the aspiring leaders of my party have been driven paralytic to the point of borderline madness by a small group of hyperactive Randians, was on full display when they were asked the question in a recent debate if they would be willing to accept a deal that had 10 dollars in spending cuts for every dollar in tax increases....

Not one of them raised their hand...

Ronald Reagan would have taken that deal in a heartbeat....

All of us agree that the Republicans are the problem.

I'm sorry, but that's a misrepresentation of what I was saying...

I never intended to give the impression that I believe the GOP is "the" problem...

As regular readers of this space will no doubt know, I have been very critical , nearly unto despair at times, about the conduct of some elements within my party....

But I have also expressed detailed criticism regarding Obama's conduct, and Nancy Pelosi's conduct...

Some people may feel that "the Republicans are the problem", and they are entitled to hold that view, but nothing I have said should give anyone the impression that I agree with that view.

[Andrew D]

But there is a crucial difference.

On your side of the aisle, "a small group of hyperactive Randians" is running the show.

On the left, the loony-fringers are, well, on the fringe. On the right, the people who once were, and still ought to be, loony-fringers have taken charge.

[rubato]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/ ... igners.pdf

277 Norquist pledge signers in congress.

274 Republicans

3 Democrats

Which party is off the rails again? Which party is stupid enough to say they will turn the dial one way only, ever?

yrs,
rubato

[dgs49]

Democrat mendacity with respect to tax increases and spending cuts is sufficient to justify a rather strident position against an a priori agreement to increase taxes.

"We'll agree to cut spending if you'll agree to increase taxes," always ends up with higher spending and higher taxes. Always.

Not that the Republican Party has any record of significant spending cuts...