What People are saying about the Debt Panel Failure

[proudrwnj]

What a cluster**** this is.

Quote:Dan Glickman, on The Huffington Post: "Probably the biggest obstacle to reaching agreement on the debt is the very strong and widening ideological differences between the parties, and the public at large. … The result is paralysis, and an American government incapable of governing for its most basic functions and needs, in large part because there is such a massive divide on so many of the issues. … Perhaps the most reasonable outcome to all of this is a serious presidential and congressional election where the public can speak clearly and unequivocally on where they want their government to take them."

The New York Times, in an editorial: "The only reason the committee failed was because Republicans refused to raise taxes on the rich, and, in fact, wanted to cut them even below their current bargain-basement level. Republicans in Washington claimed Democrats refused to budge on entitlements. John Boehner, the House speaker, and Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, as if by rote, issued statements saying it was all President Obama's fault. But, had a single Republican on the panel endorsed even a modest increase in upper-income tax rates, Republicans could have won trillions in cuts from entitlements and discretionary spending. None would take that courageous step, and now it seems foolish to have expected that they would."

Dan Fournier, in the National Journal: "Shame on Republicans for a stubborn unwillingness to seriously consider tax increases. Shame on Democrats for keeping a closed mind to significant benefit cuts. And shame on President Obama for standing idly by as Washington failed again to get the country's fiscal house in order. The political system is broken. It's only a matter of time before voters take matters in their own hands: The rise of a third party — or the dramatic overhaul of one of the existing ones — is in the offing. … Sooner or later, we will pay for the opportunities missed in 2011. Shame on us for letting that happen."

The (Portland) Oregonian, in an editorial: "It's just not clear that congressional Republicans and Democrats can do deals with each other. Republicans are constrained by the pressures of talk radio and the no-tax pledge that just about all House Republicans have signed. Democrats are under pressure from the left blogosphere, the folks calling any group promoting Social Security or Medicare cuts a 'catfood commission,' and a barrage of AARP TV ads warning that there are 50 million Americans on the programs and they're no 'pushovers.' Even if opposing lawmakers seriously want a deal - far from a certainty - there are now powerful centrifugal forces pulling them away from each other."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/for...51387264/1