Morning Update

by Deacon Blues

Murdoch's Defense
Rupert Murdoch and his son James told a House of Commons committee today that they had no knowledge of what was going on underneath them when it came to the hacking scandal, and that it was the fault of their subordinates. With these assertions now on the record, the fun part begins.

Debt Ceiling Circus
Eric Cantor will push the House to waste four hours of debate today on “Cut, Cap, and Balance”, the House GOP’s plan to go beyond the Paul Ryan budget. It is a meaningless effort, since the Senate will never approve it and the president will veto it if they ever did. Plus, the key element behind it, a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget will never receive enough approval from the states to ever become law, and damages the country beyond even the Ryan plan.

The fact that this despicable piece of thinking will get hundreds of House GOP votes today tells you how hostile the GOP caucus is towards the federal government, and how out of touch they are with their own constituents. Yet it allows Eric’s children to blow off steam, before the elders in the Senate strong-arm some of them to agree to the Reid-McConnell debt ceiling compromise to avoid a default, no doubt aided a little bit by a rejuvenated Gang of Six proposal that has White House support, and apparently enough votes to get past a GOP filibuster.

This latest entry in the sweepstakes calls for $3.7 trillion in debt reduction and new tax revenue, perhaps as much as $1 trillion worth of new tax revenue, derived from the elimination of loopholes and a broadening of the tax base with lower rates. The proposal mirrors what the Catfood Commission called for last year, and assumes changes to Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and caps in federal discretionary spending until 2015. Yet will it be enough for Eric’s children? Nope.

Bachmann's Other Headaches
And Michele Bachmann now gets a taste of what it’s like to be out in front when the boys don’t want you there.