Fuck its silent in here.......

[Chuck to Chuck]

While I am not a fan of cutting student aid (since it is profitable to the government via the higher income taxes people with college graduates pay vs. those with only a high school diploma), the general ideas in here are pretty good.

Pay for the aid by letting the Bush Tax Increases occur and I'm all for it.

[Quality Start Machine]

http://youtu.be/UhKOPukWo8I

Best thing that could have happened to Murdoch - he can either lie his ass off or confess to anything up to and including the Lindbergh kidnapping, and all the headlines will be "Murdoch Hit With Pie".

[Wheezer]

Now, wait, Coburn said nothing about, and voted for, Oetken, but Mikkanen is "unacceptable"? I don't know that I want to know.

[Wheezer]

DPD. Am I totally behind the times in being hitherto unaware of the Deuteronomy 17 birther argument?

[J. Walter Weatherman]

DPD. Am I totally behind the times in being hitherto unaware of the Deuteronomy 17 birther argument?

Sounds like someone hasn't been to see their dentist in a while.

[Gilgamesh]

WORST. CONGRESS. EVER.

One of the commenters (GO FIGURE, GIL!!) makes a great point in advocating for the abolition of the primary election.  An interesting theory.

[Tinker to Evers to Chance]

WORST. CONGRESS. EVER.

One of the commenters (GO FIGURE, GIL!!) makes a great point in advocating for the abolition of the primary election.  An interesting theory.

So Congress got awful when the Republicans took control in the 1990s.  It stayed awful until the Democrats took control in 2006 when it got better.  And now it's even worse when Republicans are back in the majority.

I'm really shocked that Gil posted an article like this.

[Quality Start Machine]

WORST. CONGRESS. EVER.

One of the commenters (GO FIGURE, GIL!!) makes a great point in advocating for the abolition of the primary election.  An interesting theory.

Norman Ornstein? Really?

[J. Walter Weatherman]

WORST. CONGRESS. EVER.

One of the commenters (GO FIGURE, GIL!!) makes a great point in advocating for the abolition of the primary election.  An interesting theory.

So Congress got awful when the Republicans took control in the 1990s.  It stayed awful until the Democrats took control in 2006 when it got better.  And now it's even worse when Republicans are back in the majority.

You know... Occasionally, correlation is due to causation.

[Gilgamesh]

Barack Obama: The Democrats' Richard Nixon?

An interesting read, at the very least.

[Bort]

Barack Obama: The Democrats' Richard Nixon?

An interesting read, at the very least.

Is the article just about the fact that both dongs dangle from your mouth?

[R-V]

SUPER CONGRESS!

This "Super Congress," composed of members of both chambers and both parties, isn't mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, but would be granted extraordinary new powers. Under a plan put forth by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his counterpart Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), legislation to lift the debt ceiling would be accompanied by the creation of a 12-member panel made up of 12 lawmakers -- six from each chamber and six from each party.

Legislation approved by the Super Congress -- which some on Capitol Hill are calling the "super committee" -- would then be fast-tracked through both chambers, where it couldn't be amended by simple, regular lawmakers, who'd have the ability only to cast an up or down vote. With the weight of both leaderships behind it, a product originated by the Super Congress would have a strong chance of moving through the little Congress and quickly becoming law. A Super Congress would be less accountable than the system that exists today, and would find it easier to strip the public of popular benefits. Negotiators are currently considering cutting the mortgage deduction and tax credits for retirement savings, for instance, extremely popular policies that would be difficult to slice up using the traditional legislative process.

Holy shit is this a pathetic and cowardly idea.

[Brownie]

SUPER CONGRESS!

This "Super Congress," composed of members of both chambers and both parties, isn't mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, but would be granted extraordinary new powers. Under a plan put forth by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his counterpart Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), legislation to lift the debt ceiling would be accompanied by the creation of a 12-member panel made up of 12 lawmakers -- six from each chamber and six from each party.

Legislation approved by the Super Congress -- which some on Capitol Hill are calling the "super committee" -- would then be fast-tracked through both chambers, where it couldn't be amended by simple, regular lawmakers, who'd have the ability only to cast an up or down vote. With the weight of both leaderships behind it, a product originated by the Super Congress would have a strong chance of moving through the little Congress and quickly becoming law. A Super Congress would be less accountable than the system that exists today, and would find it easier to strip the public of popular benefits. Negotiators are currently considering cutting the mortgage deduction and tax credits for retirement savings, for instance, extremely popular policies that would be difficult to slice up using the traditional legislative process.

Holy shit is this a pathetic and cowardly idea.

It would be a lot better if the SuperCongressmen would get to wear superhero costumes. Gridlock on the Hill? Bill getting fillibustered in the Senate? You could just see Dick Durbin, Charles Schumer, John Kerry, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jim Clyburn, John Lewis, Lamar Alexander, Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Paul Ryan, Darrell Issa, and Eric Cantor step off the floor and into one of 12 strategically-placed phone booths to come out as their own super-action hero SuperCongressman!

[morpheus]

SUPER CONGRESS!

This "Super Congress," composed of members of both chambers and both parties, isn't mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, but would be granted extraordinary new powers. Under a plan put forth by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his counterpart Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), legislation to lift the debt ceiling would be accompanied by the creation of a 12-member panel made up of 12 lawmakers -- six from each chamber and six from each party.

Legislation approved by the Super Congress -- which some on Capitol Hill are calling the "super committee" -- would then be fast-tracked through both chambers, where it couldn't be amended by simple, regular lawmakers, who'd have the ability only to cast an up or down vote. With the weight of both leaderships behind it, a product originated by the Super Congress would have a strong chance of moving through the little Congress and quickly becoming law. A Super Congress would be less accountable than the system that exists today, and would find it easier to strip the public of popular benefits. Negotiators are currently considering cutting the mortgage deduction and tax credits for retirement savings, for instance, extremely popular policies that would be difficult to slice up using the traditional legislative process.

Holy shit is this a pathetic and cowardly idea.

I agree.  This is an awful, awful idea.

[Quality Start Machine]

SUPER CONGRESS!

This "Super Congress," composed of members of both chambers and both parties, isn't mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, but would be granted extraordinary new powers. Under a plan put forth by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his counterpart Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), legislation to lift the debt ceiling would be accompanied by the creation of a 12-member panel made up of 12 lawmakers -- six from each chamber and six from each party.

Legislation approved by the Super Congress -- which some on Capitol Hill are calling the "super committee" -- would then be fast-tracked through both chambers, where it couldn't be amended by simple, regular lawmakers, who'd have the ability only to cast an up or down vote. With the weight of both leaderships behind it, a product originated by the Super Congress would have a strong chance of moving through the little Congress and quickly becoming law. A Super Congress would be less accountable than the system that exists today, and would find it easier to strip the public of popular benefits. Negotiators are currently considering cutting the mortgage deduction and tax credits for retirement savings, for instance, extremely popular policies that would be difficult to slice up using the traditional legislative process.

Holy shit is this a pathetic and cowardly idea.

It would be a lot better if the SuperCongressmen would get to wear superhero costumes. Gridlock on the Hill? Bill getting fillibustered in the Senate? You could just see Dick Durbin, Charles Schumer, John Kerry, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jim Clyburn, John Lewis, Lamar Alexander, Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Paul Ryan, Darrell Issa, and Eric Cantor step off the floor and into one of 12 strategically-placed phone booths to come out as their own super-action hero SuperCongressman!

I'd be impressed if they could find 12 phone booths.