y66 Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 How Biden rode to the rescue from Wonkbook http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2013/01/Biden-fists.jpg ”The late entry of Mr. Biden to the tax-and-spending talks that have consumed the capital over the last two months recalls his role in the debt crisis of 2011 and once again seems to have been critical toward cutting through the deadlock…As soon as the talks boiled down to Mr. Biden and Mr. McConnell, it became a relatively short path to a tentative agreement on taxes. The two talked late into the night on Sunday, with their last call coming around 12:45 a.m. Mr. Biden remained at the White House along with Mr. Obama until 2 a.m. before returning to the vice presidential residence for a little sleep. Mr. Biden and Mr. McConnell were back on the phone at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, and by the afternoon Mr. Obama and Mr. McConnell were both reporting a near-deal.” Peter Baker in The New York Times. ”In the end, it came down to two 70-year-old men, talking on the phone. They are not the most powerful men in Washington: Each, in his own way, is a second fiddle. Joseph R. Biden Jr. is vice president. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is the Senate minority leader, in charge only of the senators who are not in charge. But these two men — rivals, colleagues and wary friends for almost 28 years — were the ones who finally struck a deal to end the ‘fiscal cliff’ crisis. The New Year’s Eve agreement between Biden and McConnell provided a glimpse at the ways that personality quirks and one-to-one relationships can still change the course of Washington politics.” David A. Fahrenthold and Ed O’Keefe in The Washington Post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrothgar Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 How Biden rode to the rescue from Wonkbook http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2013/01/Biden-fists.jpg I ain't counting any chickens until the House has spoken...Still plenty of ways they can screw things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrothgar Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 I ain't counting any chickens until the House has spoken...Still plenty of ways they can screw things up. And looks as if we have a deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted January 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am still too aggravated to applaud or even to give polite thanks, but we will see how it shakes out. If it means that there are sufficiently many people in Washington who think that it is more important to get something done rather than crash the economy this could be good. One never knows, does one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasetb Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 I have a feeling the economy will still come crashing to the ground, since Joe Biden had something to do with this. Mind you, I doubt anyone else in Washington could do better, but why did it even have to come down to this??? I say we all should vote out every incumbent, and then we'll actually have a decent working national gov't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 I ain't counting any chickens until the House has spoken...Still plenty of ways they can screw things up. Looks like the jockeying for poll position in '16 has already begun. I guess one fist pump wasn't sufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbradley62 Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 So, for the next four years, Obama should stay out of the way and simply sign or veto bills that come to his desk; he should not be involved in the sausage-making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will2012 Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 Passing this without increasing the debt limit was insane. It means that we are right back in another crisis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu D Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 I have a feeling the economy will still come crashing to the ground, since Joe Biden had something to do with this. Mind you, I doubt anyone else in Washington could do better, but why did it even have to come down to this??? I say we all should vote out every incumbent, and then we'll actually have a decent working national gov't! It wouldn't matter - gerrymandering in the lower house ensures that all the seats are safe. You need to change your electoral system that isn't extracted from the darkest depths of Northen Ireland if you want things to change. It's quite simple to fix the US electoral system, but the changes required (abolish gerrymandered districts, institution instant runoff, preferential or proportional representation in the upper and lower houses, then optionally add compulsory voting) are unappetizing to the entrenched political elites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 I always liked one of Hayek's ideas: the lower House has no age restrictions. The job of this House is to legislate - to make laws. The upper House has a minimum age of 45, and in order to run, a candidate has to get a petition signed by 5000 people who are willing to take oath that they know him well and are welling to have him serve. The job of the upper House is to cancel bad laws made by the lower House. "No, sorry, you can't make that law. Try again." As an ideal, it's at least interesting. In practice, it would be subject to the same corruption we already have. :ph34r: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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