Precise and concise analysis. Affirms what Atlantic says today about a likely blowout for Biden in 2024. GOP might do better if by some miracle they dump Trump, but his replacement likely will be Trumpish and also unelectable. GOP has become almost like the insurrectionist party it was formed to defeat in the late1850s.
Tom, as usual, your article hits the proverbial nail on the head. What a different country this would be today had John Kasich been the 2016 Republican nominee and had won the presidency. But, alas, we are stuck with a Republican Party that has gone so far off track that historians will be writing about and debating about this era for decades to come. In my view the problems with the GOP began with George Bush's tax cutting approach when he squeaked by (thanks to an already partisan Supreme Court) to victory in 2000. A lot of people forget that we were actually running surpluses in the later years of the Clinton administration. I'm convinced we'd have continued to experience balanced budgets for much of the following decade had Bush's tax cuts not been enacted.
Your admonition for a thoughtful and rational debate over spending and future deficits indeed references the John Kasich - and Tim Penny- product coming out of the House Budget committee in the 1990s. Also worth noting that effort featured leadership by Bill Clinton working with Republican leadership in the House and Senate. Since then we have not seen that leadership from Presidents- Republican and Democrat, including the present officeholder- for serious budget and deficit reform.
Credit should go President Obama for initiating the Simpson-Bowles national ccommission on fiscal responsibility and reform in 2010. A great idea to address spending but including cuts as part of the process is always problematic and the measure failed.
It's fair to criticize the Speaker for some of the provisions in the bill that is being shaped even if this is a vehicle for further negotiations assuming there is expressed interest in some form of negotiations process.
A key element of any attempt to deal with the debt is willingness to address the entitlements issue - Social Security and Medicare- which is one of the few things Biden and Trump agree on- they won't touch it. And most legislators view that as a "third rail" even if the trust funds funding these benefits are running out of money in the foreseeable future. I hardly see any room for discussion on this issue alone.
So, a thoughtful and rational debate requires leadership and willingness from both parties. The Republican bill may not be the best vehicle- your criticism is fair- but this should be a two way street and I for one would like to see something other than resistance from the Biden to showing interest from the executive branch in finding resolution.
Precise and concise analysis. Affirms what Atlantic says today about a likely blowout for Biden in 2024. GOP might do better if by some miracle they dump Trump, but his replacement likely will be Trumpish and also unelectable. GOP has become almost like the insurrectionist party it was formed to defeat in the late1850s.
Tom, as usual, your article hits the proverbial nail on the head. What a different country this would be today had John Kasich been the 2016 Republican nominee and had won the presidency. But, alas, we are stuck with a Republican Party that has gone so far off track that historians will be writing about and debating about this era for decades to come. In my view the problems with the GOP began with George Bush's tax cutting approach when he squeaked by (thanks to an already partisan Supreme Court) to victory in 2000. A lot of people forget that we were actually running surpluses in the later years of the Clinton administration. I'm convinced we'd have continued to experience balanced budgets for much of the following decade had Bush's tax cuts not been enacted.
Your admonition for a thoughtful and rational debate over spending and future deficits indeed references the John Kasich - and Tim Penny- product coming out of the House Budget committee in the 1990s. Also worth noting that effort featured leadership by Bill Clinton working with Republican leadership in the House and Senate. Since then we have not seen that leadership from Presidents- Republican and Democrat, including the present officeholder- for serious budget and deficit reform.
Credit should go President Obama for initiating the Simpson-Bowles national ccommission on fiscal responsibility and reform in 2010. A great idea to address spending but including cuts as part of the process is always problematic and the measure failed.
It's fair to criticize the Speaker for some of the provisions in the bill that is being shaped even if this is a vehicle for further negotiations assuming there is expressed interest in some form of negotiations process.
A key element of any attempt to deal with the debt is willingness to address the entitlements issue - Social Security and Medicare- which is one of the few things Biden and Trump agree on- they won't touch it. And most legislators view that as a "third rail" even if the trust funds funding these benefits are running out of money in the foreseeable future. I hardly see any room for discussion on this issue alone.
So, a thoughtful and rational debate requires leadership and willingness from both parties. The Republican bill may not be the best vehicle- your criticism is fair- but this should be a two way street and I for one would like to see something other than resistance from the Biden to showing interest from the executive branch in finding resolution.