Alan Pyke — The weed business is now sufficiently corporate for John Boehner

The retired conservative leader is taking a potentially lucrative board seat at Acreage Holdings, a company that exemplifies the shockingly rapid speed with which old-school c-suite capitalism has come to dominate a legalization movement once framed in utopian little-guy bootstrapper terms.…

It’s fitting on several levels that Boehner, who publicly insisted he’d never come around on legalization for years, chose to flip the table over at this time and in this way. The weed business has taken pains to make itself seem more adult, more in tune with the rhythms and mores of unfettered capitalism, more interested in mergers and acquisitions than in jam bands and human happiness. It has recrafted its image specifically to attract people like Boehner: unabashed free-market types who revere big business and deplore the touchy-feely....

Think Progress
The weed business is now sufficiently corporate for John Boehner
Alan Pyke

Here was my prediction on the debt ceiling back in November. Let's see what happens.

Back on November 7th of last year, right after the midterm elections, I made the prediction that the Republicans won't raise the debt ceiling. Rather, they'd come up with some cockamamie scheme to "deal" with it with spending cuts.

So, here's what I said will happen.

Debt limit watch

Boehner to give a press conference on the debt limit at 11:30am.

Debt-limit watch: Boehner has press conference at 11:30, will be interesting to see how much leg he shows on his internal thinking...

— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 6, 2014

Republican hostage taking options on the debt ceiling said to be blowing up

According to Brett Logiurotto over at Business Insider, the Republicans don't have enough votes to go with debt ceiling hostage taking options like Keystone Pipeline and "risk corridors." So there's talk of actually passing a "clean raise." That would be nice for a change.

Joe Weisenthal — What John Boehner Is Saying In Private May Be More Ominous Than The Public Comments

Chicken update.

In private, Boehner has told his allies that he won’t bring up a clean CR, and he’s hopeful that as the deadline nears, President Obama will deal. “There’s no way the president holds firm,” a House GOP insider predicts. “Once that crack opens, I don’t know how the debt limit will be addressed, but it won’t be by Republican capitulation.”

This is a huge gamble the GOP is taking, but they are convinced that the president is weak.

Business Insider
What John Boehner Is Saying In Private May Be More Ominous Than The Public Comments
Joe Weisenthal

Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan — The government shutdown could end today. All it would cost is John Boehner’s speakership.

There are currently 19 House Republicans on the record in support of a “clean” continuing resolution, meaning one without any other extraneous measures — like the defunding or delaying of Obamcare — attached. Combine those nineteen with the 200 Democrats who would almost certainly vote as a bloc in support of such a clean CR and you get 219 votes — a majority of the House. The bill has already been passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, so it would go to straight to President Obama who would sign it. Shutdown over. Easy.
Except one little thing, which is that the only way for that scenario to happen is for Boehner to allow a piece of legislation supported by roughly 7 percent of his conference to come to the House floor for a vote. And, doing that on something as high-profile as a government shutdown/Obamacare, would almost certainly signal either the symbolic (or maybe even practical) end of his speakership.Why?...

The Washington Post — The Fix
The government shutdown could end today. All it would cost is John Boehner’s speakership.
Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan

AFP — Obama slams John Boehner: Take a vote, stop this farce.

“Speaker John Boehner won’t even let the bill get a yes or no vote, because he doesnt want to anger the extremists in his party,” Obama said.

“That is what his whole thing is about.”

“There’s a simple way to prove it. Send the bill to the floor, let everybody vote.”

“It will pass. Send me the bill, I will sign it. The shutdown will be over and we can get back to the business of governing and helping the American people. It could happen in the next half hour.”

The Democrats should be shouting this single message loudly. Many do not realize that an up or down vote would be an up vote. They are buffaloed into thinking that the votes aren't there.

The Raw Story
Obama slams John Boehner: Take a vote, stop this farce
Agence France-Presse

The Huffington Post

AP — Obama Pins Shutdown Blame On John Boehner

Boehner afraid that if he brings up the bill for a clean bill, he'll be voted out as speaker?

Here's a good one.

"Now that we've jumped off the cliff, lit ourselves on fire, we've entered the valley of death," said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who has criticized the conservatives' strategy. "So now we've got to keep running and we have to hold together."

Great thinking. Make a mistake? Double down. No wonder the country is going down the toilet,

David Lightman — Reid makes offer to Boehner to end shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered Wednesday to engage in negotiations over a long-term budget plan if House Speaker John Boehner allows the House of Representatives to vote on a government funding plan with no strings.

Boehner was not enthusiastic.

McClatchy
Reid makes offer to Boehner to end shutdown
David Lightman — McClatchy Interactive

Reid treats Boehner like a grown-up. Boehner reacts as a child.

Ryan Grim and Jennifer Bendrey — Ted Cruz Tells House Conservatives To Oppose John Boehner

There goes Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment. HuffPo front page headline: Civil War!

Cross-chamber alliances tend to be rare on Capitol Hill, especially ones aimed at undermining the leadership of the coalition's own party. But Cruz and Lee's work with House Republicans is more evidence of the open civil war underway within the GOP.

The Huffington Post
Ted Cruz Tells House Conservatives To Oppose John Boehner
Ryan Grim and Jennifer Bendrey

Democrats ordering in popcorn.

Obama Administration is completely inept at countering out of control spending claims

Here is a chart that I constructed from the Treasury's own data that looks at Federal spending. It goes all the way back to 2001, which was the start of the Bush Administration.

As you can see, spending under George W. Bush went up every single year of his presidency, then spending peaked in 2009 and has been going down ever since.

Yet Obama has allowed Conservatives to dictate the national conversation on this and has labeled him an "out of control" spender when it is completely not true.

Let me be clear: I am not making a political statement here. I did not vote for Obama in the last two presidential elections. (In the last one I didn't even vote.) This is merely about the truth and it reflects the Obama Administration's utter ineptitude at getting the truth out.

This could be the real reason Boehner cancelled the vote on Hurricane Sandy aid

Hat tip to Matt Franko, a MNE contributor, on this one. Matt does some great analytical work.

Anyway, he brought to my attention the fact that the Federal Gov't hit the debt ceiling on Monday, 12/31. Boehner abruptly cancelled the vote on the Hurricane Sandy aid bill on Tuesday, even though he had promised to hold it. An aide to Boehner said it was because of "everything that was going on," related to the fiscal cliff.

But was the real reason for the cancellation the fact that Boehner spoke to Tim Geithner and was informed that there are no funds for Sandy? Once the gov't is at the debt limit, then any new spending can only come from some other expenditure being cut.

I am sure Chris Christie does not know this, nor does Gov Cuomo, Peter King and definitely not that dunce, Michael Grimm.

Moreover, even if the vote is held, I am not sure these states will be receiving funds anytime soon. How does that happen under the debt ceiling?

While I hate to see the innocent victims of Sandy suffer, their representatives are avowed deficit hawks (with the exception of Cuomo) and have been railing for less spending and telling us the government was broke and out of money for a long, long, time. They've also been against raising the debt ceiling. So guess what guys? Your wish has come true...the gov't is out of money and it's YOUR constitutents who are going to feel it.

Eliot Spitzer — Boehner Wants To Hold Obama Hostage on the Debt Ceiling Again. Here’s How to Stop Him

It is time to take the debt ceiling off the table as a negotiating ploy, time to call their bluff, recognize that time is on our side, and turn up the heat on a Republican house leadership that has a weak hand. 

Play hardball Mr. President. It feels good, and you’ll win.

Slate
Boehner Wants To Hold Obama Hostage on the Debt Ceiling Again. Here’s How to Stop Him.
Eliot Spitzer

When I saw the title, I was hoping he was going to push the platinum coin.

Sorry, but it's time to raise taxes on $250k and up. It shouldn't only be the middle class and poor who get tax increases!

Obama is calling for the extension of the Bush Tax Cut, but only for those with incomes below $250,000 and of course the Republicans are saying that the tax cuts should be extended for everyone--including millionaires and billionaires--or no one at all.

This is the typical Republican position and it should be noted that they care little about people earning the threshold $250k; their real interest is in protecting the super wealthy. They made this clear a million times and I don't think anyone but the timid Democrats in the Senate really believe them when they try to pull this bullshit "all-inclusive" stance. It's all about protecting the rich and that's it.

As an MMT adherent I am fully aware that taxes don't fund spending and that they only serve to regulate demand yada, yada, yada, and I am also aware that with a large output gap, raising taxes on anyone just works to sustain that output gap so long as that "revenue" is not recycled back as government spending in some form.

However, as a matter of equality and PRINCIPAL I think it's about time somebody other than the poor and middle class see their taxes go up. That's right, I said the poor and middle class have had their taxes increased--BIG TIME!

It's time we all begin to learn a fundamental lesson, that spending cuts are the fiscal equivalent of tax increases and the bulk of the spending cuts (tax increases) over the past several years have been targeted at the middle class and poor.

Whether you are talking about cuts in education, Medicare and Medicaid, food and nutrition, Veterans benefits, social programs, public safety (fire, police), you name it...there has been an unrelenting and rising stream of tax increases aimed at middle and lower income people. All the while, the rich have been getting tax break after tax break along with a larger share of national income and wealth. Like Warren Buffet said, it's outright class warfare and it's HIS class that is winning.

Nor should you buy the bogus argument that the rich are the "job creators" or "wealth creators." That's just a completely hollow and ridiculous claim and one that we've debunked here numerous times (here, here, here). The fact is, a vast portion of the income of the wealthy comes from extracting wealth from assets...assets that they did not create. Gordon Gekko said it right, when he said "I create nothing. I own." And he said that 25 years ago!

The rich don't educate our kids, keep our streets safe, protect property from fire and damage, fix roads and bridges, heal or care for the sick and infirm, stock store shelves or perform any of the other myriad types of work that essential in a modern, smooth-functioning society.

And while $250k may not be a lot to some people, those who do earn at that level or above are also not performing the tasks I mentioned above. Moreover, many of them are politically favorable to the "pro-spending-cut" menatality, which as I said is the same thing as calling for a tax, except it's not a tax on them, but on poor people.

Well, it's time for these folks to get fiscally "educated" or feel some pain, too! Obama should stick to his guns this time. He should stand fast on the call for higher taxes on $250k or more. People need to learn a lesson. The stakes are too high. We cannot have a greater and greater percentage of national wealth stripped away from the very people who built it, maintain it, and paid for it. It's outright theft. So be it if the economy crashes (and it won't, expect maybe for high end real estate brokers). Maybe out of the ashes we have a chance to build something better.