Boehner didn’t resign in disgust. He was about to be forced out by members of his own party, and agreed to resign as part of back end deal to stave off the government shut down. He was gone one way or another. Its both a lot less encouraging and a lot more telling about the state of the GOP than “resigning in disgust”.
Paul Ryan is a corrupt, stupid mess.
What ever happened to the Party of Freedom?
Entrenched privilege? Never mind.
Why did Obama sign this? The post seems to indicate that no Democrat wanted this. How did it make it through both houses and past the prez’s robo pen?
Time to leave this country. Which languages are best to pick up quickly for a guy in his late 40s?
No sign = government shutdown, political hay for the GOP with elections coming up
He hasn’t yet signed it (afaik) but he isn’t really given a choice; as Congress refuses to speak with the President, he’s forced to sign this bill to keep the government from shutting down.
In theory, anyway. I’d dearly love for him to veto this bill and let the government grind to a halt, letting the tea party take the blame.
Ugh. Should’ve guessed it boiled down to cowardice on everyone’s part.
I wouldn’t say that preventing a government shutdown makes the President a coward.
It’s because Republicans are good at this sort of strategy.
When the Zadroga Act to cover health care costs for 9/11 first responders needed to be reauthorized two months ago, but GOP leaders largely ignored it and it expired. It was then supposed to be included in a transportation bill, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stripped the Zadroga provisions from the larger package.
With Jon Stewart again rallying public support for it, it went into the Omnibus bill. But that was likely the plan all along:
No matter how awful the other provisions of the Omnibus spending bill, no matter how well they understand them, Democrats don’t dare vote against it. Obama dare not refuse to sign it. Because otherwise the big story - replacing BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI!!! - would be how Obama and the Democrats voted against Zadroga and cut off medical care to 9/11 first responders.
Colorado Representative & Boing Boing T-shirt aficionado Jared Polis shared some gems on his facebook page:
TEN REASONS I’M VOTING “NO” ON END-OF-YEAR PORK
It’s the holiday season in Congress, which means that everyone gets their pork in one huge, gluttonous feast in two combined bills: the Omnibus and the Extenders package. I am seeing the paper copy of this 2,342-page monstrosity for the first time in Rules Committee right now. I think the bill weighs more than my daughter Cora!
In the few hours I’ve had to review it, I’ve already found huge amounts of special interest corporate welfare, wasteful spending programs, and privacy abuses in this monstrosity. If I could amend it, I would. But Republican leaders are prohibiting amendments and demanding a straight yes-or-no vote. I am doing my best and will be reading it all night, but I don’t like many of the things I’ve already discovered. In addition to this ridiculous process of dumping a $1.1 trillion spending bill and $700 billion corporate tax cut on our desks and demanding we vote on it without modifying it or having the time to read it, here are the top ten reasons I’ve found so far that I’ll be voting No, even though it’s likely it will become law over my objections.
- A surveillance bill masquerading as a cybersecurity solution was attached behind closed doors, which will grossly expand the NSA’s access to Americans’ private information. More bad news on the privacy front: earlier this year the House passed several amendments to prohibit unwarranted surveillance, but this wasn’t included in the final package.
- The bill provides almost $60 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account – a slush fund allowing the Pentagon to subvert the budget caps required for all other parts of the federal government and wage undeclared war.
- We’ll be continuing to pay for a catfish inspection program that has yet to inspect a single catfish – to the tune of $14 million per year. (USDA says they might inspect one next year!)
- We’ll also continue shelling out billions of dollars in sugar subsidies to corporate agriculture.
- For reasons I can’t begin to fathom, the Drug Enforcement Agency is getting a $51.5 million plus-up – even as the agency continues wasting funds interfering in state marijuana laws that could be spent tackling real law enforcement challenges.
- Meanwhile, a program devoted to helping teachers incorporate educational technology in the classroom has been zeroed out entirely.
- We’ll spend $1.3 billion to maintain an excessive nuclear weapons arsenal capable of blowing up the world seven times over.
- The bill overturns the will of D.C. voters and prohibits them from thoughtfully regulating marijuana.
- The bill calls for wasting $212 million on the strategic petroleum reserve – an enormous stockpile of oil that the government has no plans to ever use – while also sending American oil overseas.
- And the bill gives NASCAR an $11-million tax giveaway this year. Wealthy horse owners will also get a $90-million giveaway.
The GOP just gave a GIANT MIDDLE FINGER to all the American people!!! It’s time for some retribution, folks! 2016 is right around the corner; It’s only right that we give something back to these assholes. 
He tried that before a few years back when the Tea Party very explicitly shut down the government to try defunding the ACA (which they were responsible for gutting and fortifying with even more terrible crap so far as I’m aware of.) Ended up being even though the whole thing (AND the debt ceiling itself) is congress’s fault (the debt ceiling is a tool congress has to point at the president and go YOUR FAULT because the president has to ask them to raise it while ALSO being legally required to spend the approved budget.)
Anyway we have been here before and the diehards will always blame Obama instead of the pinheads in congress. Obama is guilty of many things (The NSA bullshit being one of them.) However I have given up hope on the tea party and trump stumpers actually seeing how toxic their horse is.
Guess it would be nice for the extremists to see the error of their ways but it would be very nice (and quite astounding) to see the voters finally get who’s screwing them.
I once thought a war we didn’t have to fight, the monumental failure of trickle down and a recession might have done it. You’d even think clearly ignorant and unhinged people like Trump and Cruz would scare anyone (can you even imagine these nut cases with their fingers on the nuclear trigger?). But… apparently not.
Support for Trump is strong and the election of right wing extremists continues as it has for decades now. Even voter suppression and the many other tricks the GOP uses to keep people from voting is not enough to explain the wins for these dangerous people -some terribly misguided voters keep them in office. It’s gone way past the time to fix this -much damage has been done and it will take a long time to fix, even if voters happen to wake up before next November.
America is broken. What’s the return policy like?
Sorry, it’s only a lifetime warranty. Given the average American lifespan, you can only return Alaska and Hawaii. You’re stuck with the rest.
I’m pretty sure the indigenous peoples would be willing to take it back, even with the extensive wear and cosmetic damage
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