Shutdown 2024

[Mephisto666]

I was curious about government shutdowns and who initiated them, why and how long did they last, because for some crazy reason I think this one will be historic.

You see, we live in the Age of the Shutdown because something that rarely happened previously, now happens pretty regularly ever since 1980, with a total of 14, not counting this one.

So, why did they essentially become a weapon, where a few can for their own reasons stop the government from functioning?

Republicans love them, that's why.

Well, surprising to some but not to me actually, the POTUS who really, really liked them and holds the record for the most ever was Ronald Reagan who in the 8 years of his presidency had 8.

After that they were used sparingly, until Newt Gingrich discovered them that is.and went after Clinton next with two shutdowns, but they didn't last that long really.

And then came Trump, who does everything bigly of course, so he holds the record by far as duration goes, 35 days which cost the US over $ 2 billion and for the first time in the history of this country caused a down grade of our credit rating to AAA.

So, most of the Shutdowns were initiated by Republicans, but to be fair the longest one was a consequence of the Dems refusal to fund Trump's Wall , which he started anyway by stealing the funds from the militaries discretionary spending funds.

So, the facts/stats are pretty clear if you care to look, it was the GOP behind the majority of the Shutdowns.

But where the fuck do we live?

The Land of the unimaginably fucking Dumb, that's where.

48% of Americans think that all the shutdowns, including this one coming up, were caused by Democrats, while 43% blame Republicans.

Just brilliant, right?

But in a Nation that elected MTG and Matt the Pedophile Gaetz and Boebert the Bimbo twice, and where Trump is almost the favorite to win the next election, anything is possible it seems.

 

[Phytoplankton]

They just passed a stopgap 45 day funding for the Gov't, we'll have to watch and see what happens in the next few weeks. The republican party is being held hostage by a bunch of ultra right whack jobs.

 

[Fogdog]

I was curious about government shutdowns and who initiated them, why and how long did they last, because for some crazy reason I think this one will be historic.

You see, we live in the Age of the Shutdown because something that rarely happened previously, now happens pretty regularly ever since 1980, with a total of 14, not counting this one.

So, why did they essentially become a weapon, where a few can for their own reasons stop the government from functioning?

Republicans love them, that's why.

Well, surprising to some but not to me actually, the POTUS who really, really liked them and holds the record for the most ever was Ronald Reagan who in the 8 years of his presidency had 8.

After that they were used sparingly, until Newt Gingrich discovered them that is.and went after Clinton next with two shutdowns, but they didn't last that long really.

And then came Trump, who does everything bigly of course, so he holds the record by far as duration goes, 35 days which cost the US over $ 2 billion and for the first time in the history of this country caused a down grade of our credit rating to AAA.

So, most of the Shutdowns were initiated by Republicans, but to be fair the longest one was a consequence of the Dems refusal to fund Trump's Wall , which he started anyway by stealing the funds from the militaries discretionary spending funds.

So, the facts/stats are pretty clear if you care to look, it was the GOP behind the majority of the Shutdowns.

But where the fuck do we live?

The Land of the unimaginably fucking Dumb, that's where.

48% of Americans think that all the shutdowns, including this one coming up, were caused by Democrats, while 43% blame Republicans.

Just brilliant, right?

But in a Nation that elected MTG and Matt the Pedophile Gaetz and Boebert the Bimbo twice, and where Trump is almost the favorite to win the next election, anything is possible it seems.

What else should one expect from a party led by people who say this:

 

[Mephisto666]

They just passed a stopgap 45 day funding for the Gov't, we'll have to watch and see what happens in the next few weeks. The republican party is being held hostage by a bunch of ultra right whack jobs.

And now the Republican party just blew itself up with dumping McCarthy with overwhelming support from the Dems.
How cool was that?
Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!
And now they have to appoint another?
Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!
Santa Claus will probably have to bring them one.
Ha Ha Ha!!!!!

 

[cannabineer]

And what can one expect from a country and it's people that keep re-electing representatives that think that way?

Reagan was a liar and a showman with early onset Alzheimer's that was the beginning of the downward spiral of this country and the destruction of the Middle class.

Or was it Nixon, I'm not really sure.

The Republicans bitch now and use as cudgel the national debt to strip away anything and everything they deem to be socialistic or non-Christian, while they fucking alone created the vast majority of it, they/themselves alone.

Fucking fact.

And today that thing that added almost 25% to the debt with his tax bill, that fucking creature from Hell, Trump, that fucking criminal/maniac is a very strong contender to be re-elected over an honorable man that actually helped us to get through the Pandemic that the Republicans ignored and is moving us in sane direction.

Why?

Because a bunch of illiterate, inbred, toothless motherfuckers from shithole states like Texas/Alabama/Mississippi/Florida/Tennesse/W. Virginia/Kentucky/N. Carolina/Montanna/Idaho/both Dakoata's/Indiana/Iowa have a vote and elect self-serving, egotistical fucking Republican morons that vote for what those idiots want and now control the House of Representatives and get absolutely nothing of substance accomplished.

And will it ever change?

Never fucking ever.

Bet on it.

And some advice to the young with hope still in their hearts.

Get the fuck out of here ASAP.

It's a great big World out there and don't miss out on it

This place is nuts and will eat your soul.

Eisenhower was the last honest Republican. He warned us about the military-industrial complex as the basis of a great deal of political power. Kennedy took this seriously. While I do not believe that his assassination was a “hit” ordered by corporate execs, it certainly buttered their toast.

They thought they had their guy in Nixon, but he failed hard, and his successor Ford was ineffective.

These plans appear to be at least sixty years old, and what is now the dark money cartel finally got their man with Reagan. Tax cuts for the rich, the immense fraud of supply-side economics, the dismantling of valuable social institutions like the mental health facilities. Reagan is responsible for the spike in crime that came with the long-term mental patients being unhoused.

It’s been a bobsled ride to the bottom since then. I agree with AOC’s dress.

 

[KarenMackey]

And now the Republican party just blew itself up with dumping McCarthy with overwhelming support from the Dems.
How cool was that?
Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!
And now they have to appoint another?
Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!
Santa Claus will probably have to bring them one.
Ha Ha Ha!!!!!

So what now Beavis or Butthead? I think I'm gonna have to vote for Beavis then.

 

[cannabineer]

So what now Beavis or Butthead? I think I'm gonna have to vote for Beavis then.

View attachment 5332463

Beavis poops too much.



Not even as a jihadi.

 

[KarenMackey]

Beavis poops too much.

View attachment 5332468

Not even as a jihadi.

View attachment 5332469

 

[Mephisto666]

So what now Beavis or Butthead? I think I'm gonna have to vote for Beavis then.

Stefanis, Jordon, Comer, Scalisi are front runners, followed with more of your typical Republican assholes.

Forget getting anything worthwhile done for the rest of Bidens presidency, all the focus will be a continuation of the vendetta against the Bidens, nothing more is to be expected.

 

[Sativied]

What else should one expect from a party led by people who say this:

View attachment 5332292

Using Young America’s selective quote, incomplete to a point it no longer reflects what Reagan actually said/meant (or pretended to mean…), to show republicans are bad. I don’t think that’s what they had in mind when thet created that image.

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.”

 

[cannabineer]

Using Young America’s selective quote, incomplete to a point it no longer reflects what Reagan actually said/meant (or pretended to mean…), to show republicans are bad. I don’t think that’s what they had in mind when thet created that image.

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.”

Seen through the lens of politics since that quote, especially the neoliberal mess brought to us by such as the Heritage Foundation—

the crowning irony is that, all the libertarian rhetoric aside, Republicans (certainly since Reagan and probably before) are actively fighting government by, for, of the people and seeking to replace it with a ruling elite.

The big lie politics were already in play back then. Aids was a new thing back then, and it gave the bigots a new axis of attack on LGBTQ+.

Also, the war on drugs really got going during his tenure. The Republican idea of kindness to people with a drug problem was thoughts and prayers.

 

[Sativied]

I’m not even sure “ironic” applies anymore, so yeah, no argument with anything you said. If the gop would uphold half or their ideology in practice it would perhaps not even be such a bad thing (lol… subtlety level maxed out). Fact remains, that quote is a very unfair paraphrasing of Reagan‘s words. Which considering the source, some conservative youth organization (which makes me assume things, cause when has the jugend version ever been any good or less radical) is not surprising. The irony for them is perhaps in Fogdog using it against their side but it’s a tricky imo, cause the source is not immediately obvious and a lie is still a lie regardless of which side you’re on. Although…. is it. “The first casualty when war comes is truth” said some other republican.

 

[Fogdog]

Using Young America’s selective quote, incomplete to a point it no longer reflects what Reagan actually said/meant (or pretended to mean…), to show republicans are bad. I don’t think that’s what they had in mind when thet created that image.

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.”

He was blaming government for an economic crisis that was eventually solved by our government, namely the fed. Reagan used this concept to launch his program that George Bush the first dubbed voodoo economics. He cut taxes without offsetting the cuts in spending, thereby making "the crisis" worse in the form of ballooning the debt.

So, no, Reagan should not be let off the hook by giving context to his statement. "Government is not the solution, government is the problem" was coined by Reagan and is used to degrade the US economy by so-called conservatives to this day.

 

[cannabineer]

I’m not even sure “ironic” applies anymore, so yeah, no argument with anything you said. If the gop would uphold half or their ideology in practice it would perhaps not even be such a bad thing (lol… subtlety level maxed out). Fact remains, that quote is a very unfair paraphrasing of Reagan‘s words. Which considering the source, some conservative youth organization (which makes me assume things, cause when has the jugend version ever been any good or less radical) is not surprising. The irony for them is perhaps in Fogdog using it against their side but it’s a tricky imo, cause the source is not immediately obvious and a lie is still a lie regardless of which side you’re on. Although…. is it. “The first casualty when war comes is truth” said some other republican.

I don’t think the truncated quote is significantly different from the whole thing. The code phrase here is “self-rule” which is partly about states being more autonomous. Underneath is the libertarian “the only good government is no government” mating call.

I think Reagan was careful to add some context for political reasons, but he was “all in” with the Federalist Society, Heritage and all the other bastions of rich white men who believe(d) that this is their country; by, of, for rich white (straight evangelical) men who could trace their family trees to northern Europe.

The New Deal, civil and women’s rights etc. offends them because their plan is and always has been to despise the poor. Bigot triple bonus if they could keep women, brown people et al. poor so they could nominally despise them for a barely less-bigoted reason. Reagan set the crowbar, and the overthrow caucus is leaning on it.

The New Right – US History II: Gilded Age to Present

mlpp.pressbooks.pub

 

[Fogdog]

What people do matters more than what they say. Reagan gave us Reaganomics. He also loved him some shutdowns.








Reagan doesn't deserve all the blame. But he owns the lions share of it.

 

[VaSmile]

Using Young America’s selective quote, incomplete to a point it no longer reflects what Reagan actually said/meant (or pretended to mean…), to show republicans are bad. I don’t think that’s what they had in mind when thet created that image.

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.”

Even with proper context the belief is still equally wrong. While no one should take the quote to mean we should strip ourself of a government, he is disparaging a government of the people for the people and by the people in support of a failed economic philosophy.

Trickle down economics dose not work

Proper government regulations are required in order to mitigate the fundamental flaws of a capitalist economic system.
(Not hating capitalism here any economic system will have flaws that need to be managed)

No fair system would allow a small class of people to get perpetually richer generation after generations while adding no new value to society.

The point of high corporate and capital gains taxes is not so much to fund the treasures, historically it has not done that effectively. What it dose do is force corporations and Uber wealth investors to spend and not hoard.
"If I don't spend this money taxes will take it"
"I need a new company BMW"
"This is half the cost of expanding, better to borrow the other half then lose the first"
"60k I can hire 2 new employees for that, hey cousin come get paid to stand around my shop I like you more then uncle sam"

 

[Mephisto666]

Speaking/thinking of Reagan, that shit/very good actor, wasn't even the POTUS yet when he started his lies and patten of deceit to the American people, with no consequences at all.

And the Republicans never forgot that and expanded their blatant corruption and litany of bullshit that to this day is the core element of Republican policies.

They named ships and airports after that prick and to this day he is lauded as one of the greatest Presidents of the US in the 20th century.

He was a corrupt/lying sack of shit and so fucked up mentally that should he should have been impeached, not lauded.

Figured I'd stick this one in as a tune dedicated to America's export of Democracy and the American way to the Pagans of the World.

Th Clash/Sandinista (best album ever)/1980

 

[Mephisto666]

Now for me the Reagan Fuck you Fest is done.

That guy, next to G.W & now Trump have fucked with my brain enough.

Gotta blank them out as much as possible.

So, on a bright/funny note about shutdowns, which the next attempt will have to be made in 6 weeks, now the Pubs have to choose a new speaker before a shutdown & agree to a new budget. and I got a feeling this hunt for a Speaker is going to make McCarthy's last attempt look like a cake walk.

Just think of it, a dysfunctional GOP that must choose a Speaker and come up with a budget in 43 days.

Never happen

 

[topcat]

The MAGA party is not there to legislate. It's there to rule. There to dismantle the administrative state (government). Straight from homeless Steve Bannon.