Letter: When politics trumps policy
To the community,
This nation has gone through 18 government shutdowns in the last 37 years. Fifteen of those 18 shutdowns occurred when Democrats controlled the House. In those 15 shutdowns, the Democrats demanded increased abortion services and labor and environmental policy concessions.
Perhaps the reason we don’t remember those shutdowns as vividly is because in those days, presidents negotiated around the clock to resolve the disputes that caused them and did everything they could to minimize the public’s inconvenience and suffering.
Tom McClintock
This time was different. This time, the President refused to negotiate and took unprecedented steps to amplify the pain and suffering that the public endured.
Why would the administration do this? They told us why – because they were winning politically.
What was the outrageous Republican demand that Democrats refused even to discuss during the 16-day shutdown while they ordered our public servants to make life as difficult as possible for people?
On Sept. 30, with the deadline just hours away, House Republicans had dropped all conditions to fund the entire government with one substantive exception: delay the individual mandate that forces people to buy policies against their will. Democrats summarily rejected this proposal and for 16 days refused to negotiate on this single point, while literally accusing Republicans of sedition.
Then this past Monday, the president’s press secretary made this stunning admission: the Obama administration may itself seek to delay the individual mandate by dropping the penalty for non-compliance.
They’ve got to be kidding.
For the 16 days of the shutdown, the only substantive dispute was the Republican plea to delay the individual mandate for the millions of Americans who couldn’t find or afford Obamacare policies.
Doing so could have ended the impasse instantly. During those 16 days, it was clear to everyone that the exchanges weren’t working. Yet the president and congressional Democrats refused even to discuss the matter, while they turned their formidable propaganda machine to the task of winning politically.
These facts speak for themselves and need no embellishment from me. John Adams once observed that “Facts are stubborn things.” As passions cool and reason resumes its rightful place in the nation’s discourse, these facts will speak eloquently and stubbornly of what happens when politics trumps policy and propaganda trumps reality.
Sincerely,
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay
It is so good to have this perspective. Thank you Kae.
Representative McClintock you can spin your obstructionism how ever you like but in November of 2014 don’t be too shocked when voters prefer to not believe you and your parties attempts at diverting responsibility for your own actions.
Shame on you!
A desperate letter from a desperate politician. He & his tea party buddies picked a fight they couldn’t win and it costs us all $24 Billion and over 100,000 jobs. MANY of his republican colleagues have admitted this “strategy” was an epic mistake, but not our congressman.
The individual mandate, that forces the free-loaders on our local ER to buy insurance like everyone else, will not be delayed for a year like McClintock wants. The enrollment period will simply be extended by a few months to makeup for the time needed to fix the national site (CA & NV have their own state-run sites that are working fine).
In future elections, please remember that your Congressman on the CA side, Tom McClintock, voted with 144 other house republicans to keep the government shutdown and force a default. McClintock was willing to devastate the global economy & further damage Lake Tahoe over his wish-list. We need common sense politicians that can work together and except reality, that is NOT Tom McClintock.
TahoeMom,
stop listening to the CNN bull, No one was forcing a default. You are full of the bull from the main stream press! and all the hyperbole about it is just that… “sky is falling” bs for ignorant sheep.
Have you not noticed that what the President says will happen is virtually never what happens?
He is a master of fear mongering and uses it to distract you sheep from the issue.
Get a clue.
Well that’s the pot calling the kettle black. The government shut down lies squarely at the feet off the Republican Party and specifically the tea party faction. They have nothing to offer but divisiveness and obstructionism. They are a treasonous bunch. And don’t forget to vote these idiots out of office.
CJ — Tahoemom is accurate. McClintock did indeed vote against the bill to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling. Had he and his colleagues prevailed, they would have forced the federal government to default on many of its obligations for the first time in our history. That is not spin, it’s fact.
The other principal fact is that McClintock and co. voluntarily inflicted the damage to small businesses and the economy to overturn a law they couldn’t undo with 42 votes in congress, a presidential election, legal challenges, etc. Ask yourself this basic question — if Democrats used the same maneuver in an attempt to sabotage a Republican-passed law they didn’t like, would you find that an acceptable tactic?
The comparisons with previous shutdowns by McClintock is bogus — read for yourself on wikipedia. Except for the full on shutdown by the Gingrich Republicans in 1995, the rest were very short-term and did not involve forcing re-negotiation over laws on the books.
So why is McClintock so obsessed with stopping health care reform at any cost (or at least $24 billion in costs)? As more and more people who have been denied health care coverage due to pre-existing conditions finally gain peace of mind, they will remember who was desperately trying to prevent that opportunity.
Yes, congressman, facts are stubborn things, and they are not on your side.
Tahoe Dad, you said;
“CJ — Tahoemom is accurate. McClintock did indeed vote against the bill to fund the government. ”
I did not argue that??? –
In fact I agree with McClintock. I consider the debt a big problem in this country, don’t you? I also think that Obama Care is a national nightmare and should be stopped, or at least apply to all Americans. That is fair isn’t it?
The shutdown is a joke of a distraction and as Obama demonstrated a way to punish the people and in a way “beat us into submission”. That is what he did to our veterans when he closed their memorials. “Make it hurt” is the Obama Motto.
On the other hand conservatives motto is STOP SPENDING OUR MONEY.
Tahoe Mom, sorry but the california site is not really up to snuff. I have tried over several days to log on to shop and I can only go so far before I get a blank page, I have tried both exployer and google but neither will let me finish. I tried the site in the last week. they probably should have done a at least month delay to test the system. Esp. if it is true that CMS was requesting changes just before implementation.
“and all the hyperbole about it is just that… “sky is falling” bs for ignorant sheep. ”
Anyone else find this comment highly ironic?
CJ,
You wrote to TahoeMom: “No one was forcing a default” before telling her that she was “full of bull from the mainstream press.” I pointed out that TahoeMom was accurate — had McClintock and the other 143 who voted against the bill to fund the government and extend borrowing authority prevailed, the federal government would have defaulted on debt obligations. That would have, obviously, been forcing a default.
The shutdown/threaten default move was not about reigning in the debt — it was about holding the country hostage in order to undo a law they don’t like. McClintock doesn’t claim otherwise in the article we’re commenting on. I’ll ask you again — would you support Democrats using the same tactic to sabotage a Republican-passed law?
On the health care law — remember there was a huge outcry for reform because the status quo — where 50 million people lacked coverage, costs were skyrocketing, insurance corporations pocketed 30 percent of premiums, etc. — was badly broken. The cure is not perfect, but for millions it will be better than the nightmare of going through bankruptcy to pay to keep a loved one alive. Rather than panicking over what you fear will happen, why not learn from experience, and fix it if need be? There was rabid opposition from conservatives to social security and medicare as well, but not many advocate for dumping them now.
Back to the shutdown — again, it was a calculated (and futile) move by McClintock and the tea party to undo the health care law. The consequences of the shutdown –including not having staff for parks and memorials, businesses that rely on tourists to those places getting hammered, etc. — is entirely the fault of McClintock and co. whose obsession over health care justified in their minds the costs of the shutdown. Reasonable Republicans, who voted to end the shutdown and avoid a default, thought it was a stupid strategy.
On the debt — yes, it should be brought down. But threatening to not pay bills that were created by deficit-busting policies supported by the same crowd (trillion dollar worthless wars, doubled military and intelligence spending, tax cuts for the rich, tax loopholes for giant corporations and hedge fund managers, etc.)is both hypocritical and irresponsible.
The budget and debt are about trade-offs — close tax loopholes that allow Exxon to pay no tax, or cut funding to national parks, for example. Let’s have that real debate. But neither side of the debate should force the other side to capitulate to its demands at the expense of the nation. That’s a subversion of democracy, plain and simple.
No Tahoe Dad, If they had prevailed we would have at the least postponed Obama Care.
The threat of default is way over blown and used to manipulate the masses.
The 144 Republicans were trying to do the right thing as far as I am concerned.
I am with them.
Now, ironies above all others… it turns out the Obama Care is such a mess who knows what will happen next.It is the biggest government SNAFU in all history. Beyond comprehension it is so bad.
My money is on Obama having to extend it.
Who are the fools?
Don’t be so gullible.
Hi,
If my doctor, lawyer or plumber was as inept, they’d be thrown out of the country club. The Republicans were whipped, outwitted, outsmarted and out negotiated. They are a disgrace to politicians everywhere.
Conflating this shutdown with others in the past and your obfuscations are merely smoke hiding your real purpose….to deny real health care to those who need it most.
You never had my vote and your behavior has demonstrated what a wise choice I made. It is time for you to retire.
Again, MIS-information. It is not just Tom McClintoch, of course. Both Dems and Republicans do it, constantly.
Here is just one thing to think about (re-read what Tom said, then re-read what I am setting down here):
More mendacity; and twisting of facts.
1. McClintoch identifies all “funding gaps” as “shutdowns”. None of the 6 funding gaps under Carter produced an actual shutdown.
2. There are eight actual shutdowns under Reagan. All of them were precipitated by Reagan threatening to veto spending bills unless they were changed to his liking. In seven of them, the Dems controlled the House but the GOP controlled the Senate. None of the shutdowns were significant- one or two days. In all of these cases, Congress pretty much caved. Mr. Reagan did not negotiate.
3. HW Bush precipitated a 5-day shutdown by vetoing a continuing resolution until it included a tax hike. Bush41 would not negotiate on that point.
4. Under Clinton there were two shutdowns- one for five days and one for 21 days. In both cases both Senate and House had GOP majorities, and both shutdowns originate with those Republican bodies.
So, as usual, more BS from a professional (?) politician.
But this time it was different Tom (way different):
First: Don’t even think the residents of Tahoe are dumb enough to compare these to the minute shutdowns that happened before this. With the exception of ’95 none of these were full shutdowns or even close to on the same scale. By using that analogy you willfully grouped your voters or anyone that believes a thing you a say as the low information voters in California.
Second: If we follow this conundrum to it’s bitter end, it’s all about money and Citizens United. Because you Tom and your party have to rely so heavily on such a small number of donors to supply your parties war chest you have to do everything they tell you to do, even shut the government down.
I previously voted for you but you have not earned my vote in future elections, this Tea Party crap is out of control. You need to do right by your constituents not the Koch Brothers. May God help you.
Most Republicans who have any intelligence are embarrassed and ashamed of how their leadership led them down the toilet with the Tea Party.
McClintock will join his party in failure next elections for his absurd partison behavior and his constituents economic loss due to the shutdown.
People aren’t going to forget this bone-headed political selfishness in three years when it’s time to boot his kind out.
No one has refuted the point made by Mr. McClintock that the Republicans were ready to fund only if there would be a postponement of the Obamacare, which postponement opened the government again. Mr. Obama caved here through Jay Carney and rightly so.
The Democrats created a spin that is repeated as a mantra by so many commentators here.
Excuse me while I barf…
M Elie Alyeshmerni:
You completely missed the point:
Republicans were ready to fund the government. Senate Republicans voted to fund the government and all John B had to do was put the Senate Res up for a vote and there was enough enough votes with House Dems and Republicans to pass.
Republicans wanted to fund the government. This argument is about a fringe group of Tea Baggers, of which Mr. McClintock is one, that fail to understand how both government and business work.
DJ
YOU completely missed the point! The GOP House passed 14 funding bills to keep the entire government open, short of funding Obamacare. This is called “Legislation by Appropriation” and is hardly a new or illegal tactic, in fact it was done many times in the past by DEMOCRAT controlled Houses (see Tip O’Neill!) The House, and ONLY the House, has to power to control the purse, as all budget, tax and spending bills must, by law, originate in the House. It was Harry Reid, and by extension Barack Obama, who refused to bring up the House bills in the Senate and subsequently shut the government down. Harry Reid was clearly within his authority to refuse to take up the House bills, but you can’t say the GOP House didn’t fund the government when they clearly passed the bills, and sent them over to the Senate in order to do just that!
Ralph, no I didn’t. All along all John B had to do was put it to a vote, a clean CR no strings attached. He chose not to in b/c he thought the Tea Baggers would oust him from his speakership.
Lets step out of the bubble and into reality for a second, then we can turn Fox back on. The House has voted 37 times previously to defund Obamacare, the Senate picked that up how many times? Zero. Now with the gun pointed to our economies head we are expecting them to pick up a vote to defund or delay Obamacare in order to pay for Bush Era Wars and Tax Cuts for the rich?
Quick turn Glenn Beck back on, it will be okay…
Gee, DJ.. maybe you should stop slurping up all that MSNBC slop, huh? A “Clean CR” with “no strings attached? There were “no strings attached” to any of the 14 funding bills passed by the House. There just wasn’t an “Obamacare” one! Take a class in Civics.