Which is fine. We will have no problems seeing what they stand for in 2016. If a candidate campaigns on that the fed needs to stay out of people’s business, yet voted for blocking the pot referendum, anyone can go check that voting record.
At least for me these last few elections it has been hard to get a sense of what a candidate really stands for. Lots of sound-bites, little content. Now there will be a voting record to check.
And that IMHO is one reason among many why the Republicans won, I pointed out several months before that many moderate Republicans and independents did not see much of the craziness, therefore it was safe to vote once again for them. (And the so called liberal media “lost” a lot of important issues to press the Republicans about like it was shown in the video posted in reference to George Will and his misleading pap).
Then tradition and fairness made itself flow into how the moderate Republicans and Independents did vote. But as I pointed before this was a mistake, these are not the Republicans of a few generations ago, the leaders may be, but not the loony supporting cast they have, and they just got more numerous in congress.
And speaking of cards shown…
Playing the George Will card over here is like playing with a bunch of Magicarp cards in a Pokemon tournament. 
If I read that right, Paul Ryan will be heading it up, so expect voodoo economics and a bill that will be vetoed.
As per usual, I fully expect the Republicans to screw up their own political advantage, but I’m not exactly sure how that will come about. It’ll probably be something none of us is even thinking about right now. Could be ridiculous “hearings” on Obama’s policies or witch hunts against administration officials. Failure to pass minimum wage increase could be a big losing point for them in 2016, as that is hugely popular. And let’s not forget foot-in-mouth by old guys who don’t understand the times we live in. Maybe some sweetheart trade deal that favors certain industries (oil, anyone?).
I just think the items in the OP are too easy to pounce on and are NOT going to be deal beaker for the GOP.
How about SCOTUS screwing it up for them? Ruling in favor of the Sixth Circuit against marriage equality and/or the Fourth Circuit against the ACA subsidies in the federal exchange could produce some real backlash in 2016.
It certainly will be vetoed if the President isn’t involved in the negotiations. But obviously, if everyone sits down to discuss tax reform, the bill that will pass will have broad support.
Not necessarily.
Reps: “Let’s talk tax reform! Here’s our plan!”
Dems: “That looks…somewhat reasonable, but instead of A, B, and C, let’s do A, part of B, part of C, and add in D.”
Reps: “A, B, and C it is! We have a mandate and a majority! Whoo hoo!”
Vote: R: 243 yes, D: 2 yes, 179 no.* Bill passed as part of budget, avoids Senate filibuster, vote is as is to be expected.
Obama: (getting out veto pen) “You gotta be kidding me, right?”
Reps: “This bipartisan bill was VETOED by that darn Obama guy. He must really hate America, huh?”
Is there anything about this scenario that strikes you as unlikely?
Yes.
Reps: “Let’s talk tax reform! Here’s our plan!”
Dems: “That looks…somewhat reasonable, but instead of A, B, and C, let’s do A, part of B, part of C, and add in D.”
Reps: “A will happen over our dead bodies! It’s E, F, and G or nothing!”
It could go that way, but the thing about tax reform as Ron Wyden pointed out, is that it seems like it can’t happen until five minutes before it does.
The main issue right now is that Democrats want more revenue, which is just a non-starter. There’s no reason to demand that as a condition of tax reform. If they want tax increases, win an election based on raising taxes and then do it. Doing it through tax reform is a way to hide the increases.
If anything, it looks like Obama is being intransigent now:
But, no obstructionism from Democrats??? lol
Then what issue will Republicans compromise on to get Democratic votes and the President’s signature?
Any issue related to simplifying the tax code, which is the sole point of tax reform. When you’re trying to raise revenue, that’s known as a “tax increase”.
If Democrats want the same amount of revenue, but want more from the top than we currently get and less from the middle class, that’s a subject where there can be compromise. But if Democrats just want to raise taxes, they need to do it out in the open, not hide it in a tax reform bill.
So Republicans won’t try to slip in any corporate tax reductions?
If they do you can rest assured the President won’t sign it. Revenue neutral is the only true compromise.
Have revenue neutral tax reform measures ever passed? In such a situation the people whose taxes will increase are going to put up tremendous objection to those increases so will paralyze the process.
This is a great topic. The GOP motto this year could have been, “Mum’s the word.” What do they stand for? Don’t know, they refused to say. They even quit attending Congress for the last 2 months before the election lest someone reveal their position on… anything.
Ugh, George Will is a stinker. Let’s just address his claim that we need to approve the XL pipeline because it will “cut down on oil spills.”
This is a common problem with the GOP approach to issues- they cannot be honest. The risk with the XL pipeline is not the risk of shipping crude oil via pipe vs. via rail, because the XL pipeline is not a crude oil pipeline. It is a dilbit pipeline, which carries risks far, far higher than a conventional crude pipeline, see The Dilbit Disaster.
Lie #2 is the hiding the fact that TransCanada want to build this pipeline across the US because Canadians won’t allow this dangerous project on their own soil. Same thing would happen here if the whole thing wasn’t couched in lies.
Lie #3 is that this project benefits Americans- it doesn’t. The pipeline is for exporting Canadian crude oil to the rest of the world. We take all the risk in return for nothing.
I’ve never seen any proponents of the pipeline acknowledge the full story about this project. And this is why Congress isn’t trusted- they promote bullshit.
In terms of the GOP “laying their cards down”, the pipeline issue reveals why they aren’t trusted- their platform is fundamentally un-democratic because what they really support is oligarchy. XL benefits a few oil interests and campaign contributors, and offers nothing but harm and risk to the American public.
The GOP can’t run on their platform because in instance after instance, they work against the population to benefit a few wealthy interests. “Tax reform” without revenue increases is another example. The translation is “shift the tax burden off the wealthy onto the poor and middle class.” An honest look at the nation’s financial situation might conclude that tax reform would help, but not the kind the GOP promotes.
Not entirely without benefit. Local farmers here in the People’s Republic of Minnesota are concerned that with all the railways tied up shipping oil, it becomes more of a problem to ship corn, soybeans, etc. Can’t sell two tons of corn at the Farmer’s Market.
Nonetheless, on balance, **Try2B’**s analysis is accurate, IMO.
I thought you lived in Texas 
Cutbacks in Social Security and Medicaid are going to be high on some Republicans’ agendas. Attacking such programs have always been considered “the third rail” (you touch it, you die) in American politics … I suspect it still is.