Kerry on Debt Panel Outcome

[ProSense]

Kerry on Debt Panel Outcome

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today made the following statement after an announcement by co-chairs Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R- Texas) that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was unable to reach an agreement on a plan to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion:

“I'm deeply disappointed with this outcome. We all are. This was an historic moment to do something big, bold, and balanced that demanded shared sacrifice to put our country first. Everyone worked hard and everyone wanted success.

“It’s too easy just to say that Washington is broken or Congress is broken. But telling the truth about how we got here is the only way to ensure we put our country on the right course. These issues aren’t going away; in fact they are becoming more urgent.

“There is an enormous ideological divide in politics today, and today’s outcome underscores the rigidity and unwillingness of forces outside of Congress to allow for rational consensus.

“Democrats on the Committee made clear everything was on the table. Our offers were balanced. We walked the line of shared sacrifice, however difficult, and we proposed painful choices for programs we care about deeply.

“However, we simply could not overcome the Republican insistence on making tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent. We would not give another $550 billion tax cut to the wealthiest. Shifting the tax burden to the middle class was not the way to reduce the deficit. This was simply doctrine for some of our Republican colleagues, even as many worked very hard in good faith to find a better way forward. I believe it would have been unconscionable to ask middle class Americans to finance more tax cuts for the wealthy while seniors on fixed incomes paid the price. People need to remember: The Committee was created to cut the deficit not to cut taxes for the wealthiest, the exact tax policies that didn’t create jobs and gave us deficits in the first place. The bottom line is that no Super Committee can succeed with Grover Norquist as its 13th member.

I believe this was a moment for American leadership, and from day one we urged the Committee to go big and reach the $4 trillion mark. Certain elements of the Republican Party were unwilling to put tax revenue on the table, and no deal without it can be fair.

“This challenge of deficit reduction remains. We still have a jobs deficit and growing budget deficit and now we have an even greater deficit of public trust in Americans' belief that Congress can make adult decisions. It didn’t have to be this way. Perhaps the awful reality of across the board budget cuts in key priorities will finally sober everyone up. We must spend the next year figuring out how to arrive at a balanced and fair solution for our country.”

[graywarrior]

1. The Boston Herald claims Kerry's career is ended

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/2011_1121super_career_ender_for_kerry/srvc=home&position=1

If you care about what the Herald says....I don't.

[sasha031]

3. the Herald is irrelevant in Ma.

[ProSense]

4. Since it's the voice of the RW,

Bo-Herd should be worried about Scott Brown and his issues. He's the one up for re-election in 2012.

Elizabeth Warren 2012!

[graywarrior]

Got that one right, friend!

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Brown is toast. Massachusetts wants a strong FDR Democrat

As does the rest of our country.

[politicasista]

11. You're lucky

One can always have two red-state Senators, a GOP controlled state legislature and a GOP gov.

It's easy for some to trash a Dem senator for not being liberal enough, and not trash the other junior one and his party that is the main problem.


Just and observation.

[wisteria]

5. LOL, that is so self serving and absolutely wrong. n/t

[karynnj]

8. Yeah, but they said that in the summer of 2008 too - then he was reelected with 66% of the vote

It is fascinating that they thought quoting a conservative commentator made it more real. All I know is that I thing Kerry running in MA in 2014 will be hurt far less (if at all) by this than Pat Toomey will be with the Scrooge worthy proposal with his name on it in PA. I guess they should have expected that from a club for growth leader, but I hope most Pennsylvanians are appalled by his willingness to raise costs and cost benefits for all while the richest get another tax break.

I think Kerry has been outstanding yesterday and today in getting out the Democratic side. (I just watched Kerry speaking to a not too bright Erin Burnett, who was a fan of Toomey and very annoying all week - he called in to say pretty much what he wrote here. He did a great job conveying the essential unfairness of the Republican plans.

(I also saw a link for video for the Norquist as the 13th member comment - that news anchor is pretty strange. http://democratsforprogress.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=11067#.TsqPBefcUkc.facebook

[wisteria]

2. "no Super Committee can succeed with Grover Norquist as its 13th member."

Wonderful statement from Senator Kerry, who I believe really wanted this committee to succeed, and prove to the American people that our elected officials can compromise, make tough choices, and do what is in the best interests of America and the American people.
And,as for the Republicans, I remember the media saying at the beginning that most of the Republican appointees had signed on to the Grover Norquist pledge, and they predicted the failure of the committee even before they got down to work. Makes me wonder if McConnell and Bahner personally sabotaged the committee. It also confirms for me that they really don't give a damn at all about the state of the economy, and the struggles of the middle class and poor.

[YvonneCa]

7. That was the crux of the problem. Senator Kerry is EXACTLY...

...right. Unfortunately, 2/3 of the RW that pay attention are saying "Huh? Who?" :7

[karynnj]

9. Here he is saying the same thing earlier today

http://democratsforprogress.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=11067#.TsqPBefcUkc.facebook

I suspect that Kerry did very truly want to use the committee as an opportunity to really do something fair that would help the economy - from the questions in the open meeting, he was clearly the lead advocate for putting the stimulus piece in because it genuinely would have the impact of cutting the deficit by creating jobs and expanding the economy. He got CBO to state that without the stimulus the debt would have been higher.

I think the other reason is being seen right now. There are really few Democrats as adept in dealing with hostile media - and that includes David Gregory at this point. What kind of disturbed me is that there were many Democrats who seemed to have far less concern for all the security net programs, than for the ones we could all benefit from at some point - Medicare and SS.

[politicasista]

10. Kick

The Dems (Senator Kerry in particular) say and do what DU wants and they dumped on for it. Thank goodness me doesn't post on weekends. :silly:

That said, hopefully he, Murray, Clyburn staffers are cleaning up their Facebook pages and spraying them for pests. President Obama's too for that matter.

[joshcryer]

12. Bluff called. Obama home run. Those of us who predicted, completely vidicated.

[politicasista]

13. So

Obama won and everyone else lost or just GOP? :shrug:

[joshcryer]

14. A GOP lose is good for everyone.

If you don't want the 2013 triggers to happen go out and vote for someone that will fix them.

[politicasista]

15. Oh, Ok

So Obama got the upper hand, if so that is even better. Expose them for who they really are.

[joshcryer]

16. Some of us saw it as a win win either way. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Either way I think we would've been vindicated, but I actually like this way better, because it makes the GOP look really bad.

[politicasista]

17. It's all good

The good folks in this thread have helped. :)

[totodeinhere]

20. If this is an Obama home run, why did Kerry say in the article the OP linked to that he is

"deeply disappointed?"

[politicasista]

18. He is still taking heat and

maybe losing support over this, but guess you can't please everyone. :hide:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2360602

[karynnj]

19. "John Kerry did a good job on MTP" is taking heat"? Who knew?

[politicasista]

22. Yep. n/t

[Johnny2X2X]

21. GOP Spin

It's been laughable to see hear the different ways the GOP and their media empire are trying to spin this. "The Democrats would cut a dime." um er. well um, "The Democrats only want future cuts which wont be enforceable by law." um er.

The Dems offered a huge package of cuts with very modest and limited tax increases on the wealthy. In the end the cuts don't matter to the Republicans, all that matters is protecting the rich. Even those on the right are starting to see this undeniable fact.