AverageBro: Shut Em' Down!!!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Shut Em' Down!!!

Well, despite a healthy dose of Beige Negro Magic, Obama wasn't able to trick the GOP into compromising on the budget and we're probably headed for a pointless government shutdown tomorrow night.

If you're clueless about what this means for the country, or just how screwed up we are, simply take a gander at the GOP's latest shameless 11th hour maneuver.

With a government shutdown looming, the GOP-led House has passed a bill that would fund the government for a week and also fund the Department of Defense for the rest of the fiscal year. The measure, which includes $12 billion in spending cuts, passed 247 to 181. The vote was largely along party lines, though six Republicans opposed it and 15 Democrats supported it.

The passage was likely symbolic, since it is unlikely to pass the Democrat-led Senate and President Obama has vowed to veto it if it does. It appears designed to boost Republican arguments that Democrats should be blamed if the government shuts down.

In addition to funding the government for another week and providing $516 billion for the Department of Defense, the bill includes a policy provision that would prohibit federal or local funding paying for abortions in Washington D.C. Republicans cast the measure as a "troop funding" bill and suggested opposing it meant opposing U.S. troops.

House Republicans want the budget deal to include the $61 billion in cuts that exist in the budget bill they passed earlier this year, as well as controversial policy riders including provisions that would strip government funding for Planned Parenthood, EPA, Public Broadcasting and health care implementation.

Without a deal, a government shutdown begins on Saturday. That would mean some federal operations and services will stop running. Hundreds of thousands of government workers would be furloughed, tens of thousands of military personnel would not immediately be paid and national parks some government agencies would be closed.

So, this is all about abortion and defunding public television? Really? And who the f*ck thinks shutting down the EPA is a great idea? Is this some anti-global warming move?

I thought this was all about the deficit. Silly me.

Yep, we're screwed.

Question: If you consider yourself a Conservative, does this sort of trickery make any sense to you? Is ideology worth shutting the entire government down?

With a government shutdown looming, the GOP-led House has passed a bill that would fund the government for a week and also fund the Department of Defense for the rest of the fiscal year. The measure, which includes $12 billion in spending cuts, passed 247 to 181. The vote was largely along party lines, though six Republicans opposed it and 15 Democrats supported it.

The passage was likely symbolic, since it is unlikely to pass the Democrat-led Senate and President Obama has vowed to veto it if it does. It appears designed to boost Republican arguments that Democrats should be blamed if the government shuts down.

In addition to funding the government for another week and providing $516 billion for the Department of Defense, the bill includes a policy provision that would prohibit federal or local funding paying for abortions in Washington D.C. Republicans cast the measure as a "troop funding" bill and suggested opposing it meant opposing U.S. troops.

House Republicans want the budget deal to include the $61 billion in cuts that exist in the budget bill they passed earlier this year, as well as controversial policy riders including provisions that would strip government funding for Planned Parenthood, EPA, Public Broadcasting and health care implementation.

Without a deal, a government shutdown begins on Saturday. That would mean some federal operations and services will stop running. Hundreds of thousands of government workers would be furloughed, tens of thousands of military personnel would not immediately be paid and national parks some government agencies would be closed.