Effort To Avert US Default

Women senators lead effort to avert US default

Those on both sides of partisan divide behind possible deal

WASHINGTON - Frustrated with the lack of progress to end a weeks-old government shutdown, Republican Senator Susan Collins zipped out a three-point plan two Saturdays ago that she thought both parties could live with, marched to the Senate floor and dared her colleagues to come up with something better.

   A few days later, two other Republican female senators signed on - Ms Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ms Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. Together, the three women started a bipartisan group whose negotiating framework formed the centrepiece of a tentative Senate deal nearing completion this week to reopen the federal government and avert a default.

   "Before I went to the Senate floor, no one was presenting any way out," Ms Collins said. "I think what our group did was pave the way, and I'm really happy about it." In a Senate still dominated by men, women on both sides of the partisan divide proved to be the driving forces that shaped a negotiated settlement.

   The three women put aside threats from the right to advance the interests of their shutdown-weary states and assert their own political independence.

   "I probably will have retribution in my state," Ms Murkowski said. "That's fine. That doesn't bother me at all. If there is backlash, hey, that's what goes on in DC, but in the meanwhile there is a government that is shut down. There are people who are really hurting."

   Two powerful women on the Democratic side - Senators Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Patty Murray of Washington - took a hard line and pressed their Republican counterparts to temper their demands, but also offered crucial points of compromise.

   Together, the five senators starkly showed off the increasing power of women - even those who are not on the relevant committees - as their numbers grow in the upper chamber.

   Of the 13 senators on the bipartisan committee who worked on the deal framework, about half were women, even though women make up only 20 per cent of the Senate.

   Senate John McCain of Arizona joked at several points in their meetings: "The women are taking over."

   More than two weeks into a government shutdown, Washington is now two days from a possible default on federal obligations.

   The women showed pragmatism as negotiators in the midst of fierce partisanship and a level of frustration with the leaders of both parties that reflect their constituents and the nation.

   "Where we find ourselves right now is unacceptable for America," Ms Ayotte said.

   "It's unacceptable as leaders who have been elected by the people of this country. We owe it to our constituents to resolve this now."

NEW YORK TIMES

ted cruz defaulted on my left nut

End this now : http://www.barackobama.com/news/tweet-end-this-now

http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/o/8538

US Senate reaches deal to avert default

House Speaker expected to allow vote on move, which would pass

WASHINGTON - United States Senate leaders have reached a last-minute deal to avoid a looming Treasury default and reopen the government after a 16-day partial shutdown.

   Senate House Majority leader, Democrat Harry Reid, and Minority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, announced the agreement yesterday. A senior House Republican said House Speaker John Boehner was expected to allow a vote on the Senate agreement and that it would pass.

   Mr Boehner's aides called senior Senate staff earlier in the day to say the House would vote first on the measure. The aides said it appears certain to be approved with mostly Democratic votes.

   Representative Kevin Brady of Texas said in a television interview that he thinks House Republicans' inability to come up with their plan to raise the debt limit before US borrowing authority lapsed meant that the House would have to accept whatever Senate leaders come up with.

   A final Senate deal and House agreement to accept it could clear the way to bring the fiscal impasse to an end before the deadline at midnight yesterday US time.

   The news sent stocks soaring on Wall Street, after a mixed day on world markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 200 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 15,370 in late morning trading shortly after news that Senate leaders had reached an agreement to avert a default.

   Rates on short-term US government debt fell as investors became less nervous about a possible default, after one ratings firm on Tuesday placed the US' AAA credit rating on a negative watch.

   On the hints of a deal, stocks yesterday rose in Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. But other Asian markets, including Shanghai and Hong Kong, closed lower as unconvinced investors gave in to jitters.

   Under the emerging Senate agreement, House Republicans would get almost none of their priorities. They tried to defund or delay the health-care law, settling last month on trying to delay the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance.

   President Barack Obama has described those requests as unacceptable ransom demands and insisted that Republicans relent.

   Republicans persisted after the partial government shutdown started on Oct 1 and saw their approval ratings drop in polls. Hard-liners resisted plans that did not make major changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

   Others, such as Representative Peter King of New York, stuck with Mr Boehner while complaining about the strategy. "And the long teachable moment ends: stove is hot," Representative Tim Griffin, an Arkansas Republican, said on Twitter after Mr Boehner scrapped an earlier plan.

   The emerging Senate agreement trades the pressing and already-missed deadlines for new ones over the next four months.

   The Treasury Department would be allowed to use so-called extraordinary measures to delay default for about another month beyond Feb 7, said a Senate Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity.

   The Senate accord could include a Republican-backed provision to tighten income verification requirements for people receiving health-insurance subsidies. That provision is linked to a proposal backed by Democrats and labour unions that would delay a reinsurance fee on group health plans.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, BLOOMBERG,
REUTERS

Before this shutdown mess, dems and republicans were essentially even on the generic ballot. At this point in time, dems are leading the GOP by roughly 8 points.

It's even more interesting when you see how these changes occurred. Support for republicans has remained steady at roughly 40% since january and probably even farther back. Dems back in january led repubs by the same amount they lead now, but this support started falling after the scandals broke in May, only to come back during the shutdown. It suggests that even before the shutdown, the GOP had reached the lowest possible amount of support that they could possibly achieve, and that they've only managed to harden opposition against them through this shutdown. It'll be a lot harder for them to get that generic ballot number back to even after this.

TL:DR the republicans are essentially dead now. Even if they manage to hold the house in the next election, it's only a matter of time before they lose it.