Slate: Some Senators Want to Bring Back Bowles-Simpson to End the Shutdown Crisis

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The talk in Congress today, about a possible way out of the funding showdown, was about committees. Not supercommittees! No, people want to forget about that experience. Just some sort of deal that funds the government long enough to restart the normal negotiation process, and conferences. This latest mirage got a couple of the Senate's moderates talking about the great panaceas of yore.


West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, for example, told reporters that he hoped something "like Simpson-Bowles" might re-emerge. "I'm hoping we get a big package that fixes our long-term debt," he said. "Look at spending, look at revenue, look at reform. Look at what Tom Coburn showed the other day, on abuses of Social Security disability. ... If we can get a tax system that's more fair and equitable, and we spin off more revenue from that, this is a win-win situation."


Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the Finance Committee chairman who's retiring this year and really wants tax reform to be his legacy, didn't really play ball on this. "Fund the government first," he said, as reporters asked him about a possible deal to get to a wonderful reform-minded conference room.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/10/08/some_senators_want_to_bring_back_bowles_simpson_to_end_shutdown_crisis.html

[lostincalifornia]

1. Fund the government first is right

[tk2kewl]

2. no

Do your jobs - negotiate in good faith and in accordance with the Constitution and pass legislation on issues for which you can reach a consensus - otherwise find another line of work.

[hughee99]

3. It's funny, I'd like to see a big package that fixes long-term debt, so I hope something like

Simpson-Bowles doesn't re-emerge. Their report came out less than 3 years ago and was never implemented. What it allowed was to get these economic issues off the front page for a longer period of time without actually fixing anything. Essentially, it's like the Syria "fix" where everyone appears to have agreed to do "something", no one's really on the hook for much and at any time can back out. Then some deadline is announced far down the road so people don't have to answer any questions on it until that deadline starts approaching.

[Buddha_of_Wisdom]

4. no deal from these two Democratic turncoats

who needed to be replaced with true progressive Democrats.....

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. Good luck with replacing Baucus with one.

This is Montana we're talking about. Not to malign the state, I know a lot of good people from there but one has to be no further left than a moderate to be elected to a state-wide office.

[KamaAina]

6. Bowles-Simpson: BS for short

[Orsino]

7. Some senators are poor-punchers?

Imagine that.

[Mass]

8. Some senators??? I thought some meant more than one.

Only dem in the article is Joe Manchin, who is the perfect DINO. Even Baucus knows better.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. What is it with the beltway worship of these guys?

If Congress needs these two guys to come up with a long-term budget plan for the US, we might as well as just replace Congress with them.

[Hutzpa]

10. Ain't gonna happen

tired of these over aged bolo hats wearing dudes smoking Cuban cigars acting as if they have all the answers.

They should be talking to that drunkard that is passing for Speaker of The House.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Fuck Max Baucus and Joe Manchin