Obama administration mobilizes to save faltering spending bill

[KeepItReal]

Source: Reuters

The Obama administration made a last-ditch attempt on Thursday to drum up Democratic support to salvage a faltering $1.1 trillion spending bill, just hours ahead of a midnight U.S. government shutdown deadline.

Administration officials from President Barack Obama down to staff at the Department of Education were phoning Democrats in the House of Representatives to ask them to set aside objections to a financial provision and pass the measure to fund most of the government through September.

"We believe that this compromise proposal merits bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, and hopefully will arrive on the president's desk in the next few days. And if it does, he will sign it," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

...

The 1,603-page measure, negotiated by Republican and Democratic appropriators and leaders, sparked a revolt when rank and file Democrats discovered it would kill planned restrictions on derivatives trading by large banks, allowing them to continue trading swaps and futures in units that benefit from federal deposit insurance and Federal Reserve loans.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/11/us-usa-congress-budget-deadline-idUSKBN0JP23320141211

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Rep. Maxine Waters was so right about President Obama lobbying for this monstrosity of a bill.

[Vincardog]

1. Why can't our supposed Democratic President allow the GOP to FAIL?

[genwah]

3. Call him up abd ask him.

White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
Call the President
Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414

TTY/TTD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitor's Office: 202-456-212

[JSDude1]

6. And then call your Reps and Senators

Asking them to OPPOSE this: 202-224-3121.

[yeoman6987]

7. I know this sounds crazy, but I Truly believe he

Doesn't want to go down in history as the President who never signed a budget bill in his 8 years. It has been all continuing Resolutions. Remember a Presidents last two years are all about legacy.

[roguevalley]

2. thank god for Elizabeth Warren. I despair of ever seeing a real

honest to god democrat in the white house again.

[Scootaloo]

5. What do you mean?

Maybe the last few days have eroded me and left my cynical streak exposed, but... this is what democrats are.

They're not liberal. they're not progressive. They're deeply, immovably conservative (compare to the republicans who are not conservative but are, rather, radical fascists.) all those 'liberal" issues you probably think democrats are for? Like, GLBT rights, and women's reproductive choice? They only jumped onto those boats once they became foregone conclusions - and they will jump right back out again at a moment's notice, if they think political fortunes will favor it - Just as they have done to labor and the environment.

There are - thankfully - some genuinely liberal democrats holding offices. but they are outnumbered and outgunned by their semicrat and republican others. They can't pull that weight by themselves.

What we, the voters need to do, is refuse to "settle." Find the liberals, Bush htem, sell them, put htem on office in every race we can, rather than convincing ourselves that "they can't win" and then running a conservativethat loses anyway while dragging our party further to the right.

[roguevalley]

8. not anymore but some of us are old enough to remember when

they were.

[INdemo]

22. The Obama cmapaign was a prime example of what your post (#5)

during his campaign he gave those great stump speeches about whet liberals or at least Democrats wanted to here.he talked about keeping Social Security and Medicare off the table etc. and after he won his second term those two items were given right bck to Republicans to try and mangle.

This guy feeds the Democrats crumbs in order to give his Republican friends a 7 course meal

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

4. Who were the Democratic 'negotiators and leaders'?

If Pelosi and Warren are against it, are Reid and Hoyer for it?

[pscot]

9. Van Hollen is the ranking member

on the budget committee. Lyin' Ryan is the Chairman.

[doc03]

10. What about the pension robbery, doesn't anyone give a fuck

about that?

[another_liberal]

11. Is there really anything such as a "Compromise" with the likes of Congressional Republicans?

Seems to me they are always stabbing you in the back while they smile in your face and shake your hand.

[stillwaiting]

14. If Republicans accept any "compromise" they are getting a lot of what they want AND

very little to nothing of what they don't want.

Democrats get to continue to accept less and less government to benefit average Americans and more and more government to benefit the wealthy and multinational corporations. THAT is what can pass as a "compromise".

[another_liberal]

17. You hit the target squarely that time.

The Democratic leadership has become accustomed to accepting defeat while calling it bi-partisanship.

[summerschild]

12. I say shut the fucker down.

[Turbineguy]

13. The GOP has figured this out.

The Government will shut down and Obama and the Democrats will be blamed.

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. Kill this fucking bill

Get on the horn with your reps.

Fuck the administration on this one. Kill it, shut it down, whatever. This bill is a disgrace.

[Lugano]

16. Let it die. Gives the Dems leverage for votes..

and we can remove a lot of Republican pork and replace it with Democratic pork....

[Veilex]

18. *sigh*

Why is the administration trying to make it easier for the GOP to get what they want? Moreover, why is he trying to make Dems complicit in what will inevitably be yet another economic depression as yet another massive transfer of wealth is conducted?

Getting sick of unequal representation.

Perhaps its time to move to Canada or maybe Denmark.

[OldRedneck]

19. Just f'ing let it shut down.

Fuck it. Let the goddam guvmint shut down.

Shut down air traffic control centers, national weather service, FBI, Homeland Security, food inspections, border patrol, all military services. Shut down the whole goddam thing. No social security checks. No tax refund checks to corporations. Shut down federal prisons, open the goddam gates and let the inmates go home. Send every federal guvmint employee home without pay. Furlough the Corps of Engineers employees who operate the locks on the Mississippi River.

Be certain all furloughed federal employees have the home address for Boehner, Cruz, Bachman, King, Turtleface . . .

[rtracey]

20. this bill is shit

This is why, I am pulling away from politics in this country. I had such high hopes for this president, and feel he has done a great amount for this country, but if you think Mr. President that this bill is worth voting for, after it threatens to shelve your immigration executive order, cuts funding to IRS, EPA, retired workers, slaps our soldiers in the face with a 1% raise, and allow McConnell to mosey on in and drop a 500% kick in the nuts by allowing election fraud by pushing contributions and killing some dodd-frank.....then you are failing your party and your people.....you disappoint me sir

[INdemo]

21. If he gets buy with this shit

He just handed the keys to the White House front door to a Republican. This guy is a Republican I cannot believe he is throwing every working class citizen off a cliff for the sake of giving the banks and Wall ST millions in profits
What is wrong with this guy.He is certainly not a Democrat and Hillary would l be just as bad but forget it she in no way in hell will win

First the TPP and now this. This is the best T Bagger President the T party could hope for.

[INdemo]

23. The Spendng Bill passed

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/house-set-vote-spending-bill

[NorthCarolina]

24. Was there ever really any question about it?

Of course it passed. We're all just being played for fools.