The dims are really dim, LOL The leadership needs replacement as they are floundering and clearly incompetent.
"Reid sought to portray senior White House adviser Ed Gillespie as an incarnation of Karl Rove and a mastermind of intransigence."
So now it's Ed Gillespie and not Karl Rove, LOL. Excuses, excuses.
Harry reid needs to find another job, better yet take up gardening, in his own back yard.
Congress has been brought to a grinding halt by hardening Democratic and Republican stances on taxes and spending just days before lawmakers begin leaving Washington for Christmas and New Year¹s.
The two sides are, in some cases, refusing even to speak to each other about the massive omnibus and an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) bill.
Senate Republicans refused to meet Democrats Tuesday on spending and House Democrats rejected the Senate¹s AMT ³patch,² preparing a new version paid for with corporate tax increases.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) countered the majority¹s plans with a proposal that would require Democrats to accept virtually all of President Bush¹s demands on spending.
McConnell demanded that Democrats also provide $70 billion for the war with no strings attached.
Frustration boiled over in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Bush ³is impossible ? and has been for seven years ? to deal with.²
Reid sought to portray senior White House adviser Ed Gillespie as an incarnation of Karl Rove and a mastermind of intransigence.
The majority leader disdained McConnell¹s proposal, noting that an earlier Republican effort to increase war funding without restrictions failed to pass. Reid was not ready to accept an across-the-board funding cut to pare the omnibus to Bush¹s ceiling.
Senate Republicans rejected in advance a proposal from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to raise taxes to pay the $50 billion cost of the AMT patch. Rangel sought a higher tax rate on offshore deferred compensation. The Senate rejected a Rangel plan this year that paid for the patch by raising taxes on private equity and hedge funds.
When asked if Senate Republicans could accept AMT relief accompanied by tax increases, Sen. Jon Kyl (Ariz.), the Republican whip-elect, replied simply: ³No.²
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said there was ³zero² chance of the Senate passing an AMT bill that included tax increases.
Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), a Democratic member of the Finance Committee, said it would be difficult to pass a package with tax increases. The patch would temporarily protect 23 million American taxpayers from becoming subject to the AMT.
House Democrats are firm in demanding new taxes to pay for the $50 billion cost of AMT relief. Two leading liberal lawmakers circulated a letter among colleagues seeking to pressure Democratic leaders.
³As progressive members of the Democratic Caucus, we wish to make clear our concern with any AMT patch that does not adhere to the House PAYGO rules,² wrote Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), a member of Ways and Means, and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). ³We believe House Democrats must remain united on this principle.²Mobilization by liberals reinforces a coalition of House Democrats from across the political spectrum pressing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to stand firm.
More than 30 conservative Blue Dog Democrats signed a letter to Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) urging them to pay for tax relief.
³Under no circumstance will we vote for any piece of legislation that does not meet the requirements of PAYGO, nor will we vote to waive the PAYGO rules to allow for such legislation,² they wrote, referring to budget rules that require the cost of bills be offset with tax increases or spending cuts.Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the New Democrat Coalition, also demands an AMT bill that conforms with budget rules. ³I want AMT paid for. I think the entire Democratic Caucus wants the AMT paid for. I am very resolved to that.
³I¹m very mindful of the number of constituents damaged if we don¹t get this fixed ? [people] also want [tax relief] paid for because they are deeply concerned about the way the Republicans ran the Congress.²Federal debt has soared during the Bush presidency. Republicans say deficit spending was needed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the ensuing recession.
Tauscher said Senate Republicans need to recognize that a new party controls Congress, and compromise.
³I would remind them we took the majority and decided we were not going to run the government as they did, as profligate spenders,² she said. ³They need to be cooperative.²Democratic House leaders, including Pelosi, Hoyer and Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), met Tuesday to discuss strategy. Pelosi also met Reid to discuss spending and taxes.
But they do not appear to have decided how to break the impasse.
Obey has proposed reducing the cost of the omnibus to Bush¹s proposal and cutting all lawmakers¹ earmarks to spare a variety of programs from cuts. He hopes rank-and-file Republicans will press their leaders to accept higher domestic spending to save projects slated for their districts, said a Democratic aide.
Reid was not embracing that idea when asked about it Tuesday.