Obama, Congress search for way out as pressure rises in fiscal stalemate

Another day. Another round of polls. Great news for Team Democrat and America.

'Cause the Republicans break their record from yesterday: They are even more screwed than you thought.

By a 22-point margin (53 percent to 31 percent), the public blames the Republican Party more for the shutdown than President Barack Obama – a wider margin of blame for the GOP than the party received during the poll during the last shutdown in 1995-96. Just 24 percent of respondents have a favorable opinion about the GOP, and only 21 percent have a favorable view of the Tea Party, which are both at all-time lows in the history of poll. [...]

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/10/20903624-nbcwsj-poll-shutdown-debate-damages-gop?lite

Hate to break it to you, but the Republicans have always been about skrewing the little guy. Always.

The Democratic Party is the party that's basic core value is help create a society that is more dependent on the government. Look at California, have you been to L.A. Or SF? Black and Latino unemployment is off the charts. Welfare and unemployment went up over 30% so far! people have less money in their pockets. California that had the 5th largest economy in the world at one point, the breadbasket in agriculture and farming, produce, thanks to the Democrats, California is a complete mess, ruined and a giant government dependent, hellhole. All liberal policies, even if republicans were to regain power in California, it would take a decade to even remotely get it halfway back on track? Liberal policies, what a joke,

So who are the ones that got screwed and by whom?

The data I have seen for one state after one week are a few thousand registrations/applications and a few hundred actual enrollments. Although we don't know for sure if this is typical I think it is. It shows that only a small fraction of people registering for Obamacare are willing at this point to signup and start making payments on their policy. That percentage will probably increase with time. It wont' get to 100%. What it will get to is anybody's guess. I certainly don't know. It's a long way, and a few years, to 7 million healthy young people that Democrats were touting as the benchmark for solvency.

"… if the ACA goes into full effect and it turns out to be the disaster that some predicted then I'm all for modifying or rescinding it."

That's akin to using a rearview mirror to guide your way forward. NO ONE was allowed to read the monstrosity before voting ( much less actual deliberation by the whole of Congress) on it, and even then it barely passed and strictly on partisan vote, completely one-sided. That is a very clear recipe for failure before even getting off the ground.

Best solution is to not be under the Obamacare blunder umbrella.

Look at the facts Laguna. Their were inner city voting districts 100% Obama. Desperate, no. Enlightening, yes. If you you care to know.

An ACA presented as " you have to vote on it to know what's in it" is not a presentable platform.

I am a Democrat because we support American business; and a strong foreign policy.

Like hiring a Canadian firm to built Obamacare’s Healthcare.gov whose parent company Canadian government fired for incompetence and budget overruns ? Can't wait to see the cronyism there.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/canadian-officials-fired-it-firm-behind-troubled-obamacare-website/article/2537101

Superlib

Hate to break it to you, but the Republicans have always been about skrewing the little guy. Always.

And they went off the rails in 1994.

IOW, I am a Democrat because we support American business; and a strong foreign policy.

bass: Like I said, both parties are to blame for the shutdown

When you guys suddenly start spouting the same talking point within 24 hours of each other, how can I possibly believe that it's something you really believe, or if it's something you're just latching onto because your party decided that was their position?

I just get sick and tired of liberals and Dems thinking that they are the Know all

I actually like most of what the GOP stands for except for the religious stuff. I think business does things better and smaller government is better. The difference is that I think that's true 90% of the time, not 100%. There are times when the government needs to be there for all of the people, not to just do the most good for the most number of people, then jettison the rest. Business will allow people to fall through the cracks but the government shouldn't be allowed to do that.

Since Obama took office the GOP has jerked far to the right and they lost moderates like me. There's just so much anger there nowadays and when people talk about it I find more often than not it's because of misinformation and disinformation. It seems that a lot of what they do is out of spite and their version of "taking back America" centers around things like voter suppression, hurting minorities, and vilifying people like the working poor. They are at war with so many groups and even at war with each other and they've lost their identity. Telling me that business and small government is good can't cover that up anymore. You probably know that I learn to the right on international issues so I have some Republican views there as well. The US needs a strong Republican party because it's good for the country, but they need to figure out what they are going to be and actually take more moderate positions to expand the base.

Riiiiight

@superlib

More mindless, repetitive nonsense from Republican drones. Your masters have given you your talking points and you're doing your job which is to repeat them. You never said these things before you started hearing other people saying them and now you're falling in line. No free will.

Sorry, but NO one gave me anything. I am a conservative, but I too, am a registered independent and I don't tow the party line, however, I just get sick and tired of liberals and Dems thinking that they are the Know all, the answer to all societal woes and each time they THINK they are doing something good, right and in the name of justice, it just keeps costing us more and more. Like I said, both parties are to blame for the shutdown, but the Dems could have tried to sit down with the Republicans and try to work out something, they flat out refused. So you need to take a deeper look Sen. Reid and at your liberal looney friends.

@madverts

funny, I was just about to say the same thing about the Democrats, but their medical expenses might be so over the top, Obamacare probably won't cover it, since they taxed the bejeezus out of everyone.

@farmboy

Obamacare won't be repealed. It will be improved, and that will be done by Democrats, since the Republicans are too busy destroying the country.

How is that even remotely possible, the Dems and liberals have already done that for them and they're still NOT finished yet!

Obamacare won't be repealed. It will be improved, and that will be done by Democrats, since the Republicans are too busy destroying the country.

The online exchanges obviously were not tested before implementation what makes you think the rest of the legislation was any better considered ? Anyone who has an inkling of how complex Obamacare is, knows you can’t cobble together a system of systems like this and roll it out in one big bang. And the security aspects of it will be the mother-of-all nightmares.

Republicans sink to all time low in the polls.

At this point pollsters should be polling "Defund the GOP" v. "Defund Obamacare."

spahnmatthew: the President opened the door to some changes with the waiver deal

Can you give us a breakdown of the different waivers and why they were put into place?

If we-the-people can choose to either register or pay the fine in one year's time, then we are able to make a personal judgement on the wisdom of registering for ObamaCare that's right for us.

I don't quite follow. What do you mean by "opt out"? Are you talking about a situation where someone chooses to have no health insurance?

Farmboy,

ObamaCare will probably end up helping some tea party activists receive the psychological counselling and medication they clearly need but otherwise couldn't afford as they protest that people many, many times richer than themselves might actually have to pay their fair share in taxes....

An ironic twist.

"The battle over ObamaCare is over. You lost."

"You," meaning the country.

Personally I don’t think enough people are going to sign up for Obamacare to give it any chance of surviving. When the bill for the coverage comes due, there will be a massive outcry from the very group of people who voted Obama into office twice who are already shocked they are actually going to have to pay for 'other people's healthcare.' This is what’s going to open the door for a sweeping change and I am hoping conservatives will be waiting in the wings to pick of the pieces.

While the Dems and President Obama have the law on their side, the President opened the door to some changes with the waiver deal to certain businesses, unions, his own family, and Congress (that has to sign up for ObamaCare but receives special subsidies to reduce the cost for members and their families). The Obama administration says it has the legal authority to grant any health insurance waivers it wants under Section 7805 of the tax code. That's the crux of the issue. Once the President took that position, it created legal issues that are unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that if waivers are granted to those groups, why would individuals not have the choice to either register today or receive waiver for up to one year to see for themselves how ObamaCare will affect them? If we-the-people can choose to either register or pay the fine in one year's time, then we are able to make a personal judgement on the wisdom of registering for ObamaCare that's right for us. Those who want ObamaCare now would still be able to sign up.

How did 100% of certain voting districts vote for me? Did my Obama phones help? No ID required! You may be a citizen, an "undocumented resident" or a terrorist from Yemen and you may have voted for me.

Wow. Scraping the bottom of the barrel now, aren't we? Desperation clearly impedes logic - though logic is clearly a challenge for some to begin with.

Jean: superlib, It's pretty obvious the battle over ACA is NOT over. Bear in mind that laws very often get modified or rescinded.

Jean, if the ACA goes into full effect and it turns out to be the disaster that some predicted then I'm all for modifying or rescinding it. But the fight to preempt it is over and going forward it will stand or fall on it's own merits. I know there are plenty of people who will never accept it no matter how successful it might become and there are even others who will go out of their way to sabotage it, but at this point in time it's law and trying to kill it is a waste of everyone's time.

Raise the debt ceiling, fund this that and the other thing, exemptions and waivers to all my diners and friends. Raise taxes. The Obama way.

Oh, did I say, I won? Wonder how many of my voters know the VP's name? (Who is MIA lately) How did 100% of certain voting districts vote for me? Did my Obama phones help? No ID required! You may be a citizen, an "undocumented resident" or a terrorist from Yemen and you may have voted for me.

Be sure and sign up for my legacy, the ACA! It has glitches, we may share your info with the authorities, we can and will offer discreet exemptions and waivers, more costly for many or most (TBD).

All those "phony scandals"! Not true. Fabricated lies. The mainstream meadia did not report them thearfore the are untrue!

I won, I won, I won. That means YOU lost.

Just helping some above posters out here.

Republicans were in power when their 'president' started 2 wars and sent the nations debt rocketing through the stratosphere.

Republicans were in power when the worst recession in 90 years took off, shredding people's lives, dreams and savings worldwide.

Republicans are now trying to shred peoples' lives and dreams by opposing Obamacare.

And now some TeaPublicans are hellbent on seeing their own country default on its debt obligations and very likely triggering another global recession only 5 years after the last one they caused.

Why the whole lot of them aren't wearing orange and locked up in Alcatraz or Gitmo, I have no idea.

@laguna, There contradictory data from BLS reported by Bloomberg:

" Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by Bloomberg News and published this week don’t answer the jobs question, but they do indicate that California is losing ground in a related category: the number of business establishments. There were 1.3 million businesses in California at the end of 2012, 5.2 percent fewer than in the previous year (that’s about 73,000 fewer). To put that in perspective, Massachusetts lost 5,200 businesses, the second-highest amount, and Kansas had 3.1 percent fewer businesses in 2012 than in 2011, the second-highest loss rate. Nebraska added businesses at 11.9 percent, the fastest rate. Because BLS releases the data on a lag, the end of 2012 is the latest date for which numbers are available." superlib, It's pretty obvious the battle over ACA is NOT over. Bear in mind that laws very often get modified or rescinded.

Don't spout off this garbage that California and Jerry Brown are doing a fine job!

Well, it is one of the ten fastest-growing states in America, behind Texas, but the latter's growth comes mostly from energy and minerals, while California's comes from value-added industries like manufacturing and design. As noted here http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/the-states-with-the-fastest-growing-economies/#!fullscreen&slide=980217 :

California's growth last year can be credited to expansions in its manufacturing, information, and the professional, scientific, and technical service sectors. The state's durable manufacturing sector, which includes the computer and innovation technology-producing Silicon Valley, contributed more than $10 billion of the GDP increase.

Texas Gov. Perry has been roaming the country trying to poach these types of companies but has met with little success and has become a person non grata in many states. Who would want to subject their employees' children to Texas education, say, or (lack of) medical care?

Cronies....heh. I've heard that word quite a bit recently. It's like you all just spontaneously decided to use it at the same time? ;)

The battle over ObamaCare is over. You lost. Republicans badly, badly misread their hand. That also goes for independents who align themselves with Republicans but slip out the back door when the heat gets turned up.

Superlib, to remind you again, I'm INDEPENDENT, very liberal, and fiscally conservative. Yes, I did read that but had been thinking that all along. The way ACA is currently enacted, it caters to Obamas cronies, and cronyism is despicable.

A while back there was a good article on CNN Money(a shock) about Cash Payment for medical services.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/11/news/economy/cash-only-doctors/index.html

The message is: If ObamaCare is so good for the people, then let everyone have it.

My, it seems some have no clue as to what the ACA is all about. You cannot "have" Obamacare.

Recent polls in all fronts indicate that Obama and congress are to blame....

I suppose in some echo chambers, polls do. They are likely similar to the polls which showed Romney trouncing Obama right up to election evening. How did that go, again?

bass: Dems don't understand what a compromise means

More mindless, repetitive nonsense from Republican drones. Your masters have given you your talking points and you're doing your job which is to repeat them. You never said these things before you started hearing other people saying them and now you're falling in line. No free will.

Jean: REMOVE ALL EXEMPTIONS, EXCEPTIONS, AND WAIVERS TO OBAMACARE.

More drone actions. You heard someone else say this and it sounded good so you're doing your part as a Republican to promote it. The problem is that you haven't gotten the memo that the fight over ObamaCare is over. Cruz got his donations and Republicans are moving on. The shutdown is now about Boehner keeping his job and nothing else.

This headline is a big surprise and many things can resolve when they put their egos aside. Recent polls in all fronts indicate that Obama and congress are to blame, except the Obamabots who always stand by their man. Soon, a short term quick fix might be possible, but raising the debt ceiling is looming ahead. Senator Obama voted against it and even called the act of "unpatriotic". Now , Obama wants to raise the debt ceiling that could increase the deficit greater that $ 16 trillions due to uncontrollable spending. Borrow and spending, tax and spending are the formula of disaster, except the bots who find no wrong regardless.

"REMOVE ALL EXEMPTIONS, EXCEPTIONS, AND WAIVERS TO OBAMACARE." @JeanValJean. That's best post I have read in a long time! Should be carved into the walls of the White House.

Here's a suggestion:

REMOVE ALL EXEMPTIONS, EXCEPTIONS, AND WAIVERS TO OBAMACARE.

It’s that simple. The message is: If ObamaCare is so good for the people, then let everyone have it.

Right now. This instant.

The poor, the rich, the big unions, the big corporations, the politically connected, the lawyers, the lobbyists, and of course, Congress, too. Everyone means everyone.

“Everyone” must specifically include Senators, Congressmen, their staffs, Obama himself, Michelle, Sasha and Malia. It’s everyone in the rowboat, or no one.

And NO subsidy for publicly employed workers.

Gallup showing republican approval dropping ten points in a month to the lowest ever rate of 28%.

http://www.ijreview.com/2013/10/85636-ap-poll-obamas-approval-rating-falls-37/ As if Obama is getting off that lightly.

Thank you tea party terrorists. House could go democrat next election and Hillary is writing her acceptance speech right now. Two words, republican shutdown, makes the democrats golden.

Maybe 20 years ago, when there was NO 24 hour cable and you had the 3 major networks and people just believed what was presented to them, but nowadays, the people can see that it's NOT ONLY the Republicans fault, if the Democrats weren't so darn hardheaded and would sit down and try to come to a middle ground, but Dems don't understand what a compromise means, because you can't tax it.

Next up a massive fight between the Cruz republicans and the sane republicans to try and salvage the party for the elections next year. WWE, you can learn from the republican party. It is not going to be pretty. But with the republicans going down the drain the country will be much better off, like California is now under democratic sane management.

You are a loon if you think MY home state of California is doing good. You have to be kidding me, Democrats totally destroyed the Golden State! Liberals and environmentalists put a lot of farmers out of business because of the Delta Smelt?? CA, had the 5th largest economy in the world, and now we are a joke, most people can't buy a lot of these produce and many farmers threw in their towels. We were the breadbasket of the west and 60% of the harvested produce were exported, but now after trying to save this tiny fish, the water was diverted, the farmers lost. Middle CA has become a desert and wasteland in many areas that used to be lush and green. CA pays some of the highest taxes in the union, homelessness in L.A. and SF is off the charts both areas look like stage props for the Walking Dead, unemployment for Blacks and Latinos are the highest. the jobless rate among whites was 6.6%; among blacks, 12.6%. Over that time, the unemployment rate for blacks has averaged about 2.2 times that for whites. Overall it hovers at 8.9% for the state. Don't spout off this garbage that California and Jerry Brown are doing a fine job! Democrat management??? Democrats are the real problem of California.

@Jeff

Isn't there anyone on the Conservative side who can act their age and not their shoe size.

Monkey see, monkey do. First you need a president that can act his age, something Obama has failed to do and then only then as a leader can we expect for him to set a good example, but now, we got this guy and don't expect the opposition to act any better.

Isn't there anyone on the Conservative side who can act their age and not their shoe size.

"House Speaker John Boehner limited the group to party leaders and prominent committee chairs, lessening the exposure of Obama both to Republicans who might dissent from the leadership’s hardline strategy and to rank-and-file Tea Party members who inspired it."

This says it all. I am no fan of Obama after having such great hope for his presidency but for Boehner to obstract negotions like this is a clear case of putting party before country and should be considered an act of treason.

Gallup showing republican approval dropping ten points in a month to the lowest ever rate of 28%. Thank you tea party terrorists. House could go democrat next election and Hillary is writing her acceptance speech right now. Two words, republican shutdown, makes the democrats golden.

Next up a massive fight between the Cruz republicans and the sane republicans to try and salvage the party for the elections next year. WWE, you can learn from the republican party. It is not going to be pretty. But with the republicans going down the drain the country will be much better off, like California is now under democratic sane management.