Republicans to be Gracious if Democrats Surrender, Obama Health Care Plan Will Not Kill People, Greece to Try Austerity, Again . . .

Short Takes on the News Because It is a Summer Weekend

The Republicans, having secured their agenda of massive spending cuts to decrease the deficit have now quit the talks. 

Asked what comes next, Boehner said the ball is in the president’s court.
“I would expect to hear from him,” Boehner told reporters, adding that his emissary to the talks, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), “has made it clear that these conversations could continue if they take the tax hikes out of the conversation.”

When Republicans say everything is on the table, they mean everything is on their side of the table.

The Washington Post Fact Checker  checks the statement that  Medicare patients ‘going to die’ under Obama’s health law and concludes the statement deserves three Pinnochio’s.  So no Virginia, Mr. Obama’s health care plan will not kill Grandma.  Neither will the Ryan Plan.  That one will just impoverish her.

Greece and Europe reached agreement on another austerity plan, except they didn’t, at least not yet.  The plan must be approved by the Greek Parliament.  Exactly how more contractionary fiscal policy would not produce a contraction of the economy was not explained.  As Paul Krugman has often said, “The beatings will continue until morale improves”.

Republicans in the House are working on ways to change the “No Child Left Behind” law, you know, the one that was sponsored by Conservative George W. Bush to help with education.  The Chairman of the House Education Committee, John Kline

went further in a conference call with reporters, criticizing the administration’s use of the $5 billion Race to the Top grant competition to get states to adopt its reform agenda.

Apparently the motivation of the Republicans is to achieve an electorate that is less smart than its members of Congress.  An ambitious and probably unattainable goal.

The Jon Huntsman campaign can tout a poll in Florida that shows his support in that state is twice what his support is nationally.  Unfortunately, his support nationally is 1%, and while his support in Florida is 2% which is mathematically double his national support.  This hardly seems like good news.