Top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-N.V.), are venting their frustration with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, saying he shouldn’t be in the debt limit discussion. “ Eric Cantor has shown that he shouldn’t even be at the table. And Republicans agree.”—-
While Republicans may not openly agree, Sen. Charlie Schumer (D-N.Y.) does share the same frustration. “He is basically just standing in the way,” Schumer said. “It can’t just be Eric Cantor deciding everything. If Eric Cantor decides everything, I fear we’ ll be in default.”
Cantor argues that he’s representing the reality that the conservative caucus won’t vote in sufficient numbers to pass anything resembling a deal Democrats would take. But Schumer said, “he’ s not just representing it, he’ s making it.”
House Speaker John Boehner today said in a press conference that Obama doesn’t havea plan for next week’s House vote on raising the debt ceiling, so the Republicans willtake the burden on their shoulders. “We asked the president to lead. We asked him to put forward a plan — not a speech, a real plan — and he hasn’t. We will.” Boehner said the House would vote on the “cut, cap and balance” plan (not a real plan) and then decide how to proceed from there. “I don’t want to preclude any chance of coming to an agreement, but [Democrats have] been unwilling to put a real plan on the table,” Boehner said. “Without serious spending cuts or real reform to entitlement programs, this problem is not going to be solved.”
The House will surely vote on it, but Senator Mitch McConnell’s plan is getting no love. “The cut, cap and balance maybe makes sense politically; I don’t think it makes sense to America,” said freshman Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), adding that some members at Friday’s meeting criticized the proposal as “the Pontius Pilate plan.”
“I’ve never been open to the plan. … I’ve said a long time ago that, ultimately, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution says that only Congress has the power to borrow; I think we should stick with the Constitution,” said Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
The Borneo rainbow toad has recently been spotted for the first time since 1924. “It is good to know that nature can surprise us when we are close to giving up hope, especially amidst our planet’s escalating extinction crisis,” Robin Moore, a specialist on amphibians at Conservation International, said in a statement announcing the discovery. Pretty neat looking toad, huh?
There isn’t a toad in this photo. Quit looking for it.
This is a video of that guy from Nirvana telling his fans to put their toys back in the pram, shut up and listen to him play music.
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2011.