Remember when the USA had its sterling Credit Rating DOWNGRADED -- for the first time in history -- because the $4T cost-cutting 'Grand Bargain' fell through?
Remember when Tea Party Republicans, led by Paul Ryan, would not accept the Budget Balancing bill if it included as much as $1 in Revenue increases, for every $10 in offsetting Spending decreases?
Well Paul Ryan was kind of proud of that accomplishment ...
Ryan claims downgrade is ‘vindication’ of GOP (Video)
by David Edwards, rawstory.com -- 08.7.11
Rep. Paul Ryan said Sunday that S&P’s downgrade of U.S. credit was a “vindication” Republican actions and his budget plan, which would end Medicare as it exists today.
“I am not very surprised with the downgrade,” Ryan told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “We more or less saw it coming because we are the wrong fiscal path. We’ll find out what spike in rates we are going to get. Obviously not only does it hurt the federal government and its ability to close deficits, but it hurts people. Car loans, home loans, all these things are going to go up. And so, it is because Washington has not gotten its fiscal house in order.”
And to me, this is just more vindication of our actions. We passed a budget, which according to someone with S&P yesterday, would have prevented the downgrading from happening in the first place.”
“Isn’t that like a doctor saying, ‘I did the operation perfectly but the patient died?’” [Chris] Wallace wondered. “In its announcement, S&P condemned the political dysfunction here in Washington, the grid lock here in Washington… isn’t the failure to compromise part of the problem?”
[...]
Incredible -- a 10:1 cost-cutting to revenue ratio
was too much for our merry band of Norquist devotees,
led by Paul Ryan.
Remember when the USA had its sterling Credit Rating DOWNGRADED -- for the first time in history?
Well Paul Ryan was kind of proud of that accomplishment ...
U.S. Credit Downgraded: S&P Reduces Rating To AA+ [UPDATE]
huffingtonpost.com -- First Posted: 08/05/11 -- Updated: 10/05/11
From AP: WASHINGTON -- The United States has lost its sterling credit rating from Standard & Poor's.
The credit rating agency on Friday lowered the nation's AAA rating for the first time since granting it in 1917. The move came less than a week after a gridlocked Congress finally agreed to spending cuts that would reduce the debt by more than $2 trillion -- a tumultuous process that contributed to convulsions in financial markets. The promised cuts were not enough to satisfy S&P.
The drop in the rating by one notch to AA-plus was telegraphed as a possibility back in April. The three main credit agencies, which also include Moody's Investor Service and Fitch, had warned during the budget fight that if Congress did not cut spending far enough, the country faced a downgrade. Moody's said it was keeping its AAA rating on the nation's debt, but that it might still lower it.
[...]
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said the downgrade underscored the need for a "balanced approach to deficit reduction that combines spending cuts with revenue-raising measures" such as doing away with tax breaks for the wealthy and oil companies.
And Paul Ryan was having none of it --
that "balanced approach" ...
It's not like the Dems DON'T want to fix the Budget Deficit -- that Bush left us, thanks to the Republican rubber-stamp Congress,
-- it's just that the Tea Party Republicans, led by Paul Ryan, think Revenue-raising measures are for fools ... (even though the Constitution empowers it.)
And Paul Ryan is kind of proud of his uncompromising stubbornness.
And the Corporate Media confuses that with "bold courage" -- when in reality it's what 4 year-olds do, when they haven't had their nap yet.
Just constantly say NO! ... no matter the consequences.