Your "Super Congress" prediction

With a 6-6 split, I believe there will be 1 "blue dog" that will vote with the repug teabagger and make us eat another shit sandwich.

one must have lots of grownups around when doing hard, grown up, pragmatic, sensible things.

it will be like a license to print money.

Revenue cuts are pretty much impossible because of the way it's set up and also because the house wouldn't pass them even to avoid the military cuts (which are far enough in the future to "fix" before they happen).

So it's either let the medicare cuts(*) happen or find other things to cut. I'd guess there won't be any significant cuts - they'll find some BS "cuts" and adjust other baselines down (growing by 5% is a cut if the plan was to grown by 6%). Neither side really wants cuts - they both just want to look like they're cutting.


(*) call it "medicare provider reimbursement rate reductions" if you want. But we're already cutting $500 billion out of medicare spending for health care reform. I don't see a way to remove another $500 billion without significantly altering medicare in ways that cut the services seniors get (i.e. no doctors accept medicare).

Then the Republicans will suddenly remember why defense spending is too important to cut, and what about supporting the troops, and God bless America, and Sharia law! Look for some kind of terroristic attack - real, foiled or imagined - that will provide the rationale for preserving every last dollar of defense spending while slashing spending on lazy poor people. And schools. And roads. And health care.

I saw Harry Reid trying his stand-up act, claiming that not only would they take up revenue measures after the recess, but hell yes they'd take up revenue measures after the recess. See, it's funny because Reid either forgot or he hopes that the audience doesn't remember that revenue bills must originate in the House. So Senate Majority Leader Reid is trying to guarantee or dictate action by the House. Ah haw, haw, haw!

Wait; that's not funny at all.