On the fence. In the air somewhere. In an unknowable gaseous nebula. At a North Andover Patch online Q&A, here’s his answer to whether he supports the misanthropic, rich-shall-inherit-the-Earth, devil-take-the-hindmost Ryan Budget:
Comment From John How would you have voted on the Ryan Budget?Richard Tisei:Thanks, John. As I’ve said, both the Ryan Budget and Simpson-Bowles were good starting points for conversation. If John Tierney proposed a sensible budget tomorrow, I’d be happy to look at it. Too many people condemn budgets merely because the sponsors have an “R” or a “D” next to their names. That’s the problem. With the Ryan Budget, btw, I have real concerns about the block-granting of Medicaid to the states because of cost-shifting to the states (I know that issue well from my experience as a state senator!). The point is…we hire a Congressman to find solutions. John Tierney isn’t doing that. I will.
Uh, yeah. Hope that’s clear as day to everyone.
I think Tisei’s got an impossible task: To rally what right-wingers we have to his cause by not distancing himself too far from the national GOP leadership; and still seem like a get-along-with-everyone kind of guy. Go read the chat, and you’ll see him punting farther than Rich Camarillo. That ain’t gonna cut it.
Discuss
15 Comments . Leave a comment below.Is the title of this a reference to her famous quote? You guys are probably too long, but I’m sure Ernie knows where she stood…
As a member of the House Progressive Caucus, he did propose a sensible budget – the people’s budget:
Budget of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Fiscal Year 2012
Read the People’s Budget
Read The Technical Analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (External Link)
Read And Share The One-Page Handout
Presupuesto del Pueblo (Español)
The People’s Budget eliminates the deficit in 10 years, puts Americans back to work and restores our economic competitiveness. The People’s Budget recognizes that in order to compete, our nation needs every American to be productive, and in order to be productive we need to raise our skills to meet modern needs.
Our Budget Eliminates the Deficit and Raises a $31 Billion Surplus In Ten Years
Our budget protects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and responsibly eliminates the deficit by targeting its main drivers: the Bush Tax Cuts, the wars overseas, and the causes and effects of the recent recession.
Our Budget Puts America Back to Work & Restores America’s Competitiveness
• Trains teachers and restores schools; rebuilds roads and bridges and ensures that users help pay for them
• Invests in job creation, clean energy and broadband infrastructure, housing and R&D programs
Our Budget Creates a Fairer Tax System
• Ends the recently passed upper-income tax cuts and lets Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of 2012
• Extends tax credits for the middle class, families, and students
• Creates new tax brackets that range from 45% starting at $1 million to 49% for $1 billion or more
• Implements a progressive estate tax
• Eliminates corporate welfare for oil, gas, and coal companies; closes loopholes for multinational corporations
• Enacts a financial crisis responsibility fee and a financial speculation tax on derivatives and foreign exchange
Our Budget Protects Health
• Enacts a health care public option and negotiates prescription payments with pharmaceutical companies
• Prevents any cuts to Medicare physician payments for a decade
Our Budget Safeguards Social Security for the Next 75 Years
• Eliminates the individual Social Security payroll cap to make sure upper income earners pay their fair share
• Increases benefits based on higher contributions on the employee side
Our Budget Brings Our Troops Home
• Responsibly ends our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to leave America more secure both home and abroad
• Cuts defense spending by reducing conventional forces, procurement, and costly R&D programs
Our Budget’s Bottom Line
• Deficit reduction of $5.6 trillion
• Spending cuts of $1.7 trillion
• Revenue increase of $3.9 trillion
• Public investment $1.7 trillion
Mr. Tisei might want to recheck his “facts”….
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70
While I do think this race is competitive I think he hurts himself avoiding specifics and not taking stronger stances. While this race is a referendum on the incumbent, and believe you me Tierney has problems, he will also be helped significantly by Obama’s coattails. I suspect there might be many independent/unenrolled voters who will be voting for Obama but will decide on Brown/Tisei at the last minute, to reach out to that constituency all Tisei should do is be strongly in favor of Simpsons Bowles and assail Tierney for being a knee jerk opponent. On a host of other issues he can paint Tierney as a left wing extremist with a 90-95% liberal record and say wouldnt you want the Republican that’s socially liberal but a rock solid fiscal conservative too?
Its working for Angus King up in Maine. The Maine GOP is going to nominate a Tea Partier and the Maine Dems are nominating a rock ribbed Kucinich style progressive, so lots of room for Mr. Middle/Independent up there. No need for Tisei to go right since the conservatives have nowhere else to go.
The comment quoted by Charley is really dumb strategy by Tisei. He doesn’t need to court the tea party – they’ve got nowhere to go. What he needs is to pick off moderates who will probably vote for Obama and Warren, but who are uncomfortable about Tierney for one reason or another. This kind of buffoonery isn’t the way to do that.
then go vote for a Boehner or a Ryan in the House leadership, looking for a moderate, has to be certifiably insane.
There is no moderation in voting for Boehner. Nancy Pelosi is far closer to representing the folks of Tierney’s congressional district than Boehner ever will, and Tierney has a long record of supporting the the district and all its unique flavors and constituencies.
This is why I am hopeful about the long term prospects for the progressive movement since the Republicans have ceased being competitive in the Northeast, West Coast and increasingly the Midwest. Jeb Bush is smart to criticize the direction of the party. The Tea party caucus voted against the import-export bank desperately desired by the Chamber of Commerce, they alienate Hispanics and women and will look like the post-Lincoln/pre-FDR Democrats relegated to a Southern party. Short term we may lose the White House yet and are unlikely to sweep back Congress but in the long run this will be a Democratic country.
The last 10% these two are fighting over don’t even know who Ryan is, or what Simpson Bowles is. Anyone who reads BMG is not voting for him anyway.
might think about it, if he would offer some straight talk instead of hemming and hawing his way to a completely content-free answer to a pretty straightforward question.
People may not know who Ryan is, but many regular voters are acutely aware that he’ll be voting for a Republican leadership of the House, which will do Republican things… and they get that those Republican things haven’t helped them in the past 30 years, and won’t start helping them now.
No doubt this is going to be a difficult race — I think pretty much everyone is prepared for that — but let’s give people a little credit. They may not always know names and dates or parliamentary procedure, but they’re much savvier than what the typical political junkie would give them credit for.
We can make the case that John Tierney represents their issues, while Tisei would employer radical Republicans, to 50% + 1 of the voting population. Easy.
not employer.
Theres just no upside. He’s going to get very few Dem leaning votes with straight talk, and risk s negative attack s using out of context quotes.
Eric Ferhnstromm shamelessly rips a Barack Obama quote out of context, then proudly announces that it was an intentional act, and you whine about “negative attacks using out of context quotes”?
are constantly calling on Republicans to do things that don’t make political sense and wouldn’t change their votes anyway. I have no problems with any political tactics, so it’s not a whine.
At least from Charley, David and I, I do not think you are getting three liberals that wish Republicans were more liberal but rather a dispassionate analytical look at the race. From me anyway, I’d say having Tisei come out strongly for Simpson-Bowles, a budget most liberals (cue ten Krugman columns on the topic) despise, would set him apart as the fiscal adult in the room vis a vis lockstep Tierney. The Democrats are going to say thy Tisei will vote with Boehner 90% of the time, he should counter that he will vote 60/40 with either leadership while Tierney is lockstep with Pelosi.
I brought up Maine and Kings campaign and that’s a great example. North Shore is a mini Maine, ton of unenrolled, similar topography, demographics and economy. King has been getting fawning press and great traction on Simpson Bowles and is running against the Tea Party right and far left . Tisei has to do the same or he is toast.
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