Thanks to Republicans, Air Travelers are Bracing for more Furlough-Related Delays

Boehner scoffed at the idea that sequester would be bad (after warning us earlier that it would be very, very bad), suggesting that since air traffic controllers weren’t laid off yet, all was well.  (Mar 3, 2013, Meet the Press) 

Thanks to Mr. Boehner, Mr. Ryan, and Mr. Cantor along with the other Republican obstructionists in the Congress,  air traffic controllers are being furloughed one day every two weeks which, in turn, is delaying flights arriving and departing at major airports.  How do I know?  My daughter experienced the flight delays Republicans have wrought with their stubbornness and pigheadness to try and defeat anything Obama proposes that is good for the Country.  They should be ashamed but that would take empathy and understanding instead of being in the pockets of the wealthy donors.  The ball is in the court of the Republicans who could stop this sequestration, but are too stubborn to admit they were completely wrong.

Last night when my daughter was on a business trip and had to fly through Chicago O'Hare she got a taste of what the GOP sequester plan has done to air transportation - delayed flights for well over an hour at major airports.  Just when I learned her flight had been delayed, I received an email from Think Progress which was 'perfectly timed' as I had just told her to blame Republicans:

Flight Delayed? Thank the GOP
Apr 23, 2013 | By ThinkProgress War Room 

How the Sequester Makes Flying Even Worse 

Starting this past Sunday the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to start furloughing air traffic controllers. What happens when there’s not enough air traffic controllers working? Not as many planes can be in the air. What happens when fewer planes can be in the air? Your flight gets delayed. 

After yesterday, we know the impact of the furloughs isn’t just theoretical. Overall on-time performance dropped by more than 10 percent compared to the previous Monday. Delays were particularly bad in the Northeast, where delays at some airports stretched past 2 hours. Yesterday, it was actually faster to take the train from New York to Washington D.C. 

Things are only going to get worse the next time there’s another big storm or other event causing mass delays. With fewer flights and planes flying at near-capacity as it is, it will be all the more difficult to get things back on track if there aren’t enough air traffic controllers working to help clear some of the backlog of flights. 

Let’s also take a minute to review why this is happening in the first place: we had to create the sequester because Republicans took the entire economy hostage in 2011. Republicans then refused for nearly two years now to accept a balanced approach that asks the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. Thus we are stuck with the sequester until Republicans stop being intransigent and start being reasonable. In fact, now House Republicans won’t even appoint negotiators to finalize a budget for next year — after complaining for years that the Senate refused to pass a budget. 

Finally, while flight delays are inconvenient and will harm the economy, the sequester is already having a terrible impact on the poor. 

BOTTOM LINE: If your flight is delayed because of the sequester cuts, you should remember who is to blame: Republicans who refuse to accept a balanced approach to deficit reduction and instead prefer sticking Americans with the sequester and all of its negative consequences.  

Speaker of the House John Boehner bragged about getting 98% of what he wanted with sequester but in the end he didn't understand what it was all about from his remarks.  Unbelieveable!  There is dumb and dumber which is where the Republican House Leadership now resides.  Did they actually think that everything would go rolling along normally when Ryan and Company resurrected a plan passed under Reagan in 1985 that didn't work under Reagan?

Where did the whole idea of sequestration originate? It goes back to 1985. The tax cuts of Ronald Reagan's early years, combined with his aggressive defense buildup, produced a growing budget deficit that eventually prompted passage of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. GRH set out a series of ambitious deficit reduction targets, and to put teeth into them it specified that if the targets weren't met, money would automatically be "sequestered," or held back, by the Treasury Department from the agencies to which it was originally appropriated. The act was declared unconstitutional in 1986, and a new version was passed in 1987.
Sequestration never really worked, though, and it was repealed in 1990 and replaced by a new budget deal. After that, it disappeared down the Washington, DC, memory hole for the next 20 years.

Let's get this straight - sequestration didn't work in the mid-80's and was repealed but Boehner, Cantor, and Ryan brought back to life in 2011.  There is a huge difference in this Country since 1985 but it doesn't seem like Republicans understand how the Country has changed.  We are still paying expenses of the Bush/Cheney wars which is over $2 trillion and overloaded our VA system with casualties.  One company, Cheney's Halliburton, made off with $39.5 billion from the Iraq/Afghanistan wars which is probably a low figure.

Republicans were gleeful that sequestration had passed in 2011 as they got 98% of what they wanted but now it seems they don't even understand sequester and how it is going to continue to affect various activities in parts of the country like air travel delays.  Guess they didn't read their own agreement when they held the Country hostage that you could just not move money or reappropriate like they tried.  Are they that stupid or so bought and paid for by wealthy donors that they just do what they are told.  I am saying it is probably both.  For Boehner to admit he doesn't know what is going to happen with the sequester is mind boggling:

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told David Gregory (video at link) in an exclusive interview on Meet the Press today, “I don’t know whether it’s going to hurt the econonmy or not. I don’t think anyone quite understands how the sequester is really going to work.” 

Boehner continued, “I don’t think anyone quite understands how it gets resolved.” 

So, Republicans like Paul Ryan have been pushing for this thing they don’t understand. John Boehner announced that he got 98% of what he wanted when the Budget Control Act of 2011 was signed into law, which included sequester, as a direct result of Republicans threatening to fail to pay off the debt they’d already aquired by raising the debt ceiling. 

Boehner scoffed at the idea that sequester would be bad (after warning us earlier that it would be very, very bad), suggesting that since air traffic controllers weren’t laid off yet, all was well. The full impact of the cuts won’t kick in for a month, and Boehner should understand at least this much about his party’s idea. That didn’t stop Boehner from insinuating that the President wasn’t being truthful about the impact of sequester. 

Boehner should have a chat with his colleague Eric Cantor (R-VA) (who happily took responsibility for this mess before it was an actual mess) after the hits make themselves apparent in Virginia, where the economy is largely dependent upon the Department of Defense and military contractors. Experts predict Virginia sliding into a recession as a result of sequestration. 

Republicans are trying to blame President Obama on sequestration but it is not working as the American people are smarter then they realize.  Most of us are not mind numbed robots who following Limbaugh and other conservative talk radio hosts or watch Fox News.  We actually get our news from various sites on the Internet that over time have proven to be honest.

If the Koch Bros buy the Tribune newspapers including the LA Times and Chicago Tribune, my list of sources is going to decrease because I won't believe one word from anything the Koch Bros own.  Kochs are truly bad for American.  Would expect some independent on-line newspapers to start sprouting up that actually report facts not the spin of conservatives we are seeing today.

The sequestration is the perfect example of conservative propoganda and spin which many feel have the fingerprints of the Koch Bros as they want regulations on their various entities to go away.  Best way to do that is to underfund agencies who do the inspections.  Ask West, Texas, how that has gone.  Then there is the lack of approving the nomination of the head of ATF and underfunding that organization which is what the NRA wanted so there would be lack of enforcement when it comes to guns which has increased gun trafficking.  Get the picture - big donors are happy as clams with the sequestration which is starting to impact everyday life of most Americans.

The debit ceiling used to be raised almost automatically until President Obama took office and the current crop of Republican obstructionists decided to become the Party of "NO" on anything the President puts forward.  They have voted against bills they used to be for just to continue down the trail to blocking the President at every turn.  President Obama is not some hard core leftist.  He is now picking up support from independents and very disgruntled Republicans who have joined with a lot of center left in the Democrat Party to support President Obama and his plans to get America moving forward.

Time to stop this Republican driven Sequestration plan NOW!  Never forget Republicans are driving this with their stubbornness so time to vote them out of office in 2014 at all levels.