Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Budget & Taxes / Why the Supercommittee Failed

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!


Why the Supercommittee Failed

November 20, 2011 at 2:26 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mike Allen: “The supercommittee last met Nov. 1 — three weeks ago! It was a public hearing featuring a history lesson, ‘Overview of Previous Debt Proposals,’ with Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, Pete Domenici and Alice Rivlin. The last PRIVATE meeting was Oct. 26. You might as well stop reading right there: The 12 members (6 House, 6 Senate; 6 R, 6 D) were never going to strike a bargain, grand or otherwise, if they weren’t talking to each other. Yes, we get that real deal-making occurs in small groups. But there never WAS a functioning supercommittee: There was Republican posturing and Democratic posturing, with some side conversations across the aisle.”

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites
  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: Budget & Taxes


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

Upgrade Now

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Recent Posts

Kristi Noem Rips Gavin Newsom’s ‘Menacing’ Post

September 23, 2025 at 8:56 am EDT

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told Fox News that a social media post from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) sent her family and friends into a panic. Said Noem: “It…

Greene Says George Santos Is Being Held in Solitary

September 23, 2025 at 8:52 am EDTSeptember 23, 2025 at 8:56 am EDT

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claims that former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has been held in solitary confinement with no windows for nearly 30 days. Said Greene: “I’m told he…

Democrats Get Their Meeting with Trump

September 23, 2025 at 8:40 am EDT

Punchbowl News: “Schumer and Jeffries have been demanding this meeting with Trump, and now they’ve got it. Will it be a repeat of Trump’s disastrous December 2018 sitdown with Schumer…

Tariffs Will Hit Slowing U.S. Economy Hard in 2026

September 23, 2025 at 8:34 am EDT

“The U.S. and global economies are set to slow less sharply this year than previously expected, but will continue to lose momentum in 2026 as higher tariffs take an increasingly…

Democrats Lead in the Generic Ballot

September 23, 2025 at 8:27 am EDTSeptember 23, 2025 at 8:30 am EDT

A new Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll finds Democrats lead the generic congressional ballot 47% to 42% with 11% undecided. Among people who say they are definitely or very likely to…

Pentagon Delays Cleanup of ‘Forever Chemicals’

September 23, 2025 at 8:00 am EDT

“The Department of Defense has quietly delayed its cleanup of harmful ‘forever chemicals’ at nearly 140 military installations across the country,” the New York Times reports. “The Pentagon has been…

Democrats Hope to Flip a Red Seat in Georgia

September 23, 2025 at 7:37 am EDT

“Democrats are looking Tuesday to add to a streak of successful showings in special elections and other off-year contests during President Donald Trump’s second term, eyeing a ruby red state…

Elon Musk’s Father Accused of Child Sexual Abuse

September 23, 2025 at 7:35 am EDT

“Elon Musk has not been shy about putting much of his life on public display. The tech billionaire posts daily on his social network X, has cooperated with two biographies…

UK Tells Patients ‘Don’t Pay Attention’ to Trump

September 23, 2025 at 7:33 am EDT

“UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting told British patients to ignore Donald Trump’s call for pregnant women to avoid Tylenol, known in Britain as paracetamol, in a rare instance of a…

Devices Capable of Crashing Cell Network Found Near UN

September 23, 2025 at 7:27 am EDT

“The Secret Service found and seized an illicit network of sophisticated equipment in the New York region that was capable of shutting down the cellular network as foreign leaders prepared…

NATO Pledges ‘Robust’ Response to Airspace Incursions

September 23, 2025 at 7:25 am EDT

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization promised a “robust” response to Russian incursions into its airspace and said it would use all options, including military, to defend itself, Bloomberg reports. Save…

Trump Oversteps His Own Advisers’ Guidance on Autism

September 23, 2025 at 7:21 am EDT

Wall Street Journal: “In labeling Tylenol use in pregnant women as a potential cause of autism, Trump threw the full weight of his office behind a theory that he acknowledged…

The Most Unprecedented Presidency in 250 years

September 23, 2025 at 7:17 am EDTSeptember 23, 2025 at 7:29 am EDT

“Not since America’s founding 250 years ago has a U.S. president expanded power — and punished critics — in more unprecedented ways than Donald J. Trump,” Axios reports. “Yes, most…

Homan Doesn’t Deny Taking the Bag of Money

September 23, 2025 at 6:46 am EDTSeptember 23, 2025 at 6:47 am EDT

Border czar Tom Homan appeared on Laura Ingraham’s show last night to discuss reports he accepted a bag with $50,000 in cash — but said only that he “did nothing…

Arizona Voters Set to Put Mike Johnson in a Corner

September 23, 2025 at 6:43 am EDT

“Speaker Mike Johnson is about to confront one of his biggest leadership tests yet, courtesy of voters in southwest Arizona,” Politico reports. “They are highly likely to elect a new…

Graham Platner Draws Big Crowd in Maine

September 23, 2025 at 6:40 am EDTSeptember 23, 2025 at 6:41 am EDT

Playbook: “Aides say more than 800 people turned up for Oyster farmer Graham Platner’s first town hall in Maine last night (here’s a pic). Platner, an Iraq war veteran, is…

U.S. Pledges Support for Argentina’s Economy

September 23, 2025 at 6:29 am EDTSeptember 23, 2025 at 7:23 am EDT

“The Trump administration pledged on Monday to do whatever is necessary to support Argentina’s struggling economy, throwing a lifeline to the country’s embattled president, Javier Milei, ahead of legislative elections…

Trump vs. the World

September 23, 2025 at 6:25 am EDTSeptember 23, 2025 at 7:30 am EDT

“When President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly during his first term, he railed against globalism, drawing derisive laughter that momentarily derailed his remarks,” Politico reports. “No one’s…

Most CEOs Say Trump Has Harmed Their Businesses

September 22, 2025 at 11:23 pm EDT

“In private, the leaders of some of the country’s best-known companies say that a number of White House policies have been bad for their businesses — and possibly illegal, per…

Trump Scrambles to Save Kirk’s Young Voter Machine

September 22, 2025 at 11:19 pm EDT

“The Trump White House is scrambling to preserve the powerful voter mobilization machine built by Charlie Kirk, whose assassination left a leadership vacuum at one of the right’s most influential…

« Bonus Quote of the Day
Stabenow Leads in Michigan »

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Subscribe

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • Punishing Foes, Protecting Friends
  • A Week That Changed Everything
  • Weekly News Quiz
  • Is It Obama Time?
  • Trump Signals Crackdown on Democratic Fundraising

Word of the Day

Muckety Muck: The term “muckety muck” refers to individuals who hold significant power, influence, or high rank within politics.

Read the full definition

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC