In its role (since it bought out the Huffington Post) as the leading internet service company flacking for the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party, AOL led its home page early this morning blaming House Speaker John Boehner for the breakdown in budget talks in negotiations over the debt limit; “John Boehner,” Ryan Grim grimly informs us, “Rejects Obama’s Grand Bargain On Debt Ceiling.”
What Ryan Grim didn’t tell us was whether the president offered details of the specific cuts in his supposed “grand bargain.” Recall the Democrat’s ballyhooed April 13 speech on the budget where he also proposed cutting federal spending.
He, however, offered no plan which would make those noble sentiments a reality. So devoid was the plan of detail that the Democrat-appointed head of the Congressional Budget Office couldn’t score it. “We don’t estimate speeches,” Doug Elmendorf said, “We need much more specificity than was provided in that speech for us to do our analysis.”
Grim, in the text of his article seemed to be right on message, offering a nice summary of the Democratic talking points in his article presented as news, “It’s no small irony that the party’s dogmatic opposition to tax increases is costing the GOP its best opportunity to roll back social programs it has long targeted.” In the update, he featured quotes from the White House Communications Director, the Senate Democratic leader and a Democratic Senator from New York. (Save from a quote from Boehner and a “Republican official” in the article, he offered no further quotes from Republicans.)
Hi Dan,
I think you have every right to be suspicious. My guess is that Obama knew that he could make just about any concession, but as long as he held to the idea that taxes had to be increased, there was no way that Boehner could sell that to a caucus that has increasingly painted itself into a corner with the “no tax raising” pledges. Newspaper reports are perhaps painting it this way, http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2011/07/09/gIQARUJ55H_story.html. If that narrative holds, I think you have serious problems for Repubs.
So, without doubt, it leaves Obama with the ability to say that the Repubs rejected a “grand bargain” but the reality is–we have no idea whether BO was serious or not, AND, we still don’t have an agreement.
My guess is that this thing will limp on for a couple of more weeks, escalating the tension and the coverage, so that more Americans will become aware of the situation. Depending on what the MSM says–it will either be painted as Repub and/ or Dem intransigence. Then into this logjam, Obama will just issue an executive order, based on his understanding of the 14th Amendment, and basically raise the debt ceiling on his own initiative. The key elements are the timing, and the perceptions about who owns the intransigence. If the Repubs get to own that, I think Obama wins re-election next year, even if the economy is in the toilet.
That is one mighty big “IF,” Cas, especially considering the abysmal numbers Obama is already saddled with, and Debbie Wasserman-Schulz having claimed the economy as the Democrat Party’s own.
Obama rebutted DWS saying that the economy belongs to everyone; he does not want credit for the economy, although he will get it, despite him blaming Bush for the umpteenth time. Peroxide Hag believes the economy is recovering; hence, she wants the Democrats to take the credit.
The press will continue in the role of stenographers for the DNC and the republicans will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Please step down Mr. Speaker and take your “leadership” with you.
We are so screwed.
I suspect the deal was somewhat like Obama’s DOA budget: revenue projections bases on outrageously unlikely growth in the economy along with amorphous “budget cuts” to be figured out some years from now.
Little Timmy the tax cheat Geithner; “the president is requesting some totally sensible revenue increases”.
We are so screwed.
Turbo Tax Timmy escaped from Fantasy Land:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xqACmJvqaU&feature=related
Hi Eric,
Yes, its an “IF”, but we will see how it plays out. We should have a clear “media” narrative within the next month, I think.
Wow……………Maybe we aren’t screwed yet.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2011/07/even-liberals-beginning-see-public-employee-unions-unaffordable?utm_source=feedburnerwashingtonexaminer%2Fnation&utm_medium=feedNation&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+washingtonexaminer%2Fnation+%28Nation%29feed&utm_content=Google+Readerfeed&utm_term=feedGoogle+Reader
Thoughts on the debt ceiling being nearly doubled under President Bush from 5.95 Trillion (the previous high rate in 1997) to $11.32 Trilion in 2008?
Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?
Kevin: 1) The debt limit was raised with the consent of the Congress which was democrat most of those years and 2) if W was wrong for allowing even larger deficits ( and he was) how does that make the current effort to raise the ceiling OK?
I learned this weekend that prior to 1917, debt issues had to be voted on individually by the Congress; Treasury wasn’t handed a credit card. Thank you Woodrow Wilson.
Hey Kevie, suck on this:
– Barack Hussein Obama, Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! 16 March 2006
So was he an opportunistic lying sack of crap then, now or always?
Ackshully, the Democrat approach to Deficit reduction is the same as it ever was. “Give us a massive tax increase now and we promise to cut spending in the future.” Reagan fell for this trick in 1986, Bush 41 fell for it in 1990. The spending cuts never happened.
Republicans should hold out against any tax increases until Democrats come through on the spending cuts they promised previously.
Good to see Kevin quit cryin’ though.
If Kevin is delusional enough to believe that Republicans want to exterminate him, he is delusional enough to believe that no one here ever had a problem with Bush’s spending.
I would go on to say that I doubt a single person in this forum would say that Bush is blameless. Yes, his administration was fiscally irresponsible, capped off by TARP at the very end (passed by a Democrat House and Senate.) ‘
But, SFW? Bush is gone back to Texas. Nobody cares about Bush anymore, except Demoncrats who are desperate to deflect responsibility without addressing the problem.
Obama is saying tax increases won’t happen now, but in 2013; he’s lying. Tax increases are in ObamaCare going into effect now. Regardless, Obama is still talking tax increases. That’s the bottom line. He brought out the demagoguery card on the “rich.” Obama is desperate, using the news conference trying to pressure Republicans. But this can backfire. Obama has put himself in a box. Let’s close the box & lock it.
Predictions:
a. They are going to screw around and talk around each-other for the next 4-weeks and it’s going to happen.
b. Geitner will exercise the 14th Amendment option.
c. We ‘re all f**ked.
d. All three sides…the Obama Admin., the Democratic Senate, and Republican House…will spend the next TWO GENERATIONS ducking the blame.
The government has to borrow 40% of the budget to make it through the year.
The government has to sell bonds to pay off the bonds that have come due.
The government has to borrow every dollar that is not budgeted for war, disaster, unfunded entitlements, etc.
Therefore, why have a debt ceiling at all?
The Democrat plan is to hook an income line up to rich people and another income line to the printing presses.
The Democrat assumption is that draining the rich will not affect the economy, but it will kick the can down the road for future government officials to tangle with.
The Democrat assumption is that printing script lowers the debt by devaluing the bonds.
The Democrat assumption is that “full faith and credit” is a solemn promise, but not to worry.
The Democrat assumption is that there is no stinking spending problem. If you cut government, that means all hospitals will close and little children will have to work in coal mines and small pox returns coupled with leprosy and plague.