White House To GOP: Only One Way Around Defense Cuts — And You’re Not Gonna Like It

[kpete]

In light of Congressional Republicans’ abandonment of a key part of the debt limit agreement, two senior administration officials briefing reporters at the White House Monday said automatic, across the board cuts to defense programs will happen as scheduled unless Republicans relent on their refusal to raise revenues.

The officials conducted the briefing under the condition that they not be quoted directly, but their position was unambiguous — the White House will not support any effort to swap out scheduled cuts to defense programs (and other automatic cuts) unless Congress passes a balanced package of deficit reducing legislation of equal or greater measure. That means new tax revenue from wealthy Americans and corporate interests, which Republicans have routinely refused to consider.

This doesn’t constitute a change in the White House’s position. But the renewed declaration is significant given a growing push among GOP members and their leaders for annulling those cuts.

The debt limit deal included an enforcement mechanism — $1.2 trillion in automatic, across the board cuts (half taken from defense) in the event that a powerful, bipartisan committee failed to reduce the deficit by the same amount over 10 years. That panel failed in November, and now Republicans want to nix the portion of the enforcement mechanism that was designed to make them negotiate.

more:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/white-house-to-gop-only-one-way-around-defense-cuts----and-youre-not-gonna-like-it.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

[Obama3_16]

1. this is how diamonds are made. heat, pressure, and time. If GOP doesn't cave, they will be taken out

by their own defense contractor goons. love it.

[Enrique]

2. why is this still being negotiated?

I thought we already had this fight.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. The GOP is working on legislation to get them

out of the MIC cuts.

[Icicle]

4. WE Did

We did already have this fight. Now the GOP is trying to weasel out of the bargain that was struck as a result of said fight.

[Enrique]

6. they can weasel out?

they didn't tell us that when they set up the Super Committee. They said the defense cuts were automatic unless the SuperCommittee reaches a deal. They didn't say "unless the GOP weasels out".

Now Obama seems to be opening up new negotiations, in an election year. I wonder how his conditions will compare to the ones the GOP already rejected?

[Icicle]

10. Maybe unweasel?

They shouldn't be able to weasel, no. But weasel is as weasel does.

[sofa king]

12. Actually, they will weasel out of it, sort of.

In theory, the Republicans can do all sorts of things to weasel out of it, all of which won't work at all so long as a single Democrat in the Senate is willing to put a hold on whatever horse-poo comes out of the House. And one will, but even if one doesn't, the President can still veto it.

So all of their weaseling shall be for naught unless they agree to raise taxes in an election year, which of course would ruin them and which nobody expects them to affirm, just like the debt committee was set up for them to cock up and look like the a-holes they are.

So how are they going to weasel out of it? By being the a-holes they already have been.

See, the truth is they don't have any choice about raising revenue next year, again because they're a bunch of myopic, greedy little criminals who have already long since been corralled through prior "negotiations" with the President. The tax cut extensions for the rich (and likely, everyone else, since the GOP will try to hold our tax cuts hostage to get their own back) are going to expire next January no matter what anyone does, just in time for the Democrats to save the defense budget by allocating some of that new-found revenue to Defense.

But the Republicans won't get a lick of credit for it, will lose this election over it, and will lose their most important benefactors before the next one, because the Democrats will hold all the keys to the appropriations funding and backing a Republican will be worse than backing nobody at all. All because their predictable intransigence and double-dealing allowed the Democrats to run rings around them and force agreements from them that they do not have the power to change.

Which is one hell of an effective way to deal with lyin-ass old-boys.

[Bandit]

31. While I agree ALL of the Bush* Tax Cuts will expire I do believe

there will be a Democratic Bill put forward to Cut Taxes for all those making less than $250.000 a year. Republicans will be in a position of haveing to vote against Tax cuts for the very great majority of Americans...It will be even worse for them than the payroll tax cuts because unemployment insurance won't be attached to it.. It will be a straight bill with no attachments... Just my opinion but that would be a smart way of presenting the situation to america..

[sofa king]

37. Yeah, that's going to be the stake in the heart for them.

Later in this election season a tax cut extension will be split into one for rich folks and one for everyone else.

Republicans in the Senate will feel compelled to vote in favor of both of them, but only the one for everyone else will pass.

Then massive public attention will be focused on the Republicans in the House, and they will proceed to hold our tax cuts hostage in return for an extension of the cuts for rich people. In an election year.

The Republicans will be compelled to do so because they've already been bought and paid for to do just that. And they're taking in more money than ever to continue to keep taxes low for the rich, no matter what.

But they will be on the wrong side of the very most important issue for seven out of ten Americans, in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time. The Republicans are doing what the money tells them. The Democrats will ask their constituents to ask their own wallets which way to go.

And so control of the House will return to the Democrats. This was the now unalterable intent of the President's little rope-a-dope over the tax cuts thirteen months ago, to negotiate an expiration time frame that would force the Republicans to choose their masters over the voters.

But nobody has to believe all that yet. I'll be much more amused if nobody does.

(Second edit: I should also explain that this legislative trick will work especially well if the House stupidly decides to force the issue by passing an extension first. Then the Senate can get it, edit out all cuts for the wealthy, and hand it back, which will provide us with an unambiguous Republican vote against tax cuts for 150 million voters, which will doom them.)

[DallasNE]

14. Two Points

The grand bargin that Boehner almost said yes to is still out there so it is not like starting from scratch.

Romney is not going to want this fight hanging over his head at convention time, with the high negatives of the House in full display so he will apply pressure to strike a deal. Now it won't be the grand bargin because he wouldn't go for the tax increases built into that deal but there is a half-measure that includes some tax hikes that he might press Boehner to accept.

At the end of 2012 the $50 billion a year in defense cuts are set to kick in (which are tiny with the Afghanistan War winding down, as those saving alone should amount to more than $50 billion) while the Bush tax cuts are also set to expire. In this case doing nothing is a win for Democrats. What cards do the Republicans have to play?

[cliffordu]

17. Obama hasn't opened anything.

Nice try, though.....

[SaintPete]

16. This isn't a negotiation

Its the Republicans trying to negotiate, and Obama clothes-lining them.

[woo me with science]

30. You feign surprise, of course,

as though this weren't wholly, utterly predictable. As though many of us didn't predict it here, months and months ago.

Of course you recall correctly that it was supposed to be a done deal. But we knew that was a farce. They think we are too stupid, and they know we are too helpless, to do anything about it. So now we will have another round of Kabuki theater "negotiations." What a fucking charade.

We are owned. We have corporate-owned leaders now, not representatives, and they will implement the agenda of the one percent while putting on a pretty play so that we thank them for the further soaking we will receive.

We need to follow the money. We need to be honest. This is not a matter of fighting over ideology, or the blue team versus the red team. It is a symptom of the diseased structure of our political system, which runs on money. The profit of the one percent is in the Military Industrial Complex, so the Military Industrial Complex must be preserved. It is as simple as that. And these charade negotiations, these lies, will continue as long as we permit our government to be sold to the highest bidder.

How outrageously insulting this theater is. What utter garbage they feed us, over and over again.

Occupy, because we have been sold. These theater tickets are garbage. We desperately need something real now.

[DJ13]

5. My only problem with this approach is

that the GOP might cave on some tax increases, but insist that the rest of the budget, that which directly helps the poor and elderly, continue with the automatic cuts.

I could easily see them stooping to that level, and, I could also see the WH accepting that as a compromise.

[Lil Missy]

23. I don't think they have that option, to just pick and choose like that.

It reads to me that the White House (Obama) will not accept any attempt to swap out ANY of the automatic cuts, unless the package is equally balanced with revenues from the wealthy and corporations.

I think Obama knew exactly what he was doing and has hoisted them upon their own petards.

[tridim]

7. I bet the Repugs will try to knock over the chess board.

They don't have a clue what Obama did with that last move.

[DCBob]

8. Good.

Puts the GOPers in a corner.

[Johnny2X2X]

9. Do nothing

If congress does nothing we will get cuts in military spending and an end to the Bush tax cuts. I say, do nothing, if the GOP wants to avoid this they are going to have to pony up because most Democrats are fine with the outcome if nothing is done.

[AlbertCat]

13. Well....

A do nothing Congress deserves a do nothing scenario. Way to tap into the do nothingness!

[Dragonfli]

25. That would be the smartest way to play the hand, I agree wholeheartedly /nt

[Bandit]

32. It isn't just cuts to Defense though..

Except for Medicare and Social Security, EVERY single social program will be cut and some of those programs are already in dire straits....It will effect unemployment drastically and many many Government or Government Contracted jobs will be lost...

[Populist_Prole]

11. Why do I get the idea they never agreed to this in good faith?

I know, rhetorical question. If the deficit hawk really do believe this country really is bleeding from every artery, there's absolutely no way in hell they can ignore defense spending with a straight face.

And to think I used to be a Republican. Even back when I used to be a Tom Clancy reading, flag-waving ignorant jackass I would consider a move like this as just obvious douchebaggery.

[Dragonfli]

15. The Defense cuts are mostly savings due to drawdowns are they not? in any event

Last edited Tue Feb 7, 2012, 12:53 AM - Edit history (1)

I am worried about cuts to medicare, if I recall reimbursements were supposed to be cut drastically as the other edge of the two party two edge Sword of Damocles that was supposed to make them reach a bipartisan agreement under threat of it falling upon them all.

If that is still on the table, it must be looked at more closely as cuts to vendors for service will lead to the vendors refusing service.

That could actually change the face of Medicare to a program that no doctor will accept without an "addon" private insurance policy. This can not possibly be desired can it?

[cstanleytech]

20. The defense cuts are a utter joke anyway because isnt it only 500 billion over 10 years?

Considering the annual budget is something like 650 - 700 billion per year if I recall then 500 billion total isnt a whole hell of alot since its spread out over 10 years.

[Dragonfli]

21. A mere pimple of a cut on a giant bloated vampirific beast /nt

[cstanleytech]

19. Love how the republicans will renege on their word because thats what they gave.

They gave their word to stand by the committee and if it failed to suffer the consequences so they choose to torpedo the committee on purpose and now refuse to honor their word.

[Dragonfli]

22. I think it was naive to take their word for it, we all know their word is no good

Because no one is that naive I think it must be in writing and they are just making noise trying to renegotiate a standing contract so to speak.

They in all likelihood have no power unless we let them renegotiate.
No one has said yet they are going to reopen now-closed negotiations (just because they ask for your wallet you don't have to give it to them) nor do I expect such a craven give back even from a post partisan.

[Uncle Joe]

24. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[Beartracks]

26. I have nothing but the world's smallest violin for the GOP.

Oh, wait -- I don't even have THAT much sympathy.

..........

=============================

[yurbud]

27. can Obama stand his ground for once?

[Surya Gayatri]

28. Cry me a river of crocodile tears, GOP!

Thanks for this thread, kpete...

And here's a whole herd of "pleureuses" (official mourners) to accompany the cortege:

[Kablooie]

29. Its all just a game of chicken. He wouldn't actually let the cuts occur.

The GOP will probably cave so Obama won't have to deal with carrying out his threat.

If it finally came to the point where Obama had to actually implement the cuts, I have no doubt he would find some way around it.

He has never yet let stupid or evil people suffer the consequences of their actions if those consequences might affect others.

[The Wizard]

33. It's all contingent

on whose Cayman Islands accounts get stuffed with defense contractor cash.

[Dragonfli]

36. Most assuredly

[Fantastic Anarchist]

34. Republicans got caught with their pants down ...

... and their tiny willies have been exposed.

[Hugabear]

35. The GOP trying to back out of a deal they made? Who woulda thunk it.

It's like being surprised when the sun rises in the east