Obama’s top spokesman criticizes Congress for failing to break stalemate on budget issues

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday it was still confident Republicans and Democrats could reach an agreement to fund the government through the end of the year and avoid a shutdown, while admitting frustration at the pace of negotiations.

“We believe a deal is possible,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

Carney spoke as President Barack Obama huddled with congressional leaders at the White House for talks aimed at reaching an agreement ahead of a Friday deadline to keep the government operating.

While the White House has been heavily involved in the budget discussions, it has tried to maintain a public distance from the talks, with Obama and aides repeatedly arguing that the spending measure is an appropriations function of Congress, not of the executive branch.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/obamas_top_spokesman_criticizes_congress_for_failing_to_break_stalemate_on_budget_issues/2011/04/05/AFRmJOhC_story.html

[Unvanguard]

1. A little more partisanship, please. n/t

[CreekDog]

2. one side moves the goalposts, both sides get blamed

:eyes:

i can't believe my eyes.

[AllTooEasy]

3. Congress is Disfunctional; a president shouldn't have to babbysit them.

Repukes are the problem children.

[ProSense]

4. White House rebuffs GOP long-term budget plan

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The White House is rejecting a Republican plan to cut trillions of dollars in government spending over the next decade, saying it would spare the rich and burden seniors, the poor and workers who lose their health care.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the president also wants to reduce the deficit, but believes "there's a more balanced way to achieve that goal."

Said Carney: "We strongly disagree with this proposal" by GOP House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan.

Carney's comments echoed those of congressional Democrats and illustrated the deep divide over how to remedy the deficits and debt that saddle the nation's finances



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110405/ap_on_re_us/us_republican_budget_obama_1

[Old and In the Way]

5. Run on that agenda in 2012, 'Pubes.

Lets see what happens.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Hmmm......

didn't see anything in there about plans to "work" with Ryan to advance his proposal and/or to pre-emptively "cave" to the Republicans on this.

Prosense- are you sure that this is a *real* article? Because all I hear here everyday is that Obama will cave to the Republicans on privatizing Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and, well.....just about everything.

So far we have the Democratic Senate and the Democratic White House rejecting Ryan's proposal, which means "the cave" must be coming shortly, right? ;-)

[TheBigotBasher]

7. The GOP proposals because of huge tax cuts for the rich

will not even begin to tackle the deficit for years, never mind the debt.

Yet the bottom 90% will pay dearly for it with loss of benefits and tax hikes.

[laconicsax]

8. Maybe the WH could propose ending the wars AND raising taxes on the top 1%...

then spent lots of time pushing it.

It would be a easy selling point to say, "our proposal saves trillions over ten years AND increases revenue by trillions more over the same period."