Reid: 'I'm the Senate majority leader. Why don't I know about this deal?'

[kpete]

Source: The Hill

Reid: 'I'm the Senate majority leader. Why don't I know about this deal?'
By Alexander Bolton -

........

“I’m the Senate majority leader — why don’t I know about this deal?” Reid demanded as soon as the budget director walked into the historic Mansfield Room for a meeting with Senate Democrats, according to a lawmaker who witnessed the exchange.

.................

Democrats were outraged about reports that Obama was willing to accept major spending cuts in exchange for reforming the tax code at some point in the future as part of a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

Reid and other Democrats warned the administration officials in the meeting that they might not support a deal between Obama and Boehner if kept out of the loop.

“It was a heated session,” said a senior Democratic senator who attended the lunch. “There’s a basic lack of trust with the president.”




Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/172895-reid-confronts-obama-budget-director-on-possible-debt-ceiling-deal

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Another context -

Reid's words indicate (and as I've suspected) that there IS NO deal. I'd like to know who these high ranking Obama Administration 'insiders' are that are leaking this stuff. Seriously. At some point - someone needs to woman up or man up and say who they are and why they keep throwing 'garbage' at us.

[n2doc]

2. there is way too much chaos

Obama needs to read the riot act to his staff about leaks. At least, that's what I'd do. But maybe these serve some sort of purpose for him.

[Scalded Nun]

33. But chaos is what they all want

It becomes so much easier to slip things through by keeping things chaotic. Especially things they do not want us to see or know about, at least not until after it is too late. The repubs have already honed this into an art form.

[jwirr]

45. You are right - Naomi Klein talks about that in her book The Shock Doctrine. nt

[JustAnotherGen]

60. That's why I said what I did

Anyone who has read S.D. or "No Logos" can see all of the deliberate chaos at play.

Will I be happy if SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. etc. services that we pay taxes for get cut? Nope.

But I'm willing to wait and see.


And because my copy of Shock Doctrine IS so dog earred? I'm willing to call the bluff of EVERYONE in the WH and on Capitol Hill right now. Seriously - go right on ahead and not raise the debt ceiling.

Now I'm not up here with my head in the clouds. I know there's a massive risk there. But at this point? I don't have a lot to lose.

The losers if the debt ceiling is not raised are WEALTHY POLS and their WEALTHY friends on Wall Street.

Seriously - I'm not planning on buying a car or a house - I don't ever use my credit cards unless it's to keep the line of credit open (like a $20 gas charge I pay right off) . . . what do I care if the interest rates rise? And if the banks fail - whose going to go after all the consumer debt . . . if those banks no longer exist?

[bpj62]

65. Interest Rates and Jobs

In case you haven't noticed the refi market and the housing market are the only thing that has kept the economy going the past two years. I work for a settlement company and if the debt ceiling is not raised, my job and the jobs of many others will be in jeopardy. I am glad that your little world is perfect but there any many others out there who will be hurt if the debt ceiling is not raised. By the way the banks won't fail they will just raise the interest rates and make already tough credit even tougher to get. I really like your I got mine mentality so screw everybody else attitude.

[Name removed]

74. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tomspoerner]

118. This has happened before

During Clinton's reign the budget deadline came and went with no consequences. Government employees got maybe two days off. This is a massive card game. It will be interesting to see who calls whose bluff.

[davidwparker]

126. Yes, I remember that. It sounds like Shock Doctrine only

to make changes to SS, Medicare/aid.

Or, recently. Better gives us $700B with no questions asked or the worlds economy is going to collapse.

[SusanaMontana41]

133. Budget deadline and debt ceiling are not the same things. n/t

[SharonAnn]

134. That was not the same thing. Under Clinton it was the budget, this is much bigger

because it affects all our domestic and international finances.

This is not the same thing as the budget shutdown at all. Not at all.

[Trajan]

139. The housing market is not the 'only thing that has kept the economy going'

Consumer spending forms two-thirds of the US economy ..... Some of that spending is on homes, but much of it is everything else ....

[oldbanjo]

121. Higher insterest is only one item

someone smarter than me needs to put on this site the things that will actual happen if the Debt limit isn't raised. If FAA don't get paid ALL Airports will be shut. No Planes will fly in the USA.

[No Elephants]

140. +1 A rec worthy post.

[gmpierce]

157. risk?

I don't think there is much risk at all.

The whole objective of the exercise is to generate enough fear, uncertainty and doubt that they can slip by a program that the entire country would veto if they knew what was going on.

Then Obama can claim that it was those evil Republicans who made him do it, and the Republicans can claim credit for what Obama wanted to do all along.

There are two sides to this negotiation, and both of them are against our interests.

And if we get suckered again, it will be our own damn fault.

[snot]

95. +1!

[blkmusclmachine]

49. Manufactured chaos

Goes great with manufactured crisis and peas

[tomspoerner]

116. And the Dems haven't???

And the Dems haven't???

[davidwparker]

124. Welcome to DU.

[Ruricolous1]

153. Well said Scalded Nun n/t

[KittyWampus]

91. Why is the assumption the leaks are coming from Democrats?

[n2doc]

97. Because they say "White House sources"

They could be lying.

[LetTimmySmoke]

106. Exactly. Obama does deliberate leaks just like his predecessor the Lesser Bush did.

[KittyWampus]

110. What? You're saying only Bush Jr. And Obama have used leaks? WTF?

What a fucked up way to try and link Obama and Junior.

[LetTimmySmoke]

154. No they all have.

Don't put words into my mouth.

[gateley]

5. At yesterday's press meeting, Carney emphatically stressed there's

no deal, not close. This was moments after the NYT quoted "sources" saying a deal was close, which Carney said was wrong. Period.

So you're right.

Trial balloons? Or just the telephone game?

[Chan790]

35. Something else probably.

There is an old tactic in trade negotiations in sports to leak rumors with just enough details to titillate the public when a long-negotiated deal is about to fall apart because one side (or owner's approval is hanging a deal or any other last-second roadblock) will not move on one final piece. Someone in a sports newsroom once told me that almost every trade rumor you ever hear is dead at the time it's being reported...the leak is to force the side killing the deal back into negotiations or to make a final concession that is usually worse for them. At the same time it's imperative for the leaking side to CYA and deny a deal is even close to being made that way in the high-likelihood of "no deal" they don't take heat or look bad...or in case they have to go back later to negotiate a smaller or different deal with the same "team" or players.

I think the WH just gave Congressional Dems the pointy end.

[mittysmom09]

113. New York Times

Wasn't that the same paper that touted weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

[emulatorloo]

18. I think Republican/operatives are leaking this stuff. Disinfo campaign

[ProfessionalLeftist]

29. How much does our corrupt establishment media PAY them for these 'leaks'

Bribery is rife within the ranks of the "establishment".

Edit:

They don't care if they misinform or mislead the public - as long as they get a "story" out there that generates viewers and website clicks. Traffic and ratings equals advertiser $$$$$$$$$$. All for profit. None for truth. It's how our media operates and why - just like Murdoch - none of them should be trusted.

[SugarShack]

John Kerry, Marie Cantwell, and Feinstein, all angry also asked that question

[lark]

64. Disagree

I believe there is a deal, it's the deal Obama wanted ever since he was elected which is to cut SSI & Medicare - remember he's the Trojan President. He just doesn't want Dems to know for sure about this and mobilize to defeat his kill the Democratic party initiative. His masters don't want him to display his hand ahead of time, so he doesn't. Wall St. & the Chamber of Commerce are certainly getting their money's worth out of him.

[aggiesal]

85. I almost feel the same way ...

If he's not going to defend Democratic Sacred Cows like
Social Security and Medicare, he's not a Democrat.

I always felt that he was a corporatist just like Hillary,
but now I believe he's no Democrat.

[tomspoerner]

119. Obama and Bush

Obama, like Bush, is a progressive. The elite have announced they are bringing about the "new world order." They take advantage of crisis to further their agendas. They will use this crisis the same way. Look at 9-11. This brought about the Patriot Act and the TSA. Both of these are ways to control the masses and bypass the constitution. When the economy collapses, this will probably bring a world banking system and currency. The "new world order" will be shortly behind it.

[juajen]

125. BS. He's so not like Hillary.

[aggiesal]

127. Both are Corporatists. Enough said. n/t

[No Elephants]

141. Please do not conflate SSI with OASDI. OASDI is Old Age Survivors Disability INSURANCE.

It is an insurance program that you pay into from every paycheck you receive all your life until your earnings hit the annual cap each year. It is not, as of today, means tested.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_%28United_States%29

SSI is Supplemental Security Income, a welfare type program for people whose Social Security income (if any) plus other income (if any) is not enough to keep them above the welfare level. It is very much means tested.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11000.html

[JTFrog]

70. Agreed. n/t

[caseymoz]

88. What? From the guy who promised us the most transparent government?

He's done everything he could to put the screws on whistleblowers. So much for sunshine in our government.

[grahamhgreen]

138. My friend, at some point, you have to take your blinders off.

[gateley]

3. I hate this -- I hate that Obama is pissing off his people. We've

heard the same complaint from Pelosi.

I don't understand him sometimes, he's acting like Bush just assuming the rank and file will fall in line. The Republicans do, granted, but relying on Dems to do the same? I just don't think that's a given. He's GOT to know that, right?

[Liberalynn]

6. IMO given past actions they have given him every reason to believe

they will just gripe a bit for form's sake then just fall in line. Sure hope they shock the heck out of him and the Amercian public this time, though by saying Hell No. They need to say enough is enough, we've had it with caving to the Pukes. I am not holding my breath though.

They wouldn't want to offend Big Business too much. JMHO

[gateley]

9. We've got to KEEP letting our Senators and Representatives know.

We have to deluge them until there's a vote.

[Liberalynn]

I agree

Apparently it was reported that Schumer has said to the President, if a deal is made that cuts the safety net with no new revenues, he's concerned the Dems will have problems recruiting people to run for office.

Hope he really did say that, if so three cheers to Schumer. Now vote no on such a bill Chuck.

Gillibrand did vote against the Payroll tax holiday and the tax break extension, so hopefully she will say no here too.

I've called and e-mailed both.

My Congress Critter is Reed who is one of these tea party nuts who won't budge.

[gateley]

16. I'll go one further than Schumer -- I fear if cuts to Medicare/SS/Medicaid

are allowed, no matter WHO they get to run, people will be so mad they wouldn't vote for any Dem under any circumstances.

[avebury]

67. I received a fund raising phone call from the DNC last

night and I flat out told the guy that the Democrats have already lost me.

This is the conversation paraphrased.

Operative - "But we need to raise money to win the house in order to turn things around."

Me - Might I remind you that the Democrats had full posession of both houses and the White House for 2 years.

Operative - "The people don't know what they are doing. They gave the Republicans the house in 2010."

Me - The majority of people are behind you on the major issues and the Dems need to rally them to you stand by the people to force the Republicans and Tea Party back. Very few Democrats get out there and tell it like it is.

I told they guy flat out that it is not a matter of whether or not the Republcians and Tea Party wil ruin this country it is only a matter of how long it will take.



I will no longer finance a party that will not grow a pair and stand up to the Republicans and Tea Party. It is just spitting in the wind. I hate the Republican and Tea Parties but I do admire their ability to stick to their message no matter what. They know how to play the game and the Democrats are rank amateurs.

Until a valid liberal third party rises up or the Democratic Party gains a brain and grows a pair it is a total waste of time/money/energy even paying attention to what is going on.

[gateley]

84. I can't help but think that if there were a Bernie out there getting

his message actually covered and heard by the people, there might be a real shot at a viable Third Party, or at least a shot for an Independent. He just makes so much sense and seems to UNDERSTAND. I think he would connect with a lot of people. Look at what Perot accomplished before (I'm convinced) he was set up to look like even more of an oddball than he really is.

[tomspoerner]

120. Learned from the best

Republicans have learned from the best, Democrats. For decades the Democrats have put on a united front. If they lost an issue, they kept coming back to it over and over again until they got the win. Now Republicans have learned the same. Obama will have a very difficult time in 2012 indeed.

[October]

122. On what planet?

When have the Dems EVER put up a united front? You've got this twisted.

[davidwparker]

128. +1000

As Bill M. says, you can be totally wrong in this country, just don't be a pus*y. Be the former and take away my rights, baby's food, and my retirement, just don't be the latter.

[gateley]

21. PS -- I keep calling assorted Republicans, too, saying that

although I'm not a constituent now (some offices ask for your address and/or phone number) I'm moving to the area and they will not get my support if they allow XXXXX to occur. That I will give my campaign donations to whomever is running against him/her.

All a lie, but they don't care if I or my loved ones will be affected, they only care about the $$$, so that's what I highlight.

[Lifelong Protester]

12. I have written daily. I call and leave messages also.

The way these talks keep dangling the threat of SS/MC/MA cuts in front of seniors and soon to be seniors is unconsionable. A lot of folks who depend on their check each month are truly terrified.

Elder abuse. That's what it is.

[emulatorloo]

19. Yes, great idea

[gateley]

20. With my Rep and Senators (Rep one of the good ones, Sens

MOSTLY good ones) I just keep it short and sweet - we will support whatever you have to do to leave SS/Medicare/Medicaid alone!

You're right -- elder abuse.

[anamandujano]

37. "Elder abuse" absolutely.

All this game playing and none of them think of the stress to those who are the pawns. It's disgusting.

[bitchkitty]

54. And not so elder...

I am disabled and get SS. If I don't get a check in August, I'm on the street in September.

[Lifelong Protester]

90. Yep, sorry, I didn't mean to leave the SSI group out, but it is

defintely abuse of people who rely on what was PROMISED to them.

I'm POed because as a boomer, I'm sick of being blamed. I've paid into the system since I was 16!! That's 40 years. And I think of all the folks who can't work anymore because of age or disability and I am FURIOUS.

Trying to lose myself in doing some household chores and canning some apricots. Took a break to come back here. Doesn't sound like things are any better since I left.

[bitchkitty]

107. A lot of it is theatre.

We're going to get screwed, but they have to scare us about losing everything first. Anesthetize us with fear, so to speak.

Apricots, YUM!!!

[Ignis]

81. Thank you for your service.

People like you are the true patriots here. :patriot:

[awoke_in_2003]

52. the only deluges they understand...

are deluges of cash.

[lark]

66. I've been trying to call Bill Nelson's office all day & can't get thru

The message says they are having historically high volume of calls. I will keep trying to let him know default is better than this lying stinking travesty being proposed wehre Repugs get everything they ever wanted and Dems constituencies lose everything. My message is, don't let the president kill the working class - better to default than give Wall St. all the working classes hard earned money. If they want to make us into a banana republic, call their bluff and say NO.

[davekriss]

111. 2010

I think the electoral results of 2010 refute any notion that the base, the left, will gripe a bit than just fall in line. Instead they'll stay home in sufficient numbers to give the traitorous party the White House and Senate on top of the House, which will be the final nail in the coffin of a civil, just America.

[No Elephants]

142. If he keeps tying his deals with Republicans to things like extending unemployment and raising the

debt ceiling, he endgames them.

You know, as in prevents Democrats from winning those three dimensional chess games he plays against them.

[dgibby]

13. He has the Dems boxed in, just like always.

If they vote with him and against Dem principles, they'll lose their seats. If they vote against him, they'll be blamed for throwing the US into default on the debt. If I didn't know better, I'd think it's all by design to destroy the Dem party......oh, wait....never mind.

[ooglymoogly]

38. For some brer rabbit dems like 0, the box is the briar patch.

Just the place they want to be where selling out looks like all that can be done as has happened oh so many times before. Time to see who is behind the kabuki mask.

[SugarShack]

39. No, he's not pissing off...HE'S PISSING ON THE PEOPLE!

[valerief]

41. Well, maybe they're not "his" people after all. nt

[aggiesal]

87. He's accomplishing everything that ...

Bush wanted to accomplish, but he's doing it from within
the Democratic Party.

Boehner doesn't have to work hard to make Obama a 1 term
president. Obama is doing this all by himself.

[LetTimmySmoke]

108. There is a lot that he's GOT to know but doesn't know.

We should have listened in early 2008.

[No Elephants]

143. To whom? Reid is the one who anointed Obama early in 2008.

I'd also love to know how a state senator from Illinois who voted "present" on issues that matter to Democrats had so distinguished himself by 2004 that he got to give the keynote address the Democratic National Convention, much as Bill Clinton had before Bubba got the nomination.

Clinton was at least an understandable choice. He had been working his heart out helping Democrats win elections since he got out of school. And, like Carter, Bubba was Governor of a Southern state (aka, good Southern strategy for Democrats), not a state known nationwide for crony, and even dirty, politics.

How many relatively undistinguished Democratic state senators do you suppose there are in the U.S.? And, apart from 2004, when was the last time one of them gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention?

(BTW, just did a bit of checking. Keynote speakers at the Democratic National Convention of late have been Southerners and/or very conservative Democrats, like Bubba, a DLC founding member and a Southern Governor; Harold Ford, DLC Chair and Southerner; Evan Bayh, then Governor of Indiana; wait for it...Zell Miller, a Southerner who later address the Republican Convention as a disaffected Democrat; and Ann Richards, a Southern Governor.

You have to go back to 1984, a year BEFORE formal formation of the DLC, to get to a speaker from a liberal state, Mario Cuomo, who himself was not notably liberal for his time.


Next up, Mark Warner, a Southerner, whose name used to appear in the wiki of the DLC, but no longer does. I can't prove itw was ever there, but I know it was. However, it's still on the DLC website in a 2002 article about Warner and McGreevy's being rising stars. http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=104&subid=116&contentid=250101

But I digress. Point is, Obama's being chosen as 2004 Keynote Speaker was both puzzling and unusual.

[Liberalynn]

4. We want to know the answer to that one too Harry

please share exactly what you were told at that White House Meeting last night. No keeping the truth under wraps until you can figure out how to sell it.

:dem:

[tsuki]

7. Hey Reid, this is how employees are treated. Now, lump it. nt

[wtmusic]

8. Breaking: Harry Reid Develops Spine; Doctors Mystified

Good. This is why we have separation of powers. :thumbsup:

[awoke_in_2003]

53. no spine, just acting for the camera. nt

[No Elephants]

144. Harry Reid has plenty of spine. However, as Majority Leader, part of his

job is to protect Senate Democrats so they get re-elected. His job is not to expose how they will vote unless and until he knows he can pass something.

And he does his job of protecting Senate Democrats very well. That is why Senate Democrats keep re-electing him leader, whether they are in the minority or the majority.

Another part of his job as Majority Leader is to shove through as much of a Democratic President's agenda as he can. And he's done a good job at that as well.

If you want to judge Harry, fine by me. I am not related to him or on his payroll, just trying to be fair. But, watch him when he knows he has the votes for something if you want to see spine.

He's also not a bad strategist. He does things like withhold his own vote so a matter can be brought up again, if he sees the vote is not going the way he had been assured it would.

Putting the House bill to a vote Friday, as soon as it hit the Senate, showed plenty of spine, IMO. So does this public challenge.

[bowens43]

10. No one trusts Obama

I certainly don't. He has shown again and again that he can't be trusted , that his word is meaningless.

[davidwparker]

129. He's now like Bill on True Blood. Should Sookie trust him

or not?

I trust Eric.

[Lifelong Protester]

11. I'm with Harry on this one

what the hell is going on here? This is no way to run a government.

[still_one]

14. You don't know about it because Democrats aren't aloud in the talks, only repugs /nt

[AlbertCat]

48. Democrats aren't aloud in the talks,

Oooo.... good typo!

[still_one]

73. I was being scarcastic. /nt

[LaurenG]

15. NPR reported that someone off the record stated there was a deal

but that it was getting push back from democrats who were not part of the deal making. It's great :sarcasm: that even the majority leader feels he needs to say something. Unless of course this is all political maneuvering, manipulation and part of the 16 ring circus we call DC.

[Wednesdays]

17. He's the senate majority leader?

:shrug:

I wouldn't have known that, hadn't he told me.

:think:

[harun]

27. Yah, don't tell McConnell, he still doesn't know.

[blueclown]

22. President Obama's campaign slogan for 2012:

Pissing off allies, giving in to enemies. 4 more years!

[lanlady]

23. Well, Harry

Maybe it's because President Obama would rather play golf with Boehner than watch after the interests of the American people.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skink]

25. There's one can the repubs will punt.

kick those tax rollbacks.

[Enrique]

26. Obama's playing chess

spring entitlement cuts as late as possible, it's harder for Reid to stop it.

[Tansy_Gold]

28. He needs to stop playing games and start running the country n/t

[bahrbearian]

36. He is ruining it.

[Tansy_Gold]

47. Normally I find puns entertaining.

Unfortunately, though yours is clever, it's too true and too tragic to be amusing.

[Hubert Flottz]

43. I think the game he's playing is called shit on a stick.

I don't trust Harry any more than I do anyone else in DC. I think they're all owned by the people who write the biggest checks.

How long has it been since the people in DC have done anything other than try to keep their jobs?

[Enrique]

55. Harry Reid played a big role in saving Social Security from Bush

as I recall, Bush was stopped by a filibuster.

I don't trust Reid either, but I believe that he did help protect Social Security from Bush.

[valerief]

30. Some point in the future is code for NEVER. nt

[harun]

32. Yah, right after the Public Option.

[valerief]

31. I don't care what kind of freakin' games any of them are playing, KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY SOCIAL

SECURITY AND MEDICARE AND MEDICAID, GAWDDAM IT!

[williesgirl]

34. They touch SS, Medicare, Medicaid and I'm no longer a Dem. I'll register and vote as independent,

not one fucking penny donated to one Dem for the rest of my sorry life (which it will be as I'm on SS and barely making it now). They need to end the tax breaks to big oil/gas (funny how those haven't been mentioned in a few weeks), big agriculture, and END THESE FUCKING WARS, besides ending the Bush tax cuts for the rich and corporations permanently. rec'd

[valerief]

40. I'm a Bernie. There should be a Bernie (Sanders) Party. nt

[libmom74]

92. How do we start a petition to draft him?

[ProfessionalLeftist]

44. You & me both...I left the Dem party in 2001 after they refused

(with exception of the Congressional Black Caucus) to stand up against King Drinky Dumbass's coronation by the Supreme Court. Registered Indy after that. I'm still a staunch progressive and will NEVER, EVER vote Republican. I busted my butt for Obama. I won't do it again if he touches SS and Medicare.

[Enrique]

42. is Harry Reid an emo dem?

:-)

[myrna minx]

72. I love all of the new insults they come up with since pony dreamer has lost it's luster.

:D It's such a brilliant GOTV strategy. This and the ---> :rofl: emoticon in response to people who are worried about how they will care for their aging parents in this new blue dog/teapublican nirvana. Well done.

[LuvNewcastle]

89. He's an EmoDem! That's perfect!

[Bandit]

46. “There’s a basic lack of trust with the president.”

Ya think??????

[polichick]

56. Yeah, Congress doesn't trust him and neither do the people - and shouldn't.

[awoke_in_2003]

50. Bullshit Harry...

you are in on it, you just have to play to the camera so you can get re-elected. I don't buy your crap anymore.

[MessiahRp]

58. He was just re-elected and doesn't face re-election again until 2016.

So you couldn't be more fucking wrong.

[awoke_in_2003]

61. I know when he is up for re-election...

and I know a bullshit artist when I see one. He has proven again and again to be a useless majority "leader"

[JDPriestly]

51. There is no deal, and there will be no deal unless Obama and the

Tea-baggers grow up.

Obama is surrounded by conservatives. He does not have a single progressive adviser. That is his choice.

His team is not the team of rivals that he needs.

And he doesn't, without a lot of help, have a clue as to what he is doing.

[lark]

69. O knows EXACTLY what he's doing & has a big purpose

Killing the Democratic party and the middle class isn't easy, but he's up for the hard stuff.

It just makes me so mad that he's such a f#ing good liar and fooled so many of us. Hope and change have morphed to despair, disgust, and 4 more years of Bushlite.

[valerief]

78. Hey, I wanted to vote for DK in the primary! Everyone else should have, too. nt

[davidwparker]

130. I will be voting for a Democrat with a PROVEN track

record of standing up for liberal values. When O said he admired Reagan, that should have been the wake up call.

At least Hilary has some balls. And, if it had come to this during her admin, she would have had Clinton advising her to "take the 14th amendment option until the court force him to stop."

I'm no Clinton fan, but at least you had someone who can lead. O has the the (R)'s dragging him around by the nostrils now.

[No Elephants]

146. Which part is the lite part again?

Approved the bailouts, is already in wars in more places than Dummya was in and shows signs of adding Iran, maybe Syria as well, has more troops in Afghanistan than Dummya had when he left office and will even after he reduces by 30,000; cutting Social Security, which Dummya was not able to do; more tax cuts than Dummya had in place, etc.

So, which is the lite part?

[MessiahRp]

57. Fucking coward always kicks the can down the road so he doesn't have to fight...

But always gives the GOP what they want RIGHT NOW without hesitation. This dude is a total Benedict Arnold to his party.

It's long beyond time to muster up a legitimate primary candidate.

Rp

[Doctor_J]

59. News flash, Senator

the president only talks to the enemy

[droidamus2]

62. Obama is an idiot

if he thinks the Mepublicans will stand behind the idea of raising revenue 'in the future'. To the Mepublicans all 'in the future' means is that they will have more time to figure out how to keep from ever happening. If they want cuts now, especially to SS and Medicare (which I don't support at all) then the revenues should be done now as well. As far as I'm concerned it is guaranteed that if raising revenues is put off to 'the future' it will never happen which means again in the name of compromise Obama wants to give away the house. Will he ever learn? So let's hope that this is just a rumor or some kind of trial balloon put out by the White House and as many here have said it isn't going to really happen.

[joeybee12]

63. Hmmm...not FDL or Huffington Post...it's The Hill which is a reliable source...

But since it goes against the myth of a magical 12-dimensional chess player, I guess nothing in this article is true.

[bvar22]

68. If THIS guy were President, we would all KNOW what is in the Big Deal:

Transparency
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5t8GdxFYBU

[RaleighNCDUer]

71. Sounds good. Is he available? nt

[harun]

80. Wow, that guy would be great in the WH.

[Dr Fate]

75. Uh oh! The "Not Me" ghost is on the loose again!

Who is the one knows about all this?

"Not me!"

[russspeakeasy]

76. Sorry, Harry. We didn't know you still worked here.

[progressoid]

77. Indefensible. eom

[MasonJar]

79. Oh, sure. The Republicans will really reform the tax cuts for the rich in the

future. What is wrong with Washington? The vast majority (in the 80 percentile) want the tax cuts for the rich rolled back. Most of the wealthy are expecting it and ready to do their part. Who is stopping this? It must be the lobbyist for the bankers and Wall Street. They seem to be the only groups who still do not want to do their fair share and they are the ones who precipitated the disaster by their excessive greed and immoral practices. And apparently they and the pharmaceutical cartel and health insurers own our representative. The Democrats included.

[kath]

82. Uh, maybe because the President isn't on your side, Harry?

He's much more comfortable with his Republican buddies.

[Jakes Progress]

83. Seems the president isn't all that into Democrats.

He's cultivating other friends.

[sulphurdunn]

86. It's obvious the Democratic President

of the United States is the Republican President of the United States.

[slay]

93. Thank you

glad people are seeing it now.

[mzmolly]

94. "“If there’s a deal, then the president doesn’t know about it,..."

From the article - “If there’s a deal, then the president doesn’t know about it, the vice president doesn’t know about it and I don’t know about it.”

[No Elephants]

147. If you take "deal"much too literally, as did the budget director, you'll miss the point.

Reid was never referring to a completed deal, soup to nuts, that Boehner and Obama shook hands on, as Obama's guy pretended.

Harry's objecting to having been kept out of the loop while some very heavy things have been discussed.

Again:

"Democrats were outraged about reports that Obama was willing to accept major spending cuts in exchange for reforming the tax code at some point in the future as part of a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

Reid and other Democrats warned the administration officials in the meeting that they might not support a deal between Obama and Boehner if kept out of the loop."


As best I have been able to observe from media stories and C-Span, Harry's nature has never been to be so disloyal to Democrats, let alone a Democratic President, or so intemperate as to make a statement like that without having good info.


Also, if there is a basic mistrust of the President among Senators, why would they take the word of his budget director?

For that matter, why is his budget director so sure of what the President knows about a deal? Aren't the talks supposed to have been so secret not even Harry could know what was being discussed?

[mzmolly]

156. More so called leaks from unnamed sources

don't impress me, personally. Feel free to spend lots of time on it though.

[mzmolly]

158. So there is no "deal"?

Good! As I thought.

[snot]

96. I think I've figured out the 13th dimension of Obama's chess game:

In 2012, he'll switch parties.

[kath]

117. If only he would resign and switch parties - then he can start making the big bucks and

become even a bigger millionaire four years sooner. Clearly he doesn't give a shit about the average American.

[davidwparker]

131. No, if he just switched parties, the other half of DU would

wake up and demand a primary challenger, too.

You know it's about the label for some here. People would have defended Dubya if he called himself a (D).

[No Elephants]

148. And risk having a Democrat in the Oval Office?

[DirkGently]

98. There's simply no need for this "compromise." None. Let the Republicans blink, for once.

[TBF]

99. "Basic lack of trust with the president"

Well that is the understatement of the day.

[Jim_Shorts]

100. The deal with Obama - he just wants the path of least resistance

He sees his job as a conciliator, he doesn't really stand for anything. We were talking about spending on jobs programs until the repugs pushed back and he did a complete 180 and now we are talking about cutting social programs. He gets more heat from the right so that is the direction we are heading.

By being weak and having no moral compass he has caused a shitstorm in Washington with every little worm rubbing their hands together to get theirs. I think if the easiest path for him right now was to gut SS and Medicare, he would do it in a minute.

At one of his last news conferences he joked about turning 50 and wanting to shore up Medicare, he was smiling from ear to ear because the joke is, he will never have to use that sucky program. I was wondering if that would have been funny if his audience was a bunch of lower income seniors.

[davidwparker]

132. +1

Well said.

[LetTimmySmoke]

101. Because Obama is an arrogant idiot.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

102. How many months did that take?

:think:

Kabuki.

[BlueIris]

103. Flashbacks to the healthcare debacle, eh, Senator? That sucks.

The world's tiniest violin, playing just for you:

:nopity:

[eilen]

104. “There’s a basic lack of trust with the president.”

That is how it is with everyone I talk to. No one trusts this guy.

[pam4water]

105. Cause the corporate Repubs are talking to the corporate Democrats and you not invited XD You should

be honored not surprised :D

[No Elephants]

149. Harry is a corporate Democrat as well. It's just that his corporations own casinos.

[TxVietVet]

109. F*ck the deal, Harry. Tell Obama to shove it. They dpn't care about us.

The conservanazis will not deliver on that deal either in the future. This president might ought wake up and see how the people feel. Read the polls.

If Obama thinks the conservanazis will deal a tax deal in the future, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell him.

I'm getting tired of this f*cking bu$hit. Obama gives and the conservanazis take. THAT'S NOT COMPROMISE NOR NEGOTIATIONS. PERIOD.

HOW DO WE GET THE WORD ACROSS TO OBAMA? TAKING IT TO THE STREETS??!!

[TBF]

112. TAKING IT TO THE STREETS??!! -

You got it. It's the only thing that has ever worked.

[No Elephants]

150. And the last time America had a general strike was.....

For some reason, it's not coming to mind.

[TBF]

155. Why would you assume I was just talking about America? In any case

it's about time we do it.

I'll refer you to my journal with lots of photos of general strikes in civilized lands:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TBF/22

[bluebuzzard]

114. Harry you dont live on Wall St.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-Street-still-gives-big-rb-568029544.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=

[SlavesandBulldozers]

115. they just want to be "in the loop"

Reid doesn't like being out of the loop when there are compromises on core Democratic platforms to be made.

He wants to be able to go to the lecturn and whisper to the American people just how golly gee gosh darn we didn't get everything we wanted but we sure did try.

I don't trust Obama, but I'll be damned if I were in his shoes if I'd trust Harry Reid - you cannot possibly get more weak than that man.

[Dirigo]

123. Majiority Lader Sen Reid Has A Right To Know

As majority leader I believe Sen Reid has a right to know what the deal is being proposed especially when representing the same political party. I think the White House staff is wrong in not being up front and keeping Reid fully informed. Then again, it may all be political gymnastics and threatrics to lull the RepubliCult Boneheads into believing the impossible dream that they'll write the Balanced Budget. It's all horseshit as far as the Right is conserned.

[No Elephants]

151. Name someone now in the Senate Democratic caucus you do trust, other than Sanders (not a Dem) and

possibly Franken.

ETA: Let me re-phrase, since it's not fair of me to put you on the spot. Those are the only ones in the Caucus I trust, now that Feingold and Kennedy are no longer in the Senate.

[Flora]

135. This whole debt situation is driving me crazy,

I can't believe those who we have hired to handle the job of balancing our budget and coming up with a debt ceiling have mishandled and neglected their jobs. I suggest we all take a picture of our families around the dinner table, with empty plates, and send to our congress person with the title of .. "We are waiting".

[Cool Logic]

136. Actually, Harry, you will be learning what it is like to deal with Boehner

and boys next week. You and McConnell are going to dust off McConnell's and put it back on the table.

So, don't worry, Harry, not only will you know about this deal, it's going to have your name on it too.

[grahamhgreen]

137. Finally. Everyone is seeing the President wears no clothes.

[tomp]

145. going on the record as against any "deal"

no cuts, no deals.

increase benefits for poor working and middle classes. stop the wars

fuck the rich. tax everything over $10 million per year at 99% retroactively to 2000 (illegal bush years). prosecute the banks.

oh yeah, and free leonard peltier.

deal? here's my deal: i'll piss on you so you won't burn.

and fuck all political theater. are you listening, harry?

[Hubert Flottz]

152. WOW Harry

I thought you were the "Expert" on everything political...Obama helped you beat the Idiot in your state last year so you owe him your loyalty forever(.)(period)