Obama Tells Dems He'll Oppose Tax Cut Deal Without Unemployment Benefits, Other Relief

[krawhitham]

It's Huffpo so take it with a gain of salt

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/04/obama-tells-dems-hell-opp_n_792086.html


At a meeting at the White House with Democratic congressional leadership Saturday afternoon, President Obama said he would oppose any compromise deal on the expiring Bush tax cuts if it lacked help for the unemployed and other provisions designed to aid the middle class.
......
The remarks are, nevertheless, one of the clearest signs that the president is not only done ceding any more policy turf to the GOP with respect to tax cut negotiations but willing to let rates expire if Republican don't temper their demands
.....
Putting aside when or how the announcement is made, the quote from the White House official portends a deal along the lines that Hill aides projected last week. In exchange for a temporary extension of Bush tax cuts, Democrats will secure an extension of unemployment benefits, a few more tax cut proposals, and a vote on the START Treaty.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/04/obama-tells-dems-hell-opp_n_792086.html

[ibegurpard]

1. if upper bracket tax rates are extended then, yes, he is ceding more ground to the Repukes

lower bracket tax cut extensions or no extensions for anyone.
Period.

[krawhitham]

2. Sounds like Dems are working on a deal without him

and he is laying down the ground rules if they want him to agree.


This would be a good time to work in the 99'ers, lets see how much the GOP wants that extension on the tax cuts

[craigmatic]

3. He's smartened up but he still hasn't toughened up yet.

[dennis4868]

5. If he toughens up....

All taxes will go up and Obama will be blamed for it. On top of that he won't get the repubs to agree to START, repeal of DADT, unemployment benefits, and slit of judges getting through as well....put yourself in his shoes for a minute and you would probably be doing the same thing.

[craigmatic]

9. No I wouldn't I'd end the tax cuts and blame the republicans when nothing gets done for the next 2

years. It's better to do nothing than do something that would hurt the majority of the people.

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. So you'd give up on unemployment benefit extensions, the child care credit,

the making work pay credit, DADT, and the DREAM Act?

Just let them go, right? And go to the media and blame it on the GOP.

That's fine. It's one of the viable strategies. But let's not pretend that it isn't a matter of gambling with the lives of millions of people, especially on the unemployment benefits.

[craigmatic]

15. You assume that the republicans would give ground on that when they probably won't.

If they're going to block anyway, why not tell the people who did it and run against them?

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. You assume that they will fold on unemployment

You seem focused on rhetorical benefits and political point scoring. I'm worried about people paying for groceries, heat, and rent in three weeks.

So, yes, we're both making assumptions about the GOP response on unemployment benefits extensions should we walk away from the table. It is a gamble either way. Your way is a gamble with the lives of 2 million people and their families. My way is a gamble with the effects of tax cut extensions. But either way, you are gambling. Saying that we believe their response will be X or Y is nice enough. Let's at least be honest about the severe consequences should our respective gambles turn out to go not our way.

[craigmatic]

17. I care about all that too but I realize that if we don't get it done in lame duck it's not happening

The repubs are on record as opposing unemployment benefits already. They'll only be emboldened when they have power so we need to get this done now or not at all because they seriously don't give a shit about the woking class to the point that they'll stop everything just to make the president look bad.

[handmade34]

4. I sent President Obama

a letter this morning asking him to stand strong and we would all work together to get through this (no extension of the tax cuts)... I haven't heard back from him yet... :shrug:

[glitch]

6. He needs to demand they shut the fuck up about deficits then.

And no touching entitlements. Anything less would take hypocrisy to ludicrous depths, even for Republicans.

[cilla4progress]

7. I know...right?

Where are the tea partiers on this? If they truly are so hacked off about the deficit - where are all the deficit hawks now that the deficit will be amped up to the tune of $700 billion, with extension of tax cuts to the wealthy.

All a bunch of stupid, filthy, stinkin' liars.

[rhett o rick]

8. No deal. Do not negotiate with the republican terrorists. nm

[avaistheone1]

10. I agree.

[GSLevel9]

11. welcome to 2 years of gridlock. nt

[grumgrum]

12. If they get their Tax Cuts they dont give a damn who gets their scraps -- Poor Strategy

Of course the GOP will accept some of these unemploymentr benefits AFTER obama accepts tax cuts fort he wealthy...they dont give a damn about the unemployment....so obama saying the should allow these other things is simplistic since the gop would have allowed it after they got what they really wanted...they can blame obama for the higher deficit during 2012 and will say they will make the tax cuts permanent....this is disastrous.

This needs to be separate issues.

[TheKentuckian]

13. Why this is not transparent, I don't know. As soon as we sat back and didn't rescind this crap we

basically screwed.

Republicans extend unemployment, they are just being ballbreaking fuckwads to extort what they want and to win. They have no sincere interest in governing.