Debt Ceiling: GOP Were Set Up, Played Parts Like Unwitting Fools

[jefferson_dem]

Debt Ceiling: GOP Were Set Up, Played Parts Like Unwitting Fools

Back on April 13th, as Speaker Boehner was being told by the business community not to condition an extension of the debt limit on a deficit reduction package, Sen. Chuck Schumer saw an opening. As Greg Sargent speculated at the time, the Democrats might be able to exploit any such linkage to drive a massive wedge between the Big Business and Tea Party factions of the Republican Party.

Executives like J.P. Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon are worried that playing chicken with the debt ceiling could be “catastrophic.” Dems are hoping to use the debt ceiling showdown to divide Republicans between their corporate benefactors, who want the debt ceiling standoff resolved with no fuss, and the Tea Partyers, who are demanding that the GOP leadership use the debt ceiling as a hostage in the push for ever more extreme and draconian spending cuts.

The Democrats could have insisted that the debt ceiling be a clean vote with nothing attached, but they also saw the advantage to allowing the bill to be conditioned on debt reduction. It would freak out Wall Street, kill Republican fundraising, divide the party, and highlight their extremism.

Obviously, all of those goals have come to fruition. Some Republicans are openly expressing their regret at having pursued linkage on the debt ceiling.

<SNIP>

During their Wednesday meeting, Mr. Obama commended Mr. McConnell for his proposal, Democratic officials familiar with the meeting said. He also didn't bristle at the notion of being responsible for raising the debt ceiling. "If Senator McConnell wants me to wear the jacket for that, I'm happy to wear the jacket," Mr. Obama said, according to the Democratic officials.

Why would he bristle? He set the GOP up, and they played their parts like unwitting fools.

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/634424/debt_ceiling:_gop_were_set_up,_played_parts_like_unwitting_fools/

[TheWraith]

1. Played like a two dollar banjo.

When people wonder what we mean about Obama being a master of the long game... this is it.

[damntexdem]

2. And may still screw up the economy.

They have yet to pass the debt ceiling in the House.

[polichick]

3. But how will it end up - with Dems voting on the debt ceiling 3 times? With Dems...

putting the safety net on the chopping block??

To be continued...

[Renew Deal]

4. Obama's a genius. Now that he supports the McConnell plan, McConnell will opose it.

Brilliant! :D

[vaberella]

14. McConnell NEVER had the votes when he made the offer.

I wonder if McConnell can deliver on it. Don't you?

[Inuca]

22. In the Senate, almost certainly

Even if somehow it will have to pass the famous 60 votes threshhold, with D and R votes combined it should be no problem. And McCOnnell will not oppose it now just because the president (may) support it. McConnell is many unpleasant things, but stupid he is not (unfortunatly) and is very good at playing the beghind the scenes Senate games. So far he had an almost iron grip on his caucus, with the new arrivals to join the crazy caucus lead by DeMint, probably less so, but still, enough votes.

In the House.... I have no idea... as Rachel keeps saying, Boehner is not very good as his job (while McConnell is).

[vaberella]

27. McConnell needs the support of the House to even make it to the Senate.

That's the problem. And this is why there was an uproar by House Teapublicans who said hell no they won't vote for it... McConnell/Boehner/Cantor don't have a chance on McConnell's deal----he never did. And I never wanted the deal. It's like putting a band aid on a serious issue.

[Renew Deal]

23. Yes

I was kidding. :)

[vaberella]

28. Ah okay...sorry about that. Without a smiley I'm normally lost.

Thanks. :)

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. what victory are we gloating about exactly?

Making some Republicans *Blink*? Sure that's fun and shows them up a little, Ill take it, is that all?

The media has been dominated now for a couple of months by a political debate defined by Republican priorities and Republican advocated solutions. While unemployment starts creeping back up with hundreds of thousands of public sector workers laid off, the talk in DC is all about massive Federal cuts in spending. That is at the core of every proposal being discussed while our economy continues to flounder.

Every possible deal offered to the Republicans starts out with conceeding that spending cuts should exceed any increased revenues by at least 4 to one. That is a more radical to the right formulation for closing a budget gap than any Republican President in recent history has ever proposed, let alone a Democratic one. That now becomes the new standard for a "reaonable" compromise.

All this to raise the debt ceiling which has routinely been done about once a year for the last generation? I have a hard time seeing this as a Democratic victory unless you define Democratic victory as stopping Republicans from getting everything that they want.

[DJ13]

6. +1

I dont think all the fools are in the GOP.

[jefferson_dem]

7. On that...

We do agree. :)

[DJ13]

9. Common ground!

:hi:

[polichick]

8. Exactly. imo the prez should have said he'd veto anything but a clean vote from the get-go...

And not wasted one single moment more on it - the Wall Street puppetmasters would have taken care of it.

[northoftheborder]

15. I agree with this.

[polichick]

21. So why didn't he - that's the real question imo.

[ProSense]

11. This one

Pelosi Remarks Following Democratic Caucus Meeting Today

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn, Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson, Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Xavier Becerra, and Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen held a media availability this morning following a Democratic Caucus meeting in the Capitol Visitor Center. Below are the Leader’s remarks and a transcript of a brief question and answer session:

Leader Pelosi’s Remarks:

“Thank you very much, Mr. Becerra. To both of my colleagues, the Chairman and the distinguished Vice Chairman of the Caucus: Yes, teamwork pays off. It did last night for the Democrats in the baseball game and for women’s soccer team, and we are very proud of both of them.

“I’m very proud of our House Democratic Caucus. I wish that all of you could have heard the knowledge, the respect of the values that they are bringing over and over again to this discussion, most currently this morning. We stand with the President of the United States in the hope that we could have a ‘grand bargain’ that takes us well into the future with deficit reduction.

“I remind you that it was only a week ago that we were hopeful that this could happen in a bipartisan way. Thursday, we left the meeting—of last week—we left the meeting with some spirit of cooperation that we could work on a ‘grand bargain’ for great deficit reduction so that we could move on to job creation. Friday, we were working on that. Saturday, the Republicans walked away from that. And since then, we’ve been trying to find out if that’s still possible and if not, what is possible. But whatever is possible, and it’s not possible for us to reduce the deficit and create jobs on the backs of America’s working families.

“So we continue to say to the President: ‘Congratulations. We are proud of the work you are doing, and we are glad that it does not reduce benefits for Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries.’ It doesn’t mean we are not open to initiatives that will strengthen those, Medicare and Social Security, that will cut cost and keep them solvent for a longer period of time. But we are not reducing the deficit on the backs, and give tax cuts to the wealthy, on the backs of our Social Security and Medicare recipients.

“When I came to the table two days ago, I brought with me the priorities expressed to me by a large number of students who came to my office the other day. They said, ‘We know the deficit is not good for our future. We all stand ready to help reduce it, think everybody should participate in that. We hope you won’t diminish the prospects we have for college education. We want you to know how important Medicare and Medicaid are to our families. It enables them to allow us to go to college by taking some of the fear out of health care costs for them. And of course if you are young and you are in college or you are newly graduated, jobs jobs, jobs, jobs—they are important to you. So don’t do anything that impedes the economic growth.’ Their wisdom is so clear.

“But what we saw at the table was an attempt by the Republicans to increase the cost to students by over 30 billion dollars without taking one red cent of sacrifice from the wealthiest people in our country, from corporations sending jobs overseas, tax subsidies for Big Oil.

“So again, our Caucus focused on our priorities, which are based on our values. We support our President for the ‘grand bargain.’ We hope that can still happen, and we know that it will happen—whatever happens, we will not be reducing benefits to Medicare and Social Security recipients.

“With that I am pleased to yield to the leader in charge of ‘Make It In America’ in terms of job creation, our distinguished Whip, Steny Hoyer.”

<...>

As one GOP Rep said re McConnell's plan: Dude, You Gave Our Debt Hostage to Obama!.

[Tom Rinaldo]

16. Yes they failed to blackmail Democrats into totally caving over the debt ceiling

Republicans were crazy and cocky enough to actually believe they could use the ceiling to get most of what they dreamed of without giving anything up in return, except the hostage. If that is their definition of victory, than Republicans lost.

Meanwhile what does that have to do with the points I made? Haggling over which and how many major cuts to make in government spending during a brutal recession dominated the nations news, with A Democratic President going on record to say that the more cuts the better, as long as the Republicans agree to balence - defined as one dollar raised for each 4 doolars cut.

Granted far worse outcomes were possible than whatever it seems will happen now, I just don't see any reason to be gloating over this, under the full circumstances. I accept that others can see it differently.

[TheWraith]

12. *Sigh*

For starters:

The public has seen Obama as being very willing to cut a deal, undermining the Republican spin of him as a "big spender."

Meanwhile, the Republicans have been seen as unwilling to compromise on taxing the wealthy.

Third, the Reps are going to have to either screw over the Tea Party types, or outrage a majority of Americans including seniors for the Reps' willingness to fuck over everyone on the behalf of the rich.

The Republicans have to cave, and in doing so, they anger their base.

[Tom Rinaldo]

18. Sure Obama came off as the reasonable one

Republicans came off as hypocritcal jerks. This is further verification of a pattern that has not changed since the President took office. In an important sense, there's not much news there.

If Obama got to prove he was the flexible one by validating the reasonableness of the deal he offered Republicans which they refused, I see a real downside in having a Democratic President calling terms like those he offered reasonable.

[Fire1]

13. Showing the republicans for who and what they are is the only

victory I see and hopefully SOME of their own constiuents see that their own party doesn't give a damn about them.

[Enrique]

17. theres a new victory every day

we celebrate the victory over the enemy and then the next day Obamas storming out of meetings. Now he wants to go to Camp David and work on the deal. I thought we won? It makes no sense.

[alcibiades_mystery]

30. That's because you judge it by the day

Like you're watching Survivor on CBS.

Who got kicked off the island today. It's a failure of vision, to say the least.

[Inuca]

24. Well....

I definitely see your points and agree with them. Can we celebrate that we did not lose (probably, hopefully)? Or maybe that this fight that in a more rational world would have never happened may have weakened the Rs and that this weakening may have longer term implications? And hey, sometimes it feels good just to gloat :-).

[Tom Rinaldo]

25. Yup, I'm totally cool with that n/t

[Ikonoklast]

10. They still think they are smarter than Mr. Obama.

The debt ceiling issue was dead from the get-go, Obama knew it, and the Republicans, frightened by the Teabagger Frankenstein, thought that they could play politics with it.

The only people that got played was themselves.

[JuniperLea]

20. If I had mad photo shop skilz...

I'd hang a few tea bags from the hair of the bride of Frankenstein... your imagery was spot on!

[polichick]

19. Or perhaps the voters have been set up like unwitting fools...

Except Americans are beginning to wake up - and it's not going to be so easy to fool us with a new heist.

[alcibiades_mystery]

31. because

They didn't vote for Hillary! Wah wah wah!

:rofl:

[LetTimmySmoke]

26. The GOP set themselves up.

Everyone told them that locking themselves into their position on revenues and tax loopholes was stupid and would lead to this. The GOP simply were too prideful to heed the warnings.

EDIT: "When your opponent is committing suicide, let him." - Sun Tzu

[Merlot]

29. Nice to find a silver lining in all this turmoil

"It would freak out Wall Street, kill Republican fundraising, divide the party, and highlight their extremism."

and:
"Obviously, all of those goals have come to fruition. Some Republicans are openly expressing their regret at having pursued linkage on the debt ceiling."

and the icing on the cake:
"He set the GOP up, and they played their parts like unwitting fools. "