...Republicans have now revealed their bottom line...

[babylonsister]

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2011/7/25/17144/4179

Can You See the Kabuki Now?

by BooMan
Mon Jul 25th, 2011 at 05:01:44 PM EST


I'd like every liberal who has carped about the president's approach to the debt ceiling negotiations to pause now and consider the fact that the Republicans have now revealed their bottom line. They made an offer. Their offer is nothing. We get nothing. Not one thing that we want. Nada. And that has always been their position. This was their position from the very beginning. Absolutely nothing, not bad polls, not the advice of bankers or the Chamber of Commerce or conservative economists, or the disapproval of their biggest donors, nor even ridiculous concessions, nor even offering everything they ostensibly want could change their bottom line. The president gets nothing and we get nothing.

Now, this thing is still not over, and the president is going to speak to the nation at 9pm tonight. I expect he will be extremely pissed off. I also expect the Republicans not to give a shit. They think he's bluffing. I think he's not bluffing. But my point for the purposes of this thread is the following. Since there was never any way to win any concessions, wasn't the game here to make sure people see you as having been reasonable? And the other side as the economic terrorists that they are?

Was there some other objective? For example, should he have spent his time looking equally unwilling to compromise? Should he have made demands that people thought were equally unrealistic and unfair? Should he have made a strong case for Democratic values and Keynesian economics only to have his inability to move the Republicans highlighted even more?

It seems to me that this wasn't a game about outcomes. The outcome was pretty well known in advance: the Republicans would refuse to raise the debt ceiling if it meant making a single concession on anything. Given that, the whole exercise was about political perceptions.

I don't understand why this isn't better understood.

[FreakinDJ]

1. RATpubliCON Political Theater at its best

[emulatorloo]

2. Interesting perspective, thanks for posting

BooMan's stuff is always thought provoking.

[panader0]

3. I hope Obama IS extremely pissed off!

[Tennessee Gal]

4. Exactly. Republicans were never going to budge.

And one of their primary goals was to make sure whatever rise in the debt ceiling was agreed to it would expire before the next election. They want to defeat Obama. They have admitted that fact.

[Indykatie]

5. Excellent Analysis

My office is filled with centrist folks (republicans and dems) who are very liberal on social policy and centrist or right of center on fiscal issues. Regardless of how this thing turns out Obama has won the perception battle with all of them. They see him as one of the few adults in the room and the smartest guy in the room. For that reason, regardless of what the unemployment picture is in 2012 most of them openly state that Obama is still the best choice to deal with whatever comes up. It's this sentiment that is reflected in polls that show Obama doing so much better than anyone expected given the country's feeling that the economy is turning around.

[Ishoutandscream2]

12. You work in a wonderful place

Any openings? :)

[RBInMaine]

6. If Obama does his job right tonight, he makes the PUKES look just like the EXTREMIST scum they are.

[Faryn Balyncd]

7. You have some good points...They would be more convincing if not for the prior outcomes on...

...the public option, the Medicare buy-in option, mandatory corporate insurance, the war in Afghanistan, the occupation of Iraq, the war in Libya, the extension of the "PATRIOT" Act, gitmo, the lack of prosecution of war criminals, the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the uberrich without so much as any extension of the debt ceiling, the appointments to the Simpson/Bowles Commission, the snubbing of Elizabeth Warren, the snubbing of Howard Dean, the cozy relationship with Wall Street.....



. . . .



:hi:





:kick:

[bpj62]

8. Budget Battle

Back in March after the Budget was passed and the shutdown averted, Obama told Boehner that he wanted a clean debt ceiling bill. Boehner told the President in so many words to go "F' himself. This has been the plan all along. They intend to hold anything of national importance hostage until they get what they want and that is total destruction of the safety net and a privitation of as many federal services/agencies as possible. This is just a money grab for the Wall Street and the Health Care industy. Elections have consequences and for all of those progressives and independents who stayed home last fall this is what we got. We are wasting time and money having to defend programs that would never have been touched by a democratic majority in the house. We are spending precious money on recalls in Wisconsin and Michigan because we didnt get out and vote in 2010. I hope that we all wake and and realize just how serious 2012 is to the future of the middle class of America. On a side note I just did the spell check and when it came to Boehner the spell check told me to use Boner instead.

[Empowerer]

15. +1

Thank you.

[Old Codger]

9. Never a doubt

That they would take anything short of total capitulation on his part. He has said things that scare a lot of us. At this point I can accept that he has been playing them, if not we and he are in a deep pile of doo-doo.

[CakeGrrl]

10. That last sentence x1000!

I'm in total agreement. I do not get why people don't understand the point to this.

After all we've seen for the past two administrations - how GOP-biased the MSM is and how clueless the nation is about GOP misfeasance as a result.

THIS is the kind of thing it takes to SHOW people what they're about when you know the MSM won't lift a finger to enlighten anyone.

[tularetom]

11. If he knew how they would react, why would he go and piss off his "base"

and a majority of the American people by putting SS and Medicare on the chopping block.

I think he (or maybe his "advisors") actually believed he would win them over by espousing republican values and principles.

And he has handed his opponents a club which they will use to bash him over the head from now until the election - they can now tell their constituents that Obama offered to give away Social Security and Medicare.

IMO this exercise was an opportunity for him to try to validate the recommendations of his cat food commission which I believe he buys into.

[SoFlaJet]

13. Sounds like Michael Corleone's offer to Senator Geary

in The Godfather 2

Senator Pat Geary: I want your answer and the money by noon tomorrow. And one more thing. Don't you contact me again, ever. From now on, you deal with Turnbull.

Michael: Senator? You can have my answer now, if you like. My final offer is this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally.

[demgrrrll]

14. That's great!! Chris Matthews cornered a R Senator today on

his show and basically said don't prtend to compromise when there is no compromise offered.

[tallahasseedem]

16. Recommended.

This is one bad ass post! :)

[watrwefitinfor]

17. +1000

K&R

[flamingdem]

18. This goes to show that there are no republicans who think for themselves or who consider

the good of the country and its citizens.

Maybe we must default to destroy their party.