Matt Taibbi - Obama Doesn't Want a Progressive Deficit Deal

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/obama-doesnt-want-a-progressive-deficit-deal-20110711

One expects the debt-ceiling mess to involve a lot of ostentatious chest-pounding on both sides, for despite the fact that this is a deadly serious issue – the fact that we're even considering incurring an intentional catastrophe via a default is incredible, a testament to the bottomless stupidity inherent in our political climate – this whole debate is primarily an exercise in political posturing.

That Republicans are holding up what should be a routine, if unpleasant, decision to raise the debt ceiling in order to portray themselves as the uncompromising defenders of the budget-balancing faith (a howling idiocy in itself, given what went on during the Bush years) is obvious to most rational observers. It's the obvious play for the lame-duck party entering an election year, and they're playing it, with the requisite hysteria.

But what is becoming equally obvious, to both sides, is that the Obama White House is using this same artificial calamity to pitch its own increasingly rightward tilt to voters in advance of the 2012 elections.

It has been extremely interesting in the last weeks to see observers on both sides of the aisle make this point. Just yesterday, the inimitable New York Times conservative Ross Douthat listed Obama's not-so-secret rightward push as a the first in a list of reasons why the Republicans should dig in even more, instead of making a sensible deal:

More at the link --

[jtown1123]

1. The Guardian and several others bloggers/writers had similar pieces this week. REC!

[emulatorloo]

2. How is he going to get a "Progressive Deficit Deal" from the batshit crazy House?

The house in controlled by an army of Michele Bachmann/Steve King type TRUE BELIEVERS. They are ignorant and insane and they are more than willing to have the US default.

[Big Blue Marble]

5. He is playing off the crazies

For political gain at out expense. He is playing with basic fabric of our country.

[jtown1123]

7. There is no progressive deficit deal on the books. Just get a clean debt ceiling raise. That's all

[gratuitous]

16. On the books? Probably not

But that doesn't mean there isn't a proposal: The People's Budget

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70

Our Budget’s Bottom Line
• Deficit reduction of $5.6 trillion
• Spending cuts of $1.7 trillion
• Revenue increase of $3.9 trillion
• Public investment $1.7 trillion

But for some odd reason, this proposal isn't getting any air time at all on the 24-7 news cycles. You'd think the librul media would be billboarding this wall-to-wall.

[Creideiki]

17. This implies that Obama cares about anyone who makes less than 200k/year

For me, I'll care about Obama once he shows he cares about me. I've done the outreach--I voted for the useless sack of carbon. It's now time for some reciprocation.

[truedelphi]

18. + 10,000. n/t

[Lorien]

11. Leadership. nt

[Big Blue Marble]

3. Brilliant analysis.

Tiabbi as usual gets it right. Thanks for posting.

[gratuitous]

4. Filed under "D"

For "No duh."

[Horse with no Name]

6. IMHO, Obama won't embrace liberal/progressive policies

because he doesn't want to appear weak...and he is too arrogant to want to be perceived as being weak.

What I mean is, I think that by doing what WE expect, he thinks it makes it appear that we are pulling his strings.

He is acting like a petulant child who refuses to do what is expected of him...and deliberately does the opposite.

Either that, or he is a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate Amerikkka.

Either way, we are going to lose and we are going to lose big.

[cali]

19. Well said and very astute.

[dreamnightwind]

20. I think this other thread explains where Obama is coming from

Obama and the Hamiltonian Democrats
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1540315

This is who he is, he's a conservative and a privatizer. Hamiltonian Democrat should be an oxymoron.

[IDemo]

8. Taibbi -> under bus in 3,2,1....

[QC]

14. It won't be his first time under there. n/t

[DirkGently]

9. Hard to read it any other way. Welcome to the Enemies List, Matt.

[myrna minx]

10. K&R n.t

[Dept of Beer]

12. Kick

[madrchsod]

13. the poster "judge mental" in the comment section hit`s the nail on the head....

[daa]

15. If my choice in 2012 is between the right or the right may as

well stay home.

[LooseWilly]

21. It's been 11 days and Taibbi remains stubbornly right...

Of course, a non-partisan just-raise-the-fucking-ceiling-bill would be swell... but Obama doesn't even seem to be trying to negotiate toward that... he seems to genuinely want to be perceived to have taken the initiative in cutting some social programs (err, "entitlements" as he likes to call them)... to try to woo some conservatives?

Democratic cheering over a possible political win that will potentially deliver more votes... by adopting Republican policy... should embarrass more people reading this than it seems to do...