If Obama-Boehner Deal calls for $3 trillion in spending cuts and no tax hikes...

[WI_DEM]

except for a "promise" to pursue it in 2012. Will House Dems and Senate Dems support this plan? Maybe it's about time Democrats begin putting some pressure on Obama so that he isn't only catering to GOP wishes.

or

Will he tell them if they don't support this it will be Democrats who will be blamed for the nations credit default??


Whatever happened to Obama taking this "to the American people" to put pressure on GOP? another empty promise? He's held a few press conferences, but why not a prime time speech to the nation about what's going on? Poll after poll say increase taxes on the wealthy! Why can't this president use his bully pulpit?

[avaistheone1]

1. Looks like Boener the idiot gave Obama a haircut.

We're screwed.

Thanks Obama!

[FarLeftFist]

2. This whole thing is seriously fucked!

Obama needs to go on TV and tell the people the truth in plain english: The GOP is once again holding America hostage because of their warped fucking ideology that has failed over and over and over again, and they are kowtowing to an un-elected person who represents no one named Grover Norquist. Make them look like the bizarre cult they really are. Let the people know that there is an un-elected person controlling an entire political party.

[ArcticFox]

22. If he were to tell the truth, he'd probably say this was all his idea

He's the one who's listening to the "gang of six". He's the one that came up with a huge budget cut that doesn't even touch the military budget. He's making no effort to get up in front of the teevee to point out that cutting taxes = increased revenue is a fantasy. He accepts and even projects all of the conservative bs about economic thinking we've been hearing since before I can remember.

[KansDem]

3. Remember what Obama said when he extended Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens

From 12/06/2010:
Obama stressed that he didn't like two elements of the deal -- the temporary extension of tax cuts for upper-income Americans, which he said would have cost $700 billion if stretched for the entire next decade, and making the estate tax exemption more generous for the same time period.

In two years, he said, "It will become apparent that we can't afford these tax cuts any longer." The White House said it expects a vigorous debate about that during the 2012 presidential election.

USA Today

Is this the "promise" he's referring to?

[Safetykitten]

4. I think he does not "got this" and is seriously over his head.

[The Magistrate]

5. If This is as Described, Sir, No Democrat Should Vote For It

No plan which does not focus on increasing revenue by tapping the top-heavy concentrations of wealth in this country, and on reduction in war spending, can be considered a serious proposal for putting federal spending into better balance with revenue. The real aim of this plan, and similar broadsides, is quite simple. The governing elite, whether in office or in the board-room, wants to welsh on its markers. It is getting to the point where the Treasury bonds held by the Social Security Trust Fund will need to be redeemed in cash. To do so, there will need to be either some reduction in spending on other items, or some increase in taxes. Neither politicians nor those who purchase politicians in wholesale lots want to do either thing. What they do want to do is continue to use the regressive pay-roll tax as a principal source of general revenue, as they have in effect been doing with the amounts collected by this levy in excess of immediate pay-outs for many decades. The F.I.C.A. tax already amounts to over a third of taxes collected against income by the Federal government. Keep the F.I.C.A. rates going up, as rates on income and capital gains are cut further for the wealthy, and as benefits for Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are reduced, and this proportion will only increase. The aim is to produce a Federal tax system sufficiently regressive as to shock even a medieval cleric.

[Warren Stupidity]

24. You sir, have it exactly right. nt.

[WI_DEM]

6. I guess I'm sick of Democratic Presidents trying so hard to court 'indepenents' that they

don't stand up for Democratic principals. Wall Street and the Bush Tax Cuts got us in this mess and Obama should be demanding that the wealthy and corporations do their fair share and not put it all on the poor and middle class.

[emulatorloo]

11. That is what he has been saying. Deal has to include tax hikes on wealthy

And close Corp loopholes. Has said American people are behind it. Surrogates are calling Republicans cultists because of obsession with "no taxes."

[emulatorloo]

7. Obama said any deal has to include tax hikes

[WinkyDink]

15. The POINT is: Any cuts to SS/Medicare will HURT, "tax hikes" or NOT. It's SIMPLE MATH.

[emulatorloo]

17. Medicare has been cut before - on the Provider side, and waste and fraud

WIthout cutting benefits.

I know DU likes to claim Obama secretely wants to cut benefits but that has not been proposed.

You can make a program more efficient w/o cutting benefits. How much money could be saved if SS went 100 percent direct deposit for those who have bank accounts.

[Bandit]

25. And you believe him?

[Inuca]

8. There is no deal, but

we can continue to hyperventilate nevertheless. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43836471/ns/politics-capitol_hill/

[WI_DEM]

12. The title says "IF" there is a deal--and it sounds that while they refute that there is a deal

it was at least put out there to gauge some kind of reaction. It will be interesting to see what kind of deal Obama ultimately accepts.

[libmom74]

9. Obama has the same goals as the GOP.

That is becoming increasingly clear. We need to focus on Democrats in Congress and the Senate to kill this thing.

[spanone]

10. if

[emulatorloo]

13. The Modern DU

[sharp_stick]

14. If Elvis and Jimi Hendrix

show up at a mall tomorrow does that mean that the golden age of rock and roll will have been reborn or was it never dead?

I can't be the only one getting a little bored by all the "if this happens" crap going on can I?

[emulatorloo]

19. No you are not the only one.

[WI_DEM]

21. maybe there wouldn't be so much of it if Obama tried to use his bully pulpit

and began to stand up for progressive principals more often.

[emulatorloo]

26. He's using his bully pulpit re corporate loopholes and tax hikes on the rich

There is way too much noise and not enough signal on DU these days. "if"' bizarro word Parsing, even complete fabrications.

[Blasphemer]

16. IF this comes to pass, it will mark the day that we officially became a one party nation

Because success of such a plan would not only require the agreement of the POTUS but a majority of the membership of Congress. At that point, laying blame goes beyond Obama's feet. When leadership no longer cares about the opinions or best interests of the people and there is no resulting revolution, we are dealing with oligarchic rule.

I only hope that either the information being leaked is incorrect OR there are not sufficient votes for such a plan.

[marlakay]

18. I just emailed Obama for the upteenth time

and told him in no uncertain terms that I guess he likes letting the republicans lead the country...

[ChrisBorg]

20. That's a lot of iffing.

I'll wait for an actual event to happen first.

[Warren Stupidity]

23. I won't support it.

This whole manufactured crisis has been bullshit from day one, and its apparent goal is to cut SS and medicare in order to preserve tax cuts for billionaires TEN YEARS FROM NOW.