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Republicans Still Blocking Budget Deal

By Jeralyn, Section Economy
Posted on Wed Apr 06, 2011 at 10:51:45 PM EST
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Tonight's meeting at the White House didn't produce a budget accord. It's becoming more and more apparent that this is a game, being milked by House Speaker John Boehner and Republicans who have insufficient power or smarts to do anything but bluster.

I hope Obama doesn't make any concessions. It's pretty apparent Boehner will have to give in tomorrow, or face the wrath of the public when the reality of what a shutdown entails finally sinks in.

We're being set up for a last minute deal. Does anyone doubt an agreement will be announced tomorrow? This is all like a poker hand, and the question is, who's bluffing?

Avoiding a shutdown is good. But the games, and rewarding the losing players with concessions, are not. Obama should hang tough, refuse further budget cuts, and call Boehner's bluff. [More...]

If Boehner's stupid enough to let the shutdown happen, the blame will fall on him and his fellow Republicans, where it belongs. Concessions by Obama will just allow the Republicans to crow they won and they're tougher than Obama.

Boehner's already stepped in it. Obama has the chance to make him own his failure. Obama needs to hold firm. Concessions will provide Boehner with just the slither of justification he needs to avoid looking like a complete incompetent. Concessions will also make Obama look like the loser.

Bipartisanship is over-rated in a lot of circumstances. Sometimes, it's a sign of weakness. This is one of those instances.

Update: From John Pulls a Boner: It appears his fall has already begun.

Just since January, Boehner's national approval rating has plummeted by 18 points. At the outset of 2011, 35% of voters approved of the job he was doing while only 28% disapproved and 37% withheld judgment.

But in the past eight weeks his approval has declined by 10 points to 25%, and his disapproval ratings among voters has risen 8 points to 36%. What's most startling about Boehner's fall is that the numbers are not from any particular segment; everyone is down on him, including his own base.

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    Republicans Still Blocking Budget Deal | 14 comments (14 topical)

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    I predict two probabilities: (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by shoephone on Wed Apr 06, 2011 at 11:36:42 PM EST
    1. Obama caves, touting the need for bipartisanship and compromise. Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

    2. Obama doesn't cave, the government shuts down and, lo and behold, the public holds the Democrats responsible for it. Also wouldn't surpise me. The Dems suck at messaging; Boehner and the GOP have controlled the debate.


    Boehner Moves the goal posts... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by TomStewart on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 12:37:48 AM EST
    ...again. Whenever they get close, they change the rules again.

    Still, this is exactly the wrong conversation to have. We should be talking about how to get America back to work, not how many of their jobs we should be cutting.

    I'd love to be wrong (5.00 / 0) (#3)
    by Left of the Left on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 03:57:42 AM EST
    But for all his bluster at the press conference, and rallys, I get nothing but a big deja-vu on the public-option/healthcare fake out of the base. All the talk of being adults tips the hand. If he caves, well gosh darn it, someone had to be the adult in the room.

    I just wish doing the right thing and ensuring Obama looked like the responsible adult lined up more often than it seems to be.

    Well (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 06:07:19 AM EST
    Obama has agreed to the GOP economic plan again and again so they're betting on the fact that he will again. This whole game is really tiresome and I think Obama thinks we peons out here are really stupid.

    Obama better find a spine (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by mmc9431 on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 06:09:45 AM EST
    Democrats have to hold the line. If they give in now, the next budget is going to be a total disaster for 98% of the country.

    Republicans are h#ll bent on destroying Medicare,
    Medicaid, Public Schools and any other social or safety net that exists.

    The wealthy don't need, (or have to rely on), any of these programs. They're also too short sighted to realize that if the 98% fail, they'll go down too.

    There's a quick kill mentality that has completely corrupted the political environment. There doesn't seem to be anyone left with a vision to the future of the country as a whole.

    Reagan's "me" generation has grown up to be a very selfish, self absorbed and short sighted group of elitists. They could care less about the future of the country. They'll pick the bones and move on to the next without batting an eye.

    Let's see if I have this right for the record (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by MO Blue on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 08:28:20 AM EST
    Concessions will also make Obama look like the loser.

    How many more concessions does Obama need to make to qualify for the distinction of "loser?"

    He has looked like a loser (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Zorba on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 10:40:09 AM EST
    to me for quite some time now.   :-(

    Parent
    respectfully, i have (none / 0) (#6)
    by observed on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 06:26:50 AM EST
    Never felt your analysis to be more off base. Obama call a bluff? Not likely. Also, imo, his call for adult behavior comes off as patronizing and schoolmarmish.
    Yet more spin in the headline (none / 0) (#9)
    by diogenes on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 11:40:49 AM EST
    The headline reads, "Republicans still blocking budget deal".  This sentence from the blog says:
    "Obama should hang tough, refuse further budget cuts, and call Boehner's bluff."

    So hanging tough and refusing budget cuts is not "blocking" a deal?

    Demanding concessions (none / 0) (#10)
    by Harry Saxon on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 02:24:15 PM EST
    isn't "blocking a deal"?:

    Republicans have been pushing to attach non-budget legislation they favor -- such as abolishing funds for Planned Parenthood and curtailing pollution enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- to whatever measure lawmakers agree to in order to keep the government running beyond Friday.

    Click or Democrat Me

    Parent

    call it what it is (none / 0) (#11)
    by diogenes on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 05:54:35 PM EST
    Democrats can block a deal for GOOD reasons, but they're still blocking a deal just as much as Republicans are.

    Parent
    Um, the other side introduces (none / 0) (#12)
    by Harry Saxon on Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 09:16:20 PM EST
    conditions, and refusing to go along with them is
    'blocking' on the part of the Democrats.

    Tell me, doc, if I surprise you on the street from behind and hold a knife to your throat with the demand that you exchange your wallet for its' removal, would you be considered blocking the deal because you refused?

    Thanks as always for the feedback.

    :-)

    Parent

    where's the knife? (none / 0) (#13)
    by diogenes on Fri Apr 08, 2011 at 09:01:21 AM EST
    No knife here.  Also, most sane people, if they really were offered a knife to the throat and a demand for their wallet, would not "block" the deal and would instead hand over the wallet.  You don't have to be a doctor to figure that out.

    Parent
    Cutting funding for Planned Parenthood (none / 0) (#14)
    by Harry Saxon on Fri Apr 08, 2011 at 01:24:37 PM EST
    is the knife, doc.

    Also, most sane people, if they really were offered a knife to the throat and a demand for their wallet, would not "block" the deal and would instead hand over the wallet.  You don't have to be a doctor to figure that out.

    So, the Democrats aren't sane because they refuse to budge on funding PP.

    Thanks for the input.

    Parent

    Republicans Still Blocking Budget Deal | 14 comments (14 topical)

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