Barack Obama’s first proposed FY 2012 budget was so ridiculous that it was voted down 97-0 in the Senate. Since then democrats have offered absolutely nothing concrete with regard to either the budget or the debt ceiling.
Now as money is running short, democrats are getting frantic about “default.” But they are more concerned with something other than default.
They are more concerned with the 2012 election than anything else.
Over the The Hill Obama flack Sam Youngman tried to convince us that Barack Obama no longer is responsible for the country:
This weekend’s turn of events have shifted the responsibility of raising the debt ceiling and reducing the deficit to Congress — and away from President Obama.
That’s amusing on many levels, but will prove costly for democrats. Neither Obama nor any democrats have offered a plan. Up to now all they have offered is criticism. The Senate voted down the only plan that was offered- a plan that supported by Americans 2 to 1.
Democrats, while whining about a lack of bipartisanship, have offered to compromise on nothing. Anyone with a lick of sense agrees that spending has to be cut- it’s not an option. The disagreement is about taxes and in that democrats offer no compromise. It’s tax increases or nothing.
Now democrats are sensing the erosion of their positions. They have offered nothing. Barack Obama has no plan, Harry Reid has no plan, Nancy Pelosi has no plan. How can they claim that a potential default is the responsibility of Republicans when they have offered absolutely nothing?
From within this cauldron a truth has risen. This fight is really not about default- it is now about the 2012 election.
The stories began to fly:
Obama Says No Short-Term Deal On Federal Debt
Then Obama sends Turbo Tax Timmy Geithner out to reiterate the postion:
Geithner: Deal must remove default threat through 2012 election
Geithner confirmed that the White House has been changing the deal all along:
GEITHNER: You know the ways negotiations work, Chris, nothing is done until everything is done.
As the WSJ points out, Obama had no interest in deficit reduction at all until recently:
Then again, it has long been clear that Mr. Obama isn’t interested in spending reform. In February he proposed a budget that spent more than any in U.S. history. In April he demanded that Congress pass a “clean” debt ceiling hike that included no spending cuts whatsoever. Only after House Republicans unveiled their own sweeping budgetary reforms did the White House rush to also claim it wanted deficit reduction as part of the debt-ceiling debate.
And they also see through Obama’s flim-flammery:
In June, the President dispatched Joe Biden to negotiate spending cuts, only to have the White House insist at the last minute that modest trims be accompanied by significant new taxes. Mr. Boehner and the Senate’s bipartisan Gang of Six produced plans that would have acceded to that White House demand in exchange for substantive tax reform that would have lowered individual and corporate rates. Yet last week the White House backtracked on its agreement for the lower tax rates and demanded another $400 billion in tax revenues above the $800 billion the Speaker had already conceded.
But as the deadline approaches (and that deadline keeps moving too) things are getting so desperate that Harry Reid is actually threatening to do his job:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Sunday he is drafting a $2.7 trillion deficit reduction package that would raise the debt ceiling through 2012 after he said talks on a bipartisan deal “broke down” again with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
But again, only as cover for the 2012 election.
It is clear that democrats see this issue as a tiger trap during the 2012 elections. John Boehner should grant the President a clean debt ceiling vote- for enough to last about a year. George Bush faced seven debt ceiling votes, so asking Obama to face another one next year is neither onerous nor unreasonable. The public will see the offer of a clean vote.
Under no circumstances should any vote provide cover for democrats through the next election. That would be stupid. Boehner should put the clean vote on the table and present it to Obama and the democrats.
Let Obama veto it. Let him veto a clean vote. Call his bluff.
Let the Senate democrats refuse a clean vote.
Then we’ll see who blames who.
It’s the best of all worlds.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.