Republicans bail on budget talks, blame Democrats

AP/YahooNews ^ | 6/23/11 | DAVID ESPO

[Kartographer]

Republicans pulled out of debt-reduction talks led by Vice President Joe Biden with a flourish on Thursday, blaming Democrats for demanding tax increases as part of a deal rather than accepting more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicare and other government programs.

"Let me be clear: Tax hikes are off the table," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

[Kartographer]

Well, well, well have the House Republicans grown a pair or are they just renting?

[fwdude]

I’d go with renting. And by the hour.

[EGPWS]

"Let me be clear: Tax hikes are off the table," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Maybe they will be introduced via paper plane and land on the floor?

[glorgau]

Not a single mention of any specific cuts yet.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

To date, it’s all accounting tricks by both sides. The WSJ had an article on Monday.

[OrangeHoof]

Renting. But it will be interesting to see if Republicans fight back against this “sabotaging the economy” smear that is the latest Dem projection/talking point.

If I were a GOP leader I would ask them:

1) Where’s *your* budget and
2) What makes you think that tiny, temporary tax cuts are going to get us to agree to massive spending increases?

[Drill Thrawl]

Well, well, well have the House Republicans grown a pair or are they just renting?

Neither, Boehner is just preening. He is making it look like he put up a fight but "for the good of the country" we just had to raise taxes to get a debt increase through. He only needs enough RINOs to go with the Rats to get the vote. Count on it.

[dools0007world]

In the absense of any demonstration of meaningful backbone so far, I agree with your Boehner assessment. All the man has done since the demrats lost the house is facilitate their damage control.

I do not believe a word Boehner utters. He’s given me no reason to do otherwise.

[arista]

The GOP needs to make it clear to the Dems what the terms of the debate are. Obama and the Democrats are the ones who have come begging to the GOP for an increase in the debt ceiling. To get an increase in the debt ceiling, they need GOP votes, especially in the House.

The House Republicans will not vote for a clean debt ceiling increase, but they might consider voting for a piece of legislation that increased the debt ceiling and also cuts spending, and contains other reforms.

The Democrats needs to ask themselves: What can we put in this bill that will get Republicans to vote for it?" and forget about adding garbage like new taxes or spending increases, because those things will make the GOP less likely to vote for it, not more likely.

[yup2394871293]

Just renting. They should be thinking of new ways tighten the thumbscrews on Obama and his toadies in congress.

[lodi90]

“Boehner is just preening. He is making it look like he put up a fight.”

This is trash. I am no fan of Boehner and McConnell but they finally stood their ground and told Barry to stop the jive. Now zero is on the clock and 2012 is in the balance. We need to back the Republicans 100% on this because they are about to get carpet bombed by the dims and MSM.

[SkyPilot]

Not a single mention of any specific cuts yet."

They have to cut Entitlements.

Period.

And they won't.

Period.

They will cut here and there, or not at all. They will promise cuts "over 10 years" and more kick the can down the road rhetoric. They will probably raid the Federal pension fund some more, and then cut Fed salaries again by demanding more contribution to said fund. That will make the seething Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security beneficiary happy that they are cutting tenths of pennies on the debt and deficit, instead of touching what is "theirs."

Meanwhile, Illegal Aliens will make out like bandits. People on unemployment for over 2 years will probably still collect. Food stamp dollars will increase even more. Minorities will get "free" mortgages.

Last year, 30,000 blacks in Atlanta nearly rioted over Section 8 housing applications.

If food stamps and welfare were even touched, what do you think would happen in the inner cities? I'll tell you what I believe would happen: Democrats and "civil rights" leaders would call for riots, just as Maxine "Kerosene" Waters once did.

And then......it will all collapse. The whole shebang. The dollar. Treasury bills. The stock market.

Everything.

The only question is......when?

Who knows. But at this rate, it won't be long.

[wiggen]

Saw your name. Listening to that song by the Animals right now.

[ilovesarah2012]

But he played golf with Obama. That shows he is serious about the budget, right?

[Tzimisce]

Raise taxes?

That’s the Democrat plan?

[ColdOne]

Renting!

[RKBA Democrat]

“Well, well, well have the House Republicans grown a pair or are they just renting?”

Neither. This is just posturing for the sake of appearances. Note that the weeper hasn’t done anything. It was the weeper’s pet weasel, Eric, who walked out. With adequate drama for the TV cameras.

Don’t worry. The gop will figure out a way to capitulate soon enough.

[plain talk]

Tax hikes are off the table. There should only be negotiations on the level and timing of cuts. Republicans have to negotiate on cuts because they do not have the numbers but they really don’t have to budge on tax cuts. Obama owns this.

[Forty-Niner]

“But he played golf with Obama.”

Depends on who won and whether or not there was any sandbaging going on......

[yup2394871293]

The GOP needs to make it clear to the Dems what the terms of the debate are.

Change the rules for drawing up budgets. Make it impossible to call anything other than a true cut in spending over the previous fiscal year a "cut". Then cut all across the board. Entitlements are too hard to cut? Then make even bigger cuts to discretionary spending. But conservative office holders may not really be hearing this.