[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

I have to be the fly in the ointment here, it took a minute to find this: 19 Different Polls Show That Americans Support Tax Increases To Cut Deficit (July 1, 2011, Politics USA) Why the change in poll results from last year? Last year NO-ONE was talking about cutting entitlements and relating taxes to cuts in those. Now when ya talk about protecting medicare from cuts, the polls on raising taxes look difference.

Here is Ann Couter's analysis. If the voters are going to punish the GOP for a frontal assault on entitlements, give Obama a poison pill to eat.

Democrats are at an advantage in the "should the U.S. go bankrupt or not?" debate because, based on their economic policies so far, they obviously favor bankruptcy. This allows them to sit back and demand that Republicans propose all the spending cuts and then turn around and scream that Republicans have declared war on the poor and disadvantaged.... But now, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has checkmated the Democrats. He has proposed a bill that will allow Obama to raise the debt ceiling three times, up to $2.4 trillion, over the next 18 months, but only provided Obama proposes equivalent cuts in spending each time. Finally, the Democrats will be forced to pony up spending cuts -- or default on the debt and crash the economy.

[stephenjohnbanker]

We shall see. I don’t buy it.

1) Obama will spend whatever he wants, and demand more.

2) the cuts will be phony

[sickoflibs]

I was wondering when someone would post the merits/ a positive perspective on this.

But doesnt Obama get to raise the debt ceiling unless a vote in congress blocks it which they cant do without the Senate? And what about the spending cuts? All he has to do is propose some cuts since he cant actually cut spending?

So lets say he raises the limit but cheats on the proposed cuts as he does on other things? Who get’s the fallout? Or he proposes cuts in things he knows congress wont cut? Who gets the blame for the deficit? How about those tea party folks?

Just my job to play devil's advocate

[sickoflibs]

RE :”Here is Ann Couter’s analysis. If the voters are going to punish the GOP for a frontal assault on entitlements, give Obama a poison pill to eat.”

Ann is a smart woman and she realizes that Republicans are losing the message war with Obama and that getting blamed for the checks not going out etc would destroy the Republican party. Not everyone understands how this works.

This surrender plan may be better for the them than a worst case (debt related) scenario but it would still be a complete disaster for them if they were forced to do it.

Obama is playing this out perfectly for his 2012 re-election campaign. He was on TV again today talking about how he STILL wants a big deficit reduction deal, even though he knows there is NO chance of it happening. He is talking to voters. Yes, he has created a visual-narrative where he and Pelosi have put $4T of spending cuts (all a made up bluff) on the table for deficit reduction and Republicans are rejecting it to protect a few billion in ‘tax loopholes to the rich ’ that would go away in the Ryan plan anyway. And Republicans plan 'B' is to walk away with no cuts and Obama gets all the money he wants as long as he ‘ proposes ‘ spending cuts, with no enforcement mechanism.

So today he is on TV lecturing against those that put politics and ideology ahead of America as he plays the best political game, And now every single liberal Democrat that would NEVER really support the proposed ‘bluff’ spending cuts, is out there on TV claiming they are for them.