Posted on 07/31/2011 4:21:56 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
By all accounts, it looks like a deal is about to be announced in which the debt ceiling is hiked in exchange for the promise of major spending cuts, including to entitlements, totalling at least $2.4 trillion.
Anything can happen, but it apppears the GOP is on the verge of pulling off a political victory that may be unprecedented in American history. Republicans may succeed in using the threat of a potential outcome that they themselves acknowledged would lead to national catastrophe as leverage to extract enormous concessions from Democrats, without giving up anything of any significance in return.
Not only that, but Republicans — in perhaps the most remarkable example of political up-is-downism in recent memory — cast their willingness to dangle the threat of national crisis as a brave and heroic effort they’d undertaken on behalf of the national interest. Only the threat of national crisis could force the immediate spending cuts supposedly necessary to prevent a far more epic crisis later.
Under the emerging deal, President Obama can hike the debt limit in two stages — the first in exchange for equivalent cuts; the second after a Congressional committee comes up with second round of yet more cuts, including to entitlements. The talks appear close to resolving the spending cut“trigger” that would force the committee to act — without giving the GOP an incentive to deliberately sabotage its work. The remaining question is how to get it through the House. But a deal seems immiment.
Again and again, Dems drew lines in the sand that they promptly erased as the threat of default grew. A clean debt ceiling hike? Dropped. Cuts to Medicare benefits? They’ll likely be in that committee’s crosshairs. The insistence on revenue hikes? Withdrawn.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Quite a few are choking the revenue side by going Galt.
No government agencies will be ended.
We are as gullable as the GOP leaders we mock for believing the Democrats.
We had control of the Government and spending INCREASED.
this is a plausible scenario under which the WasPo would write such a glowing article claiming GOP “victory”
they have an agenda, praising a GOP victory is not on that agenda
If the WaPo calls it a deal, we got screwed.
“They are letting the debt lmit be raised passed the election... victory Obama”
This really was the driving issue, not just for Obama, but for Democrats running for office. It’s the main thing they really wanted. That’s why they wouldn’t pass a budget; the side effects were politically toxic for them.
Obama got another 2 trillion dollars to spend, how is that a loss?
Republican excuses: “We can’t cut federal spending right now because __________________________________________ (fill in the blank: “My dog ate my homework,” “My car ran out of gas,” etc. etc.).
If WaPo is saying the pubbies won, I have one word for them, FAIL.
The Com-Post is just angry because the crisis that they have been pushing is not having the results they want, i.e. the Republicans didn’t cave like they always have.
Bingo. Any budget bill that raises the debt ceiling, does not include significant and immediate spending cuts, raises taxes or does not contain an enforceable balanced budget requirement is a defeat for conservatives.
The real question about this so-called “deal” is ... do we as tax payers at least get a Reach-around?
This did not benefit the Dems at all. It was not the Tea Party's dream, for sure, but anyone who thinks the Dems "won" anything on this needs to reexamine.
My case arrives Wednesday.
So the Republicans got the deck chairs arranged the way they wanted, but the Titanic is still sinking. What a great victory.
Like last time, the compromise will be “you the GOP let us win, and in return, we’ll go out telling the world how you whipped us.”
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