Posted on 12/07/2012 1:29:33 PM PST by SeekAndFind
As negotiations on a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" enter the final three weeks, Republicans face a stark reality: The American public continues siding with President Barack Obama and Democrats on issues crucial to any potential deal.
Polls taken over the past month have continually shown that a post-election bump for the President, combined with the relative unpopularity of Republicans, gives Obama a lot of leverage in the debate.
Voters overwhelmingly support the key element of Obama's plan for a deal — raising taxes on incomes above $250,000. They also support blanket entitlement cuts, which is what the GOP wants in a deal. But when asked about specific entitlement reforms, they balk at the options.
Here's a rundown of the GOP's public-opinion problem:
* In the past week, voters appear to be moving even more toward a position that favors raising tax rates on incomes above $250,000. A Thursday Quinnipiac poll found the margin at a whopping 65-31. In a new Associated Press/GfK poll, 48 percent favored eliminating the Bush-era tax cuts on incomes above $250,000.
* Obama has more cards to play with — because if leaders do fail to reach an agreement, the public overwhelmingly says it will blame Republicans by a 53-27 percent margin. This underscores what two big conservatives wrote last week — that Republicans are "screwed" because they don't have much leverage, especially in the court of public opinion.
* What has gone unnoticed in a lot of fiscal-cliff polling is how starkly people come out against any specific entitlement reforms pollsters ask about. For example, in the Quinnipiac poll, people oppose cutting Medicare spending by a 70-25 margin. By a 51-44 margin, they oppose raising the Medicare eligibility age.
* The AP poll shows that voters also "trust" Democrats more on handling Medicare
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
This polling reflects the common tendency for the public to rally to the President when a crisis develops. As the crisis wears on though, the historic pattern is for the President to suffer a fall in standing because the continuation of the crisis itself is seen as a failure of leadership. It is unclear if Boehner and his team are aware of the potential to turn public sentiment in the long run by focusing on spending and gradually eroding Obama’s standing.
The GOP doesn't need the President to agree on a budget-balancing plan; they control the House, and all spending bills must originate in the House.
If the GOP wants a balanced budget, they need to pass a balanced budget - "You've got $2.2 trillion in revenue coming in; here's authorization to spend $2.2 trillion ... take it or leave it".
Presto! Balanced budget! No need to raise the debt limit!
Of course it will be painful - it will lead to years of economic agony.
But there's three choices - amputate the gangrenous toe now, amputate the gangrenous leg a little later on, or die. Which one do you want?
Pick one. "None of the above" is not an option.
Human beings, much like any other animal in nature, respond to strength and power.
The republicans display nothing of the sort. They display the exact opposite. Weakness. Cowardice. They stand for nothing. They do not know how to negotiate from a position of stength, because they do not know what strength is. They are sissies, underdogs, abused spouses.
If one does not lead, then one will not have followers. It is just as simple as that.
They want too much to be liked, and they will not be. Respect and trust are earned. Whether or not someone likes you is not relevent. What is relevent is that your enemies fear you.
I don’t really know any other way to say it, but the republicans do not understand the human psyche at all. They do not know how to relate, they do not know how to play this game, and as a result they are going to be crushed.
Business Insider writers are stooges for Obama and the Rats! Their articles the publish aren’t worth the photons they are written on.
I’m sick of it too. I’m just about ready to jump off a cliff myself. Let them raise taxes and let the chips fall where they may. Like you said, maybe we have to hit rock bottom to get people to think differently.
Social Security and Medicare both need to die.
Social Security can probably be gradually (over a period of 40 or 50 years) phased out.
Medicare needs to die much sooner. It’s been doubling in annual cost every 8 years since 1980. At that rate, in another 16 years, it will consume the entirety of today’s annual budget, and in another 16 years will consume the entire GDP.
I’m sure you realize that’s impossible.
Medicare must be cut drastically. Promises will be broken. There will be much screaming and gnashing of teeth. But, a person cannot expect to pay a few tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare taxes over the course of their working life and then expect to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical coverage for joint replacements, heart-bypass operations and cancer treatments when they retire.
Can’t be done.
The sooner we admit that, the better.
No class warfare. If the Democrats want to raise taxes, they can do it without our votes. Like I said, we’re in for a PR whupping either way.
That’s a very roundabout way of saying: capitulate.
Just last night I watched a repub news conference featuring the dynamic duo Boner and McConnell explaining the ins and outs of the ‘fiscal cliff’, the consequences of the Zer0 plan.
Then I woke up.
It is unclear if Boehner and his team are aware of the potential to turn public sentiment in the long run by focusing on spending and gradually eroding Obama’s standing.
The repubs in Washington and the party leaders, Big John and Mitch in particular are clueless.
I've lost confidence in the ability of the repubs to win an election or run the country.
That idiot Boner is purging the 'young turks'. He's just another inside the beltway politician, a weak one.
As usual, the republicans WILL get the blame too.
Just being realistic. We either deal with rates going up on 2% or we get no deal and rates go up on 100%.
...and they will ONLY improve if the Republicans stick to conservative principals and tell Ubanga to go play in the street. No joke. Most of the "disapprove" votes are from rats who will NEVER vote Republican and the rest of the "disapprove" votes are from disaffected conservatives who figure the GOP will cave and capitulate like weaklings.
Do the math.
instead of screaming to go ahead and tax the rich, it'll make no difference and it'll make it much much worse unless we can slow down the growth of govt from now on...
we need William Wallace and we got Boner...
Bus insider a left being rag
Who cares what this dem
Rag peddles
So be it. Pass a budget and make him veto it. If the Dems want to punish the rich, they’re going to have to punish everyone, and any Republican that goes along with them should be primaried.
The sooner we admit that, the better
We will never admit it. Listen to what I'm saying and write it down: NO politician of either party or any future party will deny so much as $1 in entitlement benefits to any except the very wealthiest constituent. NO one.
All that is going to happen is that we will monetize that debt away, "slowly" at first, and faster and faster as we roll down the crumbling pyramid. The resulting inflation will be a crushing tax on everyone and will grind the poor into dust faster than anyone else.
But politicians will be able to pretend they've "kept their promise to the American people."
The merciless mathematics of Social Security have been obvious since the beginning.
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
They're not insurance programs, because insurance companies invest premiums to afford disbursements from the proceeds. These are welfare programs that are directly funded via payroll taxes.
Expiration of the Bush Tax cuts will increase the average family's actual Federal Income Tax liability (not nominal tax) by about $1200. That is on an average ($48,500) household income. I very seriously doubt that you would see an increase of $1000 on less than $29,000.
The payroll tax increase isn't part of the Bush tax cuts. Those taxes are going up next year, and everyone (with a job who is on a payroll) will see their take home pay reduced.
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