GOP holding out for their BFD
by digby
If President Obama has agreed in principle to cut entitlements, over howls of protests from members of his party, what are Republicans prepared to offer that amounts to similar political risk in their own party.
Here’s what they’ve settled on: We’ll agree to raise the debt limit!
At his weekly press availability House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said the key Republican concession is “the fact that we are voting — the fact that we are even discussing voting for a debt ceiling increase.” He claimed this was a significant move. “What I don’t think the White House understands is how difficult it is for fiscal conservatives to say they’re going to vote to pay for a debt ceiling increase.”
Just before leaving for the White House, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) also told reporters that a “balanced” approach is one where Obama agrees to the GOP’s fiscal framework and Republicans agree to prevent a default.
“Most Americans would say that a balanced approach is a simple one: the administration gets its debt limit increase, and the American people get their spending cuts,” Boehner said.
The glaring problem with this interpretation is that Republican leaders have admitted that raising the debt ceiling is imperative — not an arbitrary policy preference of the President’s.
Well yes. But why should they give up real anything at this point when they are still getting so much without it?
I would imagine they will end up agreeing to something like a firm promise to talk about “tax reform” in the very near future or a trigger mechanism down the road to require some subsidies to expire if certain deficit targets aren’t met. But at this point, with the President publicly jumping on the third rail without getting anything in return and agreeing that huge cuts will have a positive effect on the economy, they have little reason to end this until the last minute. Since the President has already announced that he is willing to hugely cut spending, as they demanded, they will now say that just like all Democrats he’s the one who’s willing to tank the economy rather than give up his socialist dream of raising taxes in an economic slump. After all, raising taxes is all they’re arguing about.
And who knows what goodies they can still squeeze out of them?
Update: By the way, there is talk of the whole thing falling apart and going back to a clean vote. It is most fervently to be hoped that it happens.
But unfortunately, the Democrats rhetorically gave away their position as protectors of the New Deal and it’s hard to see how they get that back. Still, giving it away rhetorically is better than signing it away in reality, so thank heaven for small favors if that’s how this ends.
Update: Mark Thoma is very shrill.
Update II: I see that Boehner says the debt ceiling is “Obama’s problem.” Funny guy.
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