President Obama To Congressional Leaders: “Pull Off The Bandaid; Eat Your Peas”

Posted on July 11, 2011 by rikyrah

 

 

 

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17 Responses to President Obama To Congressional Leaders: “Pull Off The Bandaid; Eat Your Peas”

  1. Auto 5 says:
    July 12, 2011 at 9:13 pm

    Oh my God. When Barack Obama took office we were at the brink of a total economic collapse, and mired in two wars. Because he didn’t snap his fingers and create a Utopian society overnight he’s the worst President in history. Are you kidding me? Clinton left office not needing to raise the debt ceiling in his last two years because we had a surplus. After the Bush tax cuts, Bush raised the debt ceiling seven times.
    How do republicans twist the facts to put the blame squarely, and solely, on Obama?

    Reply
  2. Ametia says:
    July 12, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Editorial
    Ideology Trumps Economics
    Published: July 11, 2011

    There is a huge gap in logic at the heart of the Republican intransigence on a debt-ceiling deal, and President Obama helped to illuminate it on Monday

    The party claims, as an article of faith, if not evidence, that the government’s growing debt is the reason for persistent unemployment and economic stagnation. And yet Republicans are spurning the president’s compromise offers to reduce that debt by trillions over the next decade because he is sensibly insisting that any deal include some increase in tax revenue.

    “Where are they?” Mr. Obama asked at his news conference. “I mean, this is what they claim would be the single biggest boost to business certainty and confidence. So what’s the holdup?”

    The holdup, of course, is that Republicans are far more committed to the ideological goals of cutting government and taxes than they are committed to cutting the deficit. They rejected several compromise offers by the White House, even though any revenue increases would be far outweighed by spending cuts.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/opinion/12tue1.html?_r=1&hp

    Reply
  3. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 11, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    A Conservative Spins Out The GOP’s Debt Endgame

    http://www.npr.org/2011/07/11/137772382/a-conservative-spins-out-the-gops-debt-endgame?sc=tw&cc=share

    As stop-and-start debt ceiling negotiations between President Obama and Republican leaders continue, longtime Capitol Hill conservative Steve Bell predicts that the two sides will strike a “mediocre,” no-new-taxes-now deal before Aug. 2.

    But he also suggests that his party may pay the price at the ballot box next year for its insistence on protecting tax cuts for the nation’s highest earners.

    Bell, who served many years on the staff of Sen. Pete Domenci (R-NM), including a stint as staff director of the Senate Budget Committee, now heads the Economic Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. He also spent a decade as a managing director with the Wall Street investment bank then known as Salomon Brothers.

    In an interview with NPR, Bell talked about the economic realities he believes the nation will face if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling. And he argues that Obama has appeared to be the “adult parent” in the negotiations. Excerpts:

    Liz Halloran: Republicans have been citing polls that show Americans are not convinced that raising the debt ceiling is an imperative. The president says he believes that if the question were asked differently he could get a majority to say it is. What does seem undeniable is that Americans are, frankly, bewildered. So let’s start with this: Do you believe that increasing the nation’s borrowing capacity by the Aug. 2 deadline is an economic imperative, and why?

    Steve Bell: Absolutely. Here’s one example: We have 1.9 million government civilian employees. Our analysis has found that in the absence of a debt ceiling increase, more than half will lose their jobs overnight. That money is money you can stop paying. What is happening in Minnesota will happen here in spades. This is not a disagreement like last year’s debate about the continuing resolution to keep government running. When the United States government issues all this debt, people trust it. They believe it’s going to be paid back on time and in full. That reliability means they consider our debt the most riskless thing they can invest in. By not doing a debt increase, or doing it badly, it looks like we won’t be as reliable in the future. There will be higher interest rates; it will cost the country jobs and prolong the recession.

    excerpt:~

    Bell: I think the president’s played it very well. His press conference [Monday] was a damn masterpiece. When your enemy is tying a noose, leave them alone. Republicans have yelled and screamed and carried on. They have a budget they’re trying to run away from. All the talk about repealing health care legislation is fading out. And the talk about repeal of Dodd-Frank? Ninety-nine percent of Americans don’t know what it is. This is the defining discussion now, and there will be a referendum on it in 2012. If Republicans have to run on a platform of no changes in rich folks’ tax cuts, versus Obama saying working men and women are hurting? You don’t have to be a genius to figure that one out.

    Reply
  4. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 11, 2011 at 6:13 pm

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line

    * The readout on the meeting provided by Republicans includes this tense exchange between Obama and John Boehner:

    BOEHNER: It’s clear to all of us how big this spending problem is. Congress keeps voting for programs we can’t pay for. But look, entitlement cuts aren’t easy for us to vote for either. Our guys aren’t cheerleading about cutting entitlements.

    OBAMA: Your guys already voted for them [in the Ryan budget].

    BOEHNER: Excuse us for trying to lead

    Reply
  5. aquagranny911 says:
    July 11, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    I do! He’s so got this!

    Reply

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