Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the fiscal cliff ordeal was that President Obama engaged in the same type of brinksmanship that has become his hallmark. For the fourth time in two years, he stalled and delayed on critical fiscal policy actions…. Over the next few months, we will reach deadlines related to the debt ceiling, the sequester and the continuing appropriations resolution that has funded federal operations since October. If history is any guide, President Obama won’t see fit to engage congressional Republicans until the 11th hour. In fact, he has already signaled an unwillingness to negotiate over the debt ceiling. This is unacceptable. The president should immediately put forward a plan that addresses these deadlines, and he should launch serious, transparent budget negotiations.
If there’s one thing Congressional Republicans suffer no lack of, it’s chutzpah, with a dollop of hubris on the side. Their Presidential candidate got thumped, and the GOP received a million votes LESS than Democrats in Congressional races…yet Republicans persist in demanding that they, and only they, are entitled to dictate how policy is set in Washington.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s op-ed in the Houston Chronicla is the latest example of how Republicans- who LOST the election- are demanding that the President behave in a manner they find acceptable. In demanding that the President put forward a plan to “bring fiscal sanity to Washington,” Cornyn completely blows past the reality that Republicans LOST in November. They’re in no position to demand the President do anything, yet they continue to display the chutzpah of a party that refuses to recognize that the tide of history isn’t ebbing in their direction.
For years, when a Republican President sat in the White House, Republican Congressman blithely signed off on serial increases in the debt limit, which is arguably an artificial construct under the best of circumstances. They presided over the creation of the largest deficit in this nation’s history. This is particularly notable given that Bill Clinton left office with a balanced budget.
NOW Republicans are demanding fiscal discipline? Really? After presiding over the Bush tax cuts, which created the largest budget deficit in our nation’s history? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The coming deadlines will be the next flashpoints in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to Washington. It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain.
Let’s see if I understand the senior Senator from Texas…. “In order to save the patient, it may be necessary to kill him/her/it.” And while it may be fashionable on the Right to trot out the “America might turn into Greece” fear-mongering, America is not Greece, nor are we in any real danger of becoming Greece. The only way the comparison might come true is through Republican intransigence. The American economy is not encumbered with the sort of structural (e.g.- tax collection) problems native to the Greek economy.
Sen. Cornyn is not the only disturbingly misguided Republican member of Congress. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) seems unable to grasp the mathematical reality that his psrty lost big in November. Instead, he’s being just plain dumb:
“By demanding the power to raise the debt limit whenever he wants by as much as he wants, [President Obama] showed what he’s really after is assuming unprecedented power to spend taxpayer dollars without any limit,” McConnell argued on the Senate floor.
This might come as a surprise to reality-challenged Republicans, but the President isn’t looking for “unprecented power.” He’s simply tired of dealing with pinheads primarily concerned with playing games and bringing government to its knees if they don’t get their way.
Again, the debt limit was never an issue until a Democrat occupied the White House. Now it’s THE SINGLE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR FISCAL FUTURE, and principled Republicans must draw a line in the sand and demand that the President act. The problem with McConnell’s remarks, besides being phenomenally inaccurate and distressingly dumb on a policy level, is that he doesn’t even really seem to understand what the debt ceiling is.
Republicans responsible for the 112th Congress being the least productive and most unpopular Congress in American history are in no position to be demanding things of the President. They’re free to put forward plans if they choose, but that would mean attempting to do something constructive, and it would force them to take positions they’d be held accountable for. No, it’s far easier to obstruct, obfuscate, and scream, “NO!!” at every opportunity.
And they wonder why they’re less popular than Hugo Chavez, Paris Hilton, and the possibility of the U.S. going Communist….
Republicans might not have won in November, but they can certainly ensure that nothing of value is accomplished…which is something they’ll then blame the President for. “If only the President would negotiate….” “We can’t have an imperial Presidency….” “The Presidents owes a duty to lead….” “The President must work with Congress….”
What Republicans refuse to admit is that no President can lead if those he’s trying to get behind him refuse to listen or even acknowledge his moral authority.
And so the 113th Congress looks as if it’s going to follow the path blazed by the 112th…the Road to Nowhere.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
