Obama Drops the Hammer on Republicans and Pulls Back His Last Fiscal Cliff Proposal

[Tx4obama]

Obama Drops the Hammer on Republicans and Pulls Back His Last Fiscal Cliff Proposal

After House Republicans imploded over their own Plan B, President Obama took away much of his previous proposal by calling for Republicans to get their act together and cut taxes on the 98% right now.

Obama said he met them on taxes and he met them more than halfway on spending, The president said he is still committed to working towards the goal of making a deal, but in 10 days we are facing a deadline. The president then reiterated his call for Congress to immediately extend the Bush tax cuts for the 98%. He said he spoke to both Boehner and Reid, and he is asking them to extend the tax cuts for the 98% and extend unemployment benefits. Obama said, “Governing is a shared responsibility between both parties…everybody’s got to give a little bit in a sensible way. We move forward together, or we don’t move forward at all.”

The president turned up the heat by asking members of Congress to think about their obligations to the people that they serve over Christmas. President Obama said, “We’re going to have find some common ground.” He said the challenge is that the American people are much more sensible, responsible, and willing to compromise than the people they elected.

Underneath all the nice language about compromise, President Obama pulled back any sort of cuts that he had offered in his previous proposal by urging Republicans and Democrats to pass a tax cut extension for the 98%. In other words, that $400,000 income cutoff for the tax cut extension is gone, and we are back to $250,000. In fact, the President appeared to take all spending cuts off the table.

Obama’s call for congressional leadership to put spending cuts on the shelf and cut taxes for the 98% is exactly what he has wanted all along. Republicans blew their once chance at a deal, and now it looks like they can kiss any immediate entitlement cuts goodbye. It would surprise no one if Republicans reject what the president put on the table today, but the president is making House Republicans pay a price for their incompetence by cutting his offer.

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.politicususa.com/obama-drops-hammer-republicans-pulls-fiscal-cliff-proposal.html

Bolding is mine.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Good for him.

The ball is now in the Republicans' court.

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. So, it really looks like we're gonna go over? That's disappointing, but the Prez has tried. nt

[PoliticAverse]

34. They'll be back at it after Christmas. n/t

[monmouth3]

3. Many on DU will be disappointed...n/t

[NNN0LHI]

11. Lol

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_of9ue2vob2g/SwYdRpm9riI/AAAAAAAALIU/mIJ0WhNrxXs/s400/eat+crow.jpg

[geckosfeet]

31. Like who? Anyone particular in mind? Or just projecting.

[JDPriestly]

32. And many will say, serves Republicans right.

The military expenditures will be cut. That is something they don't want.

[Ligyron]

4. That's what it looks like to me.

back to 250K and below and go over the cliff.

Then it's their fault -- which it always was anyway.

We'll live

[Cha]

5. Thank you, Jason Easley, and Tx!

[appacom]

6. Obama got game. Never doubted he knew

what he was doing for a moment.

[Chemisse]

24. My sentiments exactly.

This is a big relief.

[JDPriestly]

33. I suspect that Republicans got the same calls from seniors and their kids

about the cuts to Social Security that the Democrats did.

It is possible that the Republicans did not want to cut Social Security in the end.

[pnwmom]

37. Would you feel the same if your unemployment benefits were going to expire on Jan. 1?

[democrattotheend]

43. Tell that to people who face losing their unemployment, or workers who could lose their jobs

If we go into another recession.

I am not saying a bad deal is necessarily better than going over, but callous attitudes like that really bug me. A lot of people will be hurt if we go over the cliff, some in a much more immediate and hard-hitting way than the impact of having SS go up less over time.

[taught_me_patience]

47. So you're willing to let the country go into recession

hurting millions of middle class americans to avoid a miniscule cut to those that would be almost unharmed by that very disaster? How progressive of you! (or should I say... how selfish of you...?)

[Cosmocat]

8. I would hope to christ he did

nm

[AnotherMcIntosh]

9. So, according to someone's interpretation, he's taken SS cuts off the table once again?

If he didn't keep insisting upon SS cuts, the self-appointed Obama spokesmen would have more credibility when claiming, eg, that

"President Obama pulled back any sort of cuts that he had offered in his previous proposal "

[bahrbearian]

14. That doesn't sound like they said anything about the CPI ?

[forestpath]

15. Here's what Obama said that couldn't pertain to anything but SS:

"As of today, I am still ready and willing to get a comprehensive package done. I still believe that reducing our deficit is the right thing to do for the long-term health of our economy and the confidence of our businesses. I remain committed to working towards that goal, whether it happens all at once or whether it happens in several different steps "

So he's going to need a lot of hammers.

[heaven05]

21. no

nothing here related to SS.

[forestpath]

27. Yes.

That's he means when he talks about the deficit. But keep your head in the sand.

[bloomington-lib]

22. He'll get that SS cut. Probably as soon as he originally wanted it, but if not, next time.

I do not read anything implying that he's fighting or even wants to keep SS from getting cuts.

[heaven05]

42. and

I'm not reading anything with my President saying he is going to cut SSI. Keep sharpening those knives Quislings. Brutus is envious in his grave of ALL you folks. He knows he taught you well.

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. I wouldn't be surprised ...

if the main features of the deal are:

U/C extension
cut-off at $500K
and no sequestor
with a promise to look at spending later

This deal I could live with ... but I suspect it'll still upset many here because "He promised $250K!"

Further, I think all the calls for bi-partisanship from Democratic leaders is to pick off about 24 gopers.

[Skraxx]

35. I'd Try To Sweeten It With Some Stimulus In Return for A Reduction In The Military Sequestration

But that's just me.

[1StrongBlackMan]

36. That'll work. n/t

[EmeraldCityGrl]

12. Any tax burden on those under $250'000 can

be retroactively corrected after we go over the cliff. Obama can't play nice with these
fools. They know once they go over they are in a much weaker position. Nice move.

[subterranean]

25. Yes, and then it can be framed as a tax cut for 100% of taxpayers

since even billionaires will pay less on their first $250,000 of earnings. It will be interesting to see the Republicans opposing that.

[ThoughtCriminal]

13. Looks like GOP leadership needs to negotiate with Democrats

instead of Tea-bagger extremists.

[Honeycombe8]

16. Why didn't he delineate the cuts he had offered?

Boehner said the White House has done nothing toward negotiating. The jerk tea partier on M Joe this morning said there were immediate cuts in Boehner's Plan B or the White House proposal....except for some things for the future.

These things need to be addressed, so that the public is CLEAR that the White House has done what Obama claims: gone more than halfway, and included cuts in his proposal.

[bpositive]

17. I said he should have

Done this last night - but today is just fine. Fuck the republicans!

[Aldo Leopold]

18. Totally saw this coming.

Just as a smart lawyer never asks a question he/she does not already know the answer to, a smart negotiator never makes a "conciliatory offer" he/she knows will compromise their true objective.

[railsback]

19. To all of those calling my hypothesis 'shit'...

here's your 'shit' back at you.

[heaven05]

20. I

knew he heard us about the 'entitlement' cuts. NO!

[JEB]

23. OK for the tax rates

but what about SS and the Chained CPI cuts?

[Harriety]

26. Going over the fiscal bump soon. Ye ha!

[Enrique]

28. the parts in bold are in Jason Easley's imagination

as is the hammer. He told them to have egg nog and enjoy their families, which is fine with me. It was a perfectly good statement by Obama, no need for imaginary hammers.

[raquel69]

29. "Might as well Jump"

LOL!

[valerief]

30. And it's our job to get pissed and gripe when he brings out any spending cuts.

We're all doing our jobs.

Except for the freakin' Congress.

[DFW]

38. My sister sent me this yesterday. It pertains to what you posted

A WISH TO LIVE FOREVER


I met a fairy who said she would grant me one wish.

Immediately I said, "I want to live forever."

"Sorry," said the fairy, "I'm not allowed to grant eternal life."

"OK," I said, "Then, I want to die after Congress gets its head out of its ass!"

"You crafty bastard," said the fairy.

[valerief]

40. Ha! Good one! nt

[UCmeNdc]

39. Good for him!

[WhoWoodaKnew]

41. I think it's just a game

that both sides are playing. These kinds of things always get done dramatically at the 11th hour. And the cliff isn't a cliff. It's a temporary period until the politicians get enough heat to make a deal.

[democrattotheend]

44. I agree

I just hope the GOP wants a deal even more than the president does so that they will be the ones who give in.

[taught_me_patience]

46. Any offer that was once on the table can be back on the table

whether you're buying a DVD at Best Buy, a car, or negotiating budgets at the federal level.