Oh, that wily Obama.

[kstewart33]

The full extent of the budget deal reached late Friday did not become clear until today "after congressional aides worked all weekend and all day Monday to shape a detailed spending plan based on the framework that Obama and congressional leaders agreed to Friday," the Washington Post reports.

"In several cases, what look like large reductions are actually accounting gimmicks."

National Journal: "The specifics show that finding nearly $40 billion in cuts during the 2011 fiscal year required clever accounting and, for the White House, a willingness to concede on rhetoric to find gains on substance. For example, the final cuts in the deal are advertised as $38.5 billion less than was appropriated in 2010, but after removing rescissions, cuts to reserve funds and reductions in mandatory spending programs, discretionary spending will be reduced only by $14.7 billion."

Source: http://politicalwire.com/

[dkf]

1. Is it really a triumph that we fool the American people into thinking there were more cuts than in

reality.

Why trust a cheater or a liar or a misleader?

This is a huge mistake and the Republicans will want their pound of flesh.

[ClassWarrior]

2. Good point. It continues to advance the meme that cutting for cutting's sake is good. How about...

...standing up for Democratic values and saying NO instead?

NGU.

[sharp_stick]

6. Yes because

saying no allows you to remain on the moral high ground while the economy falls back into the fucking shitter. At least we stood up for ourselves without resorting to accounting techniques. I feel good while the layoffs start up again during the shutdown.

[phleshdef]

8. Because values don't mean a damn thing to fed workers who just got furlowed because of a shutdown.

If your interepretation of Democratic values is to allow all the serious inconveniences that would occur to come to pass during a jobs recession, because of a government shutdown, when you could have otherwise avoided it with a minimal amount of pain, then your values aren't worth very much.

[sharp_stick]

4. HA HA HA HA HA

because this time the pukes were going to play nice if Obama didn't get something out of them of course.

I'm trying to figure out if you're pissy that Obama managed to get the budget deal with a lighter than expected bunch of cuts or if you're pissy because you're afraid of what the republicans might do later?

The pukes knew all about the accounting tricks, they have one or two accountants in their ranks that were in on it. They agreed to this because it makes it look like they got something for their base.


The gymnastics that you have to go through to remain in a perpetual state of disapproval are amusing.

[Whisp]

10. I think that poster is dissapointed that funding for sick children isn't being cut

because Obama did some shifty bookkeeping to fool the Repugs.

[ProSense]

5. No,

we only have to fool the Republicans.

The federal budget is a huge and complex document. The allocations are likely wrought with monies that will never be spent and a lot of wasteful spending. There is nothing wrong with making the appropriate adjustments when Republican/teabaggers start throwing out arbitrary numbers.

Ryan's proposal to cut $6.7 trillion is a perfect example. As ridiculous as it is, there are people falling all over themselves to give it credibility.

[phleshdef]

7. If thats what has to be done to work around a tea bagger house and keep government running...

...then I really don't care. If America didn't want to deal with the possibility of shit like that going down, then we shouldn't have given them a majority last election, end of story. Luckily President Obama leans toward the interest of cutting as little from social programs as he can get away with, otherwise, we as a people might actually have to suffer the full consequences of that poorly thought out election decision.

[patrice]

3. Anybody know what "recisions" are? nt

[Solomon]

9. LOL Obama can't win no matter what he does.

If he doesn't watch it, he's going to really piss off democrats by doing something really good for us.