This unserious White House
Talks that had been at a standstill may now crumble, thanks to the Geithner-Nabors proposal. The president is boxing in the Republicans—offering them a deal they cannot accept, a deal they can’t even be seen to be treating seriously. Mr. Boehner is legitimately interested in a bargain that will set the country on sounder footing. Yet the most immediate outcome of such an open slap from the White House will be to make even those Republicans who were willing to cut a deal harden their positions. Someone get the White House a copy of “Negotiating Tactics for Dummies.”
Then again, the most frightening aspect of the White House proposal is that it wasn’t an error. Perhaps the proposal was thoroughly calculated. This suggests a president who doesn’t care about the outcome of the cliff negotiations—who thinks that he wins politically no matter what. He’s betting that either the GOP will be far more responsible than he is and do anything to avert a crisis, or that the cliff gives him the tax hikes his partisans are demanding. Win-win, save for the enormous pain to average families across the country.
The Republicans will have to contemplate how to deal with such an unserious offer. But in presenting his demands, the president has now made very clear that there is only one side that is working in good faith.
Blowback
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Oh, they’re completely serious – Saboteurs.
bob77 on November 30, 2012 at 2:18 PM
Dic tators love them some power.
The once free land is now the stupidest. She’s got what she wanted.
Starve the Looters.
Schadenfreude on November 30, 2012 at 2:18 PM
He’s already won reelection… why would he even care about how it hurts the middle class?
behiker on November 30, 2012 at 2:21 PM
“Who you gonna blame? Me the guy spending your money and raising your taxes or the guys for cutting spending and cutting taxes?”
Why do we accept that Americans will blame the Republicans? Why aren’t the Koch bros and Rove running commercials in every Blue state to explain how this is President Obama’s fault? We need to get on the offensive.
DeathtotheSwiss on November 30, 2012 at 2:23 PM
Like this is a new development? Boehner put $800 billion in new taxes over 10 years on the table in 2011 when he was negotiating with Obama and had the deal sabotaged by Barry who made a calculated move to run against a do-nothing Congress and the evil rich Mitt Romney who most expected at the time would be the GOP nominee. Politically it worked out perfectly for Barry.
The problem this time is I’m not sure how big of a political gain there is for Obama and Dems to let us go over the cliff. If the endgame is to get the GOP to cave, I suppose that might pan out. But if he’s trying to sink the Republicans’ poll numbers even further, that might happen, but does he seriously think he and his party won’t get any of the blame if we end up in another deep recession?
Doughboy on November 30, 2012 at 2:24 PM
The White House et all…they are all crooks.
Potentates pay them all off, right in front of your eyes.
Schadenfreude on November 30, 2012 at 2:26 PM
From the first comment I read at the link.
Any questions?
JPeterman on November 30, 2012 at 2:29 PM
bho does not give a flying flit about dealing! All bho is doing is stalling, making the r’s look hateful/nasty/don’t care about anyone but the rich, so bho will just let the US go to he!! before he caves? The r’s get the blame, bhopress tells American citizens the r’s are to blame, and that is the plan from the get go!
L
letget on November 30, 2012 at 2:31 PM
Obama wants a 2013 recession.
He is dead set to destroy the middle class, which stands in his way.
The rest is all bull caca.
Schadenfreude on November 30, 2012 at 2:35 PM
I meant “accept” not as in “understanding reality” but succumbing to the thinking that we have to let it go just because the issue isn’t polling well.
I say, don’t accept the idea that we can’t still win this argument and put the blame where it belongs. If we don’t try, we can only blame ourselves when we lose.
DeathtotheSwiss on November 30, 2012 at 2:40 PM
letget on November 30, 2012 at 2:31 PM
Yep the Dems are looking down the road for total control of all branches of government. They are going to do whatever it takes to make Republicans the scape goats of everything bad happening to the economy no matter how sound the Republican proposals.
It is a sad state of affairs we find ourselves in and we have ill-informed voters to thank for that.
rsherwd65 on November 30, 2012 at 2:44 PM
‘Toon of the Day: Obama’s Balanced Approach
Resist We Much on November 30, 2012 at 2:50 PM
Jim Nabors?
Well, GOLLLLLL-EEEEEE Sarge!
UltimateBob on November 30, 2012 at 3:01 PM
The Republicans just need to accept that whatever the outcome of the negotiations, anything bad that occurs as a result will be blamed on them.
The MSM adores Obama, and it will never lay the blame at his feet. Even if it means engaging in a cover-up, as with Benghazi.
Krauthammer is right. Just walk away, let the boy-king do as he likes, chips fall where they may.
It’s what the country voted for, and that’s not only the R’s best argument, it’s their only argument.
Meredith on November 30, 2012 at 3:02 PM
This is more Community Organizing and Alinsky-style tactics from Obama. A good Alinskyite never negotiates in good faith. He shocks the other side with a completely unreasonable demand that he knows is not acceptable, and keeps doing this until the opposition simply wears down and gives him what he really wants.
In this case, what Obama really wants is a split in the GOP over a small tax increase, which he thinks Democrats can ride to a huge victory in the midterms. After that there will be no negotiations necessary.
Note that the success of this strategy depends on not only the Republicans folding on the tax increase, but the party splitting over it. The first may be inevitable, but the second is not.
rockmom on November 30, 2012 at 3:51 PM
This is quite the openly mocking cartoonish SADsministration. Would somebody, pleez, hand Wile E. Obamuh the anvil and push him over the edge already.
stukinIL4now on November 30, 2012 at 4:12 PM
It’s not just a question of who will be blamed, but when. Congress will be blamed, and the Republicans especially, just as you say. But the biggest question is who will be blamed at the next election, and that is not necessarily the same answer.
That is, Democrats in the Senate may be able to escape blame initially, but if no deal happens and the economy goes sour, there are a whole lot of Senate Democrats who could still pay a political price at the next election.
We need to distinguish between the President and the Senate. The president can afford to ignore negative consequences for years to come, but the Senate is vulnerable. If the House can claim the Senate isn’t serious — and 3 years without a budget should make that easy –then the Senate can easily flip back to Republican control in a couple of years.
Bottom line: it’s a political battle, and too many Republicans are not even in the fight.
tom on November 30, 2012 at 4:18 PM
Just remember, the only reason why Obama can get away with his dangerous games is because the media is a big part of it all. The media will guarantee that no matter what happens, no matter how decrepit Obama’s behavior is, he will always come out on top and never pay a price.
OxyCon on November 30, 2012 at 5:55 PM