In cliff talks, Obama on the brink of disaster
The Democrats think they are in a win-win situation. If they bully Republicans into agreeing to raise tax rates before the end of the year, they win — because Democrats get both their new revenue and the self-destruction of the GOP brand as the party of low taxes. If Republicans refuse to cave, Democrats are convinced they still win — because tax rates on the wealthy go up automatically Jan. 1, and they can blame Republicans for any tax increases on the middle class.
This is a major miscalculation. First, their ability to blame the GOP depends on their ability to convince Americans that Republican intransigence is to blame for any failure to reach a year-end deal. But right now, only Democrats are saying they want to go over the cliff. Some — including Schumer and Sen. Patty Murray — are saying so in plain English. With his offer to the GOP last week, President Obama effectively joined the Democratic chorus for fiscal cliff-diving. …
Second, even if Democrats succeed in blaming Republicans, going off the cliff is the political equivalent of a suicide-bombing for President Obama: To damage the GOP, he has to blow himself up in the process. Going over the cliff would likely cause a new recession, which would be a disaster for Obama — killing his chances of accomplishing anything of significance for the remainder of his presidency.
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Sorry, but Jugears passed the brink of disaster years ago. He’s in it up to his eyebrows.
platypus on December 3, 2012 at 9:47 PM
Oh, I’m sure the media will go out of their way to convince us that the Republicans aren’t entirely at fault here.
/just as soon as someone whacks my skull open with a shovel and replaces my brain with some coleslaw.
CurtZHP on December 3, 2012 at 9:54 PM
I’m not sure Obama does want to accomplish anything significant for the rest of his Presidency. He’s got Obamacare already. Slow chipping away at the Constitution is the more likely order of the day.
Waggoner on December 3, 2012 at 9:55 PM
Trying to tell a guy who has been nothing but rewarded for failure that he is on the brink of disaster?
MechanicalBill on December 3, 2012 at 9:55 PM
Not buying it. With a willing media and an idiotic American public at large, he`ll be the poor, suffering King trying to do good. Those Klansmen Rethuglicans will be to blame. We won`t come out of this looking good eitherway it goes.
ThePrez on December 3, 2012 at 9:57 PM
He’s not on the brink of disaster. He’s already shielded much of his voting block from entitlement cuts. He will divide and conquer on the tax increases, but he will be careful not to increase taxes too quickly, lest the frog realizes the water is getting hotter.
DFCtomm on December 3, 2012 at 9:57 PM
I don’t see how anybody could’ve lived through the past four years and still give a conventional political analysis to anything Obama does.
Mark1971 on December 3, 2012 at 10:00 PM
Unless going over that cliff is precisely what he wants to accomplish with his presidency.
sharrukin on December 3, 2012 at 10:01 PM
What part of “I have my pen ready” does Thiessen (pretend to) not understand? If taxes go up for 98%, the blame is squarely on GOP. Obama ran on the platform of keeping it as is for 98% and I understand it’s been a billion years ago and certain people forget, but he won.
As Tea Party downgraded the country their favorability also was downgraded 20 points. If the cuts expire, the already disliked Party of No will take all the blame.
lester on December 3, 2012 at 10:02 PM
Look further. Barky has big plans for us when things go critical, BIG plans, and an actual credible deal to get us away from the edge would screw that up.
Bishop on December 3, 2012 at 10:07 PM
Maybe, but my guess is Obama is trying to score as many political points as possible for the D-rats right now. His Achilles heel is Obamacare because between now and Nov 2014 is when those who refused to believe how bad it is are going to start feeling it.
antipc on December 3, 2012 at 10:12 PM
Just a reminder: Those congressmen won their elections too.
LilyBart on December 3, 2012 at 10:12 PM
this is a weak semi-conventional wisdom piece. Or at least CW as of a week ago. I think CW may now be…time to ‘go over the cliff’
i can’t really even watch the theater anymore…leftists have warped the language so much that there’s no hint of the truth. The 10 year timeframes for budgeteers was a brilliant stroke of the left (i think it dates to the post-watergate DC when the left owned the town…a lot of damage was done then..and it remains)
so cuts means increases, and 1.2T tax increase means 120B per year compared to barry’s 1300B deficit…one of the largest in the OECD.
but no media type is going to tell you that…it isn’t sexy…and they are all about sexy
i saw an FNC brief thing on Medicare Cuts…with a vid of people in a nursing home over the newsreader.
it is just entertainment…theater of the absurd
r keller on December 3, 2012 at 10:14 PM
You mean the credit belongs with the GOP, right? The Clinton tax rates are good and magical, remember?
xblade on December 3, 2012 at 10:15 PM
Don’t think he gives a rat’s a** ’bout that….
Tim Zank on December 3, 2012 at 10:28 PM
What is this obsession of yours with molesting animals? Almost half of your comments somehow are on that topic. Not healthy man. See a therapist. Obamacare has got you covered.
lester on December 3, 2012 at 10:46 PM
True, though locally. The congressional approval rating is in single digits I belive.
lester on December 3, 2012 at 10:47 PM
For the last few weeks, every single liberal media outlet
has been leading with and dedicating pretty much their entire shows/columns to how badly the Republicans have screwed up, how the whole country is going to blame the GOP for it.
Even Obama’s in full campaign mode on it.
It’s at the point of them sounding like they’re trying to convince themselves.
mrt721 on December 3, 2012 at 10:49 PM
This is the Obama Depression. Repeat after me, the Obama Depression.
obladioblada on December 3, 2012 at 10:50 PM
*believe
lester on December 3, 2012 at 11:07 PM
Perhaps an Obama Voter, you won’t comprehend facts like normal people with intelligence, but here goes –
The Downgrade’ primary cause was the nation’s DEBT – the responsibility of our dear Liar, El Presidente Downgrade.
Point 2: El Presidente Downgrade failed to keep his promise (of many) to half the deficit in his first term.
And finally his intransigence and making a deal sealed the fate of the Downgrade.
Now, how did folks who wanted the to take care of the Debt cause the problem?
Chip on December 3, 2012 at 11:12 PM
The Obama Depression, you bone it, you own it.
Speaking of which, when is this great recovery supposed to show up?
Weren’t we promised great things going Forward, or some other such nonsense..
Chip on December 3, 2012 at 11:22 PM
Correction:
Chip on December 3, 2012 at 11:23 PM
You, my mind, read. Scary.
Difficultas_Est_Imperium on December 3, 2012 at 11:34 PM
FIFY
viking01 on December 3, 2012 at 11:47 PM
The fact that Democrats maneuvered a majority to believe the nonsense “we want to grow the economy from the middle out, not from the top down” line is enough to convince me that no matter how this thing goes, it will be blamed on Republicans – and that the majority will believe it.
The ultimate shame to me here is, neither McConnell nor Boehner understand this, choosing over and over to try to suck up to Democrats no matter how much they get b*tchslapped each and every single time they try it. Stupid.
Don’t forget that up to the middle of last year, Democrats whined continuously about *all* the Bush tax cuts, not just those affecting the top 2%. So let Republicans lay their latest rejected offer at Obama’s feet and walk away. Let it burn, baby: you’re gonna be blamed for it no matter what you do, so you might as well make them pay the cost of the massive Government they claim to want.
Wanderlust on December 4, 2012 at 12:06 AM
So if we go over the fiscal cliff, get another recession, and/or taxes are raised, this may or may not be blamed on the Republicans by a biased media…
Then what? We’ll lose an election?
Any vote that doesn’t have a delay in Obamacare on the table deserves nothing more than “present.”
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. We don’t need no water let the mf burn. Burn mf burn.
Gingotts on December 4, 2012 at 12:29 AM
National Review and other GOP establishment hacks were extremely naive when they pushed for the debt ceiling deal in 2011. We are paying dearly for that today.
Sorry, but these clowns have no clue.
Norwegian on December 4, 2012 at 12:50 AM
Best cartoon for our times.
Schadenfreude on December 4, 2012 at 12:55 AM
This is clueless. Ruining the economy isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. SCOAMF wants to destroy our economy, our foreign policy and our way of life to punish America (if not take it down completely) for what he perceives as its illegitimate and undeserved greatness.
When Rush said “I hope he fails,” this is why.
Rixon on December 4, 2012 at 5:57 AM
Bishop nailed it above. The statists are in a can’t lose situation on this – recovery, they’re credited. Depression, they’re innocent. Part of the plan.
In three years, I give it even odds that none of us will have the liberty to be on this board, or any like it, discussing these matters.
S.P. Link on December 4, 2012 at 6:49 AM
That approval rating was in the toilet when Nazi Pelosi was running the show but, lo and behold, ØbamaCare is the law of the land.
Odysseus on December 4, 2012 at 7:06 AM
This just in from the Obama Presstitute Organs – GOP blamed for fiscal cliff.
Steve Eggleston on December 4, 2012 at 8:46 AM