Why Obama and McConnell took the deal
By delaying the sequester cuts for two months, McConnell’s forced them to coincide with the debt ceiling fight. By then, the president won’t have expiring tax cuts or the end-of-the-year media attention to hold over Republicans, and without that — especially after striking a deal and accepting the president’s position on taxes — McConnell will be able to control the coming conversation on spending cuts and overhauling entitlements. Obama got his New Year’s victory, goes the thinking, but now McConnell will be in charge for the rest of 2013.
“This is Obama’s high point in the second term,” said Grover Norquist, the patron saint of refusing to raise taxes. “The next four years are the Republicans … chipping away at his spending, and that’s a fight where independents side with the Rs on a regular basis.”
Without a deal now, Senate Republicans feared a post-cliff Obama would be able to declare himself the nation’s leading tax cutter…
But the White House isn’t worried. Instead, it’s crowing about how far Republicans moved on taxes and pointing to the deal as evidence Obama will be able to win new revenue increases in upcoming negotiations. During the 2011 debt limit fight, Republicans sniffed at closing corporate jet loopholes worth a few billion dollars. Eighteen months later, they agreed to a deal that increased revenue $620 billion while cutting only $12 billion in government spending.
Blowback
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Because they both are despicable?
Seriously, the House GOP and the Senate GOP better look like a tea party on economic issues or the bloodbath in 2014 will be brutal.
platypus on January 2, 2013 at 8:09 AM
ReWrite™ engaged. Fully half of the combined caucus rolled over and vied for the Occupy vote the last 2 nights. I’m done with them.
Steve Eggleston on January 2, 2013 at 8:13 AM
This is all about portraying sense of false confidence. The whole thing is falling apart and they know it.
MoreLiberty on January 2, 2013 at 8:33 AM
Eh. This was never really a battle over spending. It was always a battle about tax rates. The battle for spending will come when the debt ceiling comes into play. Then we can really start the recriminations when the GOP caves to endless government expansion and spending to cut a couple hours of government spending.
gwelf on January 2, 2013 at 8:41 AM
This is the definition of delusional.
Rode Werk on January 2, 2013 at 8:48 AM
Were these tax rates permanent or do we re-visit this again on December 31, 2013?
moonsbreath on January 2, 2013 at 9:28 AM
This thinking only works if you have a fair and impartial media. We don’t. No matter what points the Pubs make and how solid they are the media will castigate them and paint Obama as the good guy. And they will tell any and as many lies as it takes to do so. The public, in its insatible desire for more “free stuff”, will take the media lies as Gospel because that’s what they want to hear.
tommyboy on January 2, 2013 at 10:46 AM
Typical Politico spin trying to make the Trash-Talker in Chief look like a master negotiator. In truth, Obama and Reid were pretty much cut out of the negotiations when McConnell called Biden.
FIFY:
During the first round of negotiations, President Obama told John Boehner that he got 800 billion “for free”. One month later, he agreed to a deal that increased revenue 620 billion.
Mr. Arkadin on January 2, 2013 at 10:54 AM
Does this article really quote Grover Nordquist? After his attempt to spin this as not violating the “no tax” pledge and claiming it was actually a big ‘ole cut, he has lost any credibility he may have had.
Shump on January 2, 2013 at 11:26 AM