Obama, the sequester, and the permanent campaign shimmy
Under the Permanent Campaign Shimmy, the president identifies a problem. Then he declines to come up with a proposal to address the problem. Then he comes up with a vague-but-politically-convenient concept that doesn’t address the problem (let’s raise taxes on the rich). Then he goes around the country blasting the opposition for not having as politically popular a concept. Then he returns to Washington and congratulates himself for being the only serious and substantive person in town.
Sequestration allows the White House to do this all over again. The president hasn’t actually come up with a proposal to avert sequestration, let alone one that is politically plausible.
He does have a vague and politically convenient concept. (Tax increases on the rich!) He does have a chance to lead the country into a budget showdown with furloughed workers and general mayhem, for which people will primarily blame Republicans. And he does have the chance to achieve the same thing he has achieved so frequently over the past two years, political success and legislative mediocrity.
Republicans also secretly love the sequester. It allows them to do their favorite dance move, the Suicide Stage Dive. It was pioneered by Newt Gingrich in 1995 and has been repeated constantly since.
Blowback
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And he does it all while keeping the crease in his pants.
Drained Brain on February 22, 2013 at 12:37 PM
And of course, if Obama doesn’t release a FY2014 budget before the sequester goes into effect on March 1 — though he was legally required to do so on Feb 1 — then there is no guidance as to what he would like to see going forward.
Reno_Dave on February 22, 2013 at 12:45 PM
“Shimmy” is a dog whistle.
Of course “let the Jews pay for it” or the Jews control the saw dept, not so much.
Ben Hur on February 22, 2013 at 12:56 PM
Keep holding press conferences. Slip this and a couple other things EVERY TIME. Post Youtube of the conference.
ProfShadow on February 22, 2013 at 12:58 PM
May they all go to Hades.
May the charlatans be decimated. The Punk will always be just an underdeveloped unserious Punk who punks the land.
Obama’s MO:
1. Sh*t on the land and his opposition.
2. Obama “You stink”.
3. Media “You stink”.
4. GOP “Mh…I wonder what that stench is”.
Schadenfreude on February 22, 2013 at 12:59 PM
The part I love in all this is how Obama crows about cutting four trillion dollars of deficit.
According to his own one-sheet, 2/3 of that “savings” is already in place and we still have trillion-dollar deficits. and that means, at best, he’s offering to knock off another $80b/yr in spending, tax people for another $60b, and proclaim that the solution to a trillion-dollar hole.
Even with all that, a huge chunk of his proposed “savings” is interest not paid because the total debt doesn’t rise over that ten-year period. Fine. But what happens when the Fed raises its rates, thus increasing the interest due every year?
But not to worry, they aren’t even considering that.
The Schaef on February 22, 2013 at 1:01 PM
Poor Brooksy, looks like he’s down to one pom-pom.
fogw on February 22, 2013 at 1:03 PM
Brooks is such a wussy, he cannot even get it right when he gets its right. He is right on Obama at first, then the WH or one of its surrogates at the NYT told him he is not being fair..so he basically apologizes to Obama…but his silly bashing of conservatives goes on without apology.
Obama has no budget..and no plan to do anything but campaign against the Repubs but Brooks cannot stop himself from just being a toady for Obama…we call this chickenshit writing
georgealbert on February 22, 2013 at 1:05 PM
Obama is the most skilled politician today who can play politics while appearing not to play politics.
Sure, we see through it – even Brooks does – but a good segment of the population doesn’t. It sees him on the nightly news giving his talk about community and we’re all Americans and we need to act like adults and they don’t see what he’s doing beneath those platitudes.
He’s good and I think we’ve been underestimating him.
SteveMG on February 22, 2013 at 1:20 PM
Americans say “cut aid to the world’s ‘needy’”.
I say:
1. Indeed. The world can take care of itself, after also flying a kite.
2. By not wishing to cut any domestic items, not even the gov’t fraud, the majority of US Americans are harlots on the taxpayer sow’s dole.
Schadenfreude on February 22, 2013 at 1:20 PM
Fixed.
fogw on February 22, 2013 at 1:28 PM
If we can’t handle $40 billion in cuts FROM THE INCREASES in the budgets of certain agencies (all of whom get more money POST sequester in 2013 than they did in 2012) out of a 1.1 TRILLION dollar DEFICIT (61% of being financed via presses printing dollars) we are doomed.
We will never get spending under control, and the panic over this INSIGNIFICANT EVENT ($40 billion is what the government spends EVERY 4 FREAKING DAYS!) is proving this fact to everyone.
Which means the complete collapse of the dollar and our economy is right around the corner.
Good luck cashing those welfare checks and using those SNAP cards, Looters.
wildcat72 on February 22, 2013 at 1:29 PM