TGIF Open Thread [10.18.13]
“Faced now with the choice between partisan politics and a risky high ground, the president has an opportunity to leverage this ‘victory’ for a long-term budget deal that raises taxes and tames entitlements. Obama won. Now can he lead? Does he have the guts to anger liberal backers with a budget deal on Social Security and Medicare? Is he willing to engage sincerely with Republicans? Does he want a legacy beyond winning two elections and enacting a health care law that, judging by its horrendous launch, may never live up to its promise? If the answer to those questions is ‘yes,’ Obama has hidden his intentions well.”
Give me a fucking break. Why is it that these idiot pundits always turn to “can he lead and can he engage with Republicans?” The only thing, THE ONLY FUCKING THING, that is preventing a pretty massive Grand Bargain in DC that will anger us liberals is the Republican intransigence on not raising one more cent in revenue. They refuse to close loopholes and tax giveaways for their rich friends and corporations, because it increases their taxes. When will Ron Fournier ask the Republicans when they will engage?
Eugene Robinson thinks Obama has now changed the dynamic:
President Obama’s victory this week was as complete and devastating as Sherman’s march through the South. But there is no early sign that the zealots of the anti-government far right have learned the lessons of their defeat — which means that more battles lie ahead.
House Speaker John Boehner was not being honest Wednesday when he explained the GOP surrender as, “We fought the good fight; we just didn’t win.” This was not a good fight. Republicans picked an objective that was never realistic — forcing Obama to nullify the Affordable Care Act, his biggest achievement — and tactics that amounted to self-immolation. […] What we won’t see [in future negotiations] is the old pattern of the GOP smashing the crockery and getting its way. Obama has shown that even the most irrational of tantrums can be stilled by the power of no.
No, the dynamic has not changed. Just like after their landslide losses in 2008 and 2012, the Republicans have decided that they lost because they were insufficiently insane.
KENTUCKY–US SENATE–Public Policy Polling: Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) 45, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 43.
48% of Kentucky voters say they’re less likely to support McConnell for reelection next year because he supported the government shutdown, compared to only 34% who say they’re now more likely to support him.
I wonder if McConnell’s own internals showed that, which is why he stepped forward to make the very public deal with Reid.
Harry Enten: “The indispensable Cook Political Report has only has 13 Democratic-held seats listed in the relatively competitive tossup or “lean” category. Of course, Democrats need to take 17 seats to win the House. The ratings reflect, among other things, a lack of strong challengers for the Democrats and lack of retirements by Republicans. The thing is that expert ratings (like most polling) are not all that predictive a year out from an election. At this point in the 2006 cycle, there were 17 Republican seats in the lean or tossup categories. That’s well short of the 30 seats that Democrats would ultimately take from Republicans.”
DD I copied your Ron Fournier comment (taking out the F bombs) and pasted it under the original article.
Ugh, Ron Fournier — how on earth does he stay employed?
Last week or so he was encouraging the President to cave and now — apparently — leadership looks like pissing off Democrats. WTF? Ron needs to come to grips with the fact that the GOP has been offered multiple Grand Bargains and they can’t say YES to anything. There’s no leadership to be had with a group of people who show up just for the cameras.
What I am sure about is that Fournier did not chastise the GOP for refusing to come to a budget conference for 6 months while they waited for their hostage taking. He certainly isn’t pushing the GOP to take their work seriously and figure something out. It’s all about entitlements and making Democrats mad.
What *really* pisses me off about this is that Cokie Roberts will be delivering a similar message this coming Monday AM on NPR.
Ten of twelve correct in 57 seconds! (Alien invasion vs. Obamacare quiz)
Wow. go me. 11/12 in 1:34
David Gregory just quoted that Ron Fournier headline on Meet The Press – like it was a real thing. Our media SUCKS!
I still think McConnell is going to hold onto that seat(barring another major incident closer to the election). The wounds from the shutdown are still fresh, but people tend to forget things in a shockingly short period of time.
I think the R’s hold the house too because of how many non-competitive districts there are.
The real landslide is going to be if the Dems get Hilary on the ticket. Either way, the craziness that has absorbed the right is going to drag down the party with it. Demographic changes aren’t going to reverse any time soon, but with House elections I’m not sure the impact is as large because it’s noncompetitive districts getting more and more populated.
The Senate and the White House look like locks for the Dems, though a lot can happen.