McConnell Plan Gives Obama New Debt Limit Powers – No Spending Cuts Required
This is not exactly the clean bill Obama asked for up front, but it is pretty close.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With compromise talks at a vituperative standstill, Senate Republicans unexpectedly offered Tuesday to hand President Barack Obama new powers to avert the first-ever government default threatened for Aug. 2.
Under a proposal outlined by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Obama could request increases of up to $2.4 trillion in the government’s borrowing authority in three separate installments over the next year, as long as he simultaneously proposed spending cuts of greater size.
The “three installments” gimmick is designed to allow Republican to rant hysterically about the hated Kenyan usurper while taking away their ability to accidentally cripple the economy.
This proposal makes sense if you realize the GOP’s top goal is bashing the president over debt, not actually doing anything to decrease the debt. By the way, the howling loons are not satisfied. Erick Erickson at read state wrote a post titled “Let’s Burn McConnell In Efigee” about this proposal. Heck, some Democrats have to be happy about this proposal because it allows them to vote against the debt ceiling increase.
I know McConnell thinks he’s really clever but it’s definitely not seen as a win for him in the press. Obama will run as the adult in the room against Republicans who wanted to defend millionaires and their private jets.
Obama’s supposed to submit spending cuts equal to or greater than the ask in increase to the debt ceiling. There’s no promise they have to pass or be voted on or anything. Doesn’t it seem like another opportunity for Obama to say he’s the adult in the room by putting in a proposal that balances the budget without the cuts to social programs?
This isn’t a *clean* bill.
What this does is pass budgetary responsibility to the Executive, when Congress is supposed to control the pursestrings. So they want the President to be able to raise the debt ceiling in increments and then they want to be able to sit back and say NO when he doesn’t give them the cuts they want.
Juvenile.
Adding — the other thing that this says to me is that Obama was winning on the reasonable adult in the room points. This is about trying to drag him into the mud with them.
Obama has been dragging himself down in the mud for 2.5 years, fortuantely for all 100% of the citezins in this country, even you Delaware liberals, we will have a new president voted in, in less than 1.5 years from now, and everything won’t be an emergency, and we won’t have to scare senior citezins by telling them we are not going to be sending them their social security checks on time.
And if I am wrong about a new president being voted in, I will give you 100 to 1 odds. I will mail each one of you that I have read on this blog one dollar, But in turn, if we get a new president voted in, each one of you will have to mail me one cent.
Believe me, It will make me fill rich, just to see all you guys and gals eat crow. That is pretty good odds, 100 to one. If any of you turn down that offer, then I don’t really think you have much confidence in this president, no matter what you say. 100 to 1 odds, can’t beat it.
I’ll take that bet, but you don’t have to pay me. No way am I sending you my address!
As far as everything being an emergency… who made the debt ceiling (a routine housekeeping vote) an emergency?
Obama just got done saying he would not accept short-term or incremental fixes, but McConnell’s proposal is THREE short-term incremental fixes.
Obama needs to reject this plan because it is short-term, and because it is a gimmick.
I like the Alice in Wonderland quality of this quote from the AP article:
That’s why he should take it. This shatters the illusion of Republican seriousness on so many levels. He need to say, “look, The Republicans have to play their games to appease their base. I get that. I’m okay with it provided we can move forward and bet back to the business of fixing this economy. This deal let’s us do that while they put on their little show for the Teabag caucus.
And then every few months until the election, the President will be having this fight again and you guys will be complaining that he is too accommodating of GOP bamboozlement.
He should either reject this plan and tell Congress that he has no intention of doing their job or let the House do their resolution and get the Senate to change it so that he has room to propose cuts or revenue increases.
And apparently the teajadis are busily scouting up a rope and a tree for McConnell.
There’s nothing in that proposal that says Obama can’t do all three requests at once.
So.. why do we have a debt ceiling again? If we just keep raising the limit.. why have a limit?
To provide political accountability. Which is what they are arguing about. So you could say – the system works.
Most countries don’t have a debt ceiling. This whole thing has been ridiculous from the start.
“Believe me, It will make me fill rich, just to see all you guys and gals eat crow.”
Who says conservatives lack seriousness?
Just read that Boehner is on board for the plan and Grover Norquist okay-ed it. Boehner’s not really the leader of House Republicans, so we will have to wait to seemwhat Cantor says.
Obama’s not going to get another hostage. He needs to make sure he gets something for this one.
From here on out, Obama will be spending his time trying to save hostages from the Republicans.
Remember when Obama capitulated on tax cuts for the rich in exchange for an extension on unemployment benefits? Well guess what – that extension expires at the end of this year, but the tax cuts for the rich live on.
Republicans get to recycle their unemployment hostage and use it again next year. What’s Obama going to give up next time?