Republicans Can’t Govern

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Republicans are all about big, brave (and vague) talk on the campaign trail, but once they get into office and have to govern they become whiny babies. President Obama has put a plan on the table. Unsurprisingly, Republicans don't like it. So, what do Republicans do? Counter with a different plan? Nope - because that would actually require doing work and putting their big, bad and vague campaign talk into written word. What they're asking for is President Obama to negotiate with himself, and that ain't happening.
Perhaps the key lesson the White House took from the last couple of years is this: Don’t negotiate with yourself. If Republicans want to cut Medicare, let them propose the cuts. If they want to raise revenue through tax reform, let them identify the deductions. If they want deeper cuts in discretionary spending, let them settle on a number. And, above all, if they don’t like the White House’s preferred policies, let them propose their own. That way, if the White House eventually does give in and agree to some of their demands, Republicans will feel like they got one over on the president. A compromise isn’t measured by what you offer, it’s measured by what the other side feels they made you concede. The GOP is right: This isn’t a serious proposal. But it’s not evidence that Obama isn’t serious. He’s very serious about not negotiating with himself, and his opening bid proves it. Now that they’ve leaked his initial offer, the next question is obvious: What’s their offer?

Rachel Zylstra, that’s who….

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Say your new cat can't get a long with your old cat, or you are 21 and living with your Mom who still treats you like you are ten, or your boyfriend might be gay, and you need some advice, but you'd like that advice delivered in song... Who are you gonna call? Zylstra's "advice music" was a regular stop for me on the internet tubes for a while, but I haven't check in for a while. I'm glad to see that she is still at it.

Thursday Open Thread [11.29.12]

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President Obama's national lead over Mitt Romney is now 50.9% to 47.4%. Or, given rounding, 51% to 47%. LOL. God enjoys irony. First Read: "That's a bigger (and more decisive) margin that Bush's victory over John Kerry in 2004 (which was Bush 50.7% and Kerry 48.2%). What's more, the president's lead has grown to close to 3 points in Ohio, 4 points in Virginia and 6 points in Colorado. One doesn't win Colorado by six points without winning swing voters; there isn't a big-enough Democratic base to make that argument." Speaking of the Mittster, he is joining President Obama for lunch today at the White House. Now this is probably all for show, but it will be interpreted as "a gracious move that makes the president appear bipartisan." But I would love to hear their private conversation. It is well known that the President, as with all of Mitt Romney's opponents, grew to despise Romney.

Crappy Deal Emerging

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This deal clearly sucks, but when you have blue state Democrats like John Carney and Chris Coons saying, "OMGZ!!! THE DEBT!!! Medicaid is wrecking the country!!" - you lose a lot of your negotiating strength.

The New Republican Leadership in the General Assembly

Senator Gary Simpson has been reelected by his Republican colleagues to continue as Senate Minority Leader. I am somewhat surprised that Lavelle did not grab the job to position himself for the 2016 Gubernatorial race. Yes, it would have been audacious for a newly elected freshman Senator to become Minority Leader, but not out of the realm of impossibility, since, after all, Lavelle did get elected as the Minority Whip, the second highest position in the Senate caucus. I think what we will see in Simpson stepping down after down the 2014 elections after six years in the leadership role to pass the mantle over to Lavelle.

QOTD — Who Should Be In Obama’s Second Term Cabinet?

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So we know that there will be some departures from the first term -- Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner is out; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is out (after doing a spectacular job); Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank (acting); Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar; Press Secretary Jay Carney; Attorney General Eric Holder (maybe not going for a year or so) look like they are at the top of the list to go. Other possibilities include: