Anyone swooning with adoration over President Obama’s apparent rope-a-doping of the Republicans on the debt ceiling battle needs to take a step back and look at who the real dopes are.
Instead of using the biggest bully pulpit in the world to put forth a Progressive New Vision for fixing America, President Obama simply continues to embrace the Republican talking points. His message is this: the Republican vision for America is correct; we should just implement it in a less extreme fashion.
President Obama may indeed win this battle over the debt ceiling, but at what cost? The Grand Lie that Social Security impacts the debt and deficit one iota is now accepted as a Truth. Social Security cuts (or “changes” by any other name) are now forever going to be “on the table” because a Democratic President has put them there. The same goes for Medicare and Medicaid.
A Republican President trying to make changes to Social Security has been and would have continued to be an Epic Fail. The Republicans needed to get the Democrats to do it, and they did. So who are the ones that got rope-a-doped?
Be happy if you must that President Obama has shamed, exposed, and embarrassed the Republicans over the debt ceiling battle. But look at the cost: Instead of being a non-starter, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid cuts will now be forever “on the table” as a “serious” discussion point for both parties, not just the Republicans. Every budget battle from here on out is going to be a death-struggle just to keep these foundational and life-saving Democratic programs in tact, forget about actually moving forward to a Progressive Vision that brings much more cost savings and actually stimulates the economy and creates jobs.
Rope-A-Dope indeed. Except we’re the dopes.
