When the Republicans first threatened to fail to raise the debt ceiling – in other words, require the U.S. to welsh on its legally incurred debts and throw all those dependent on government payments under the bus, no doubt triggering a national and international economic meltdown - the appropriate response from Obama should have been to go to the public and call these miscreants the traitors that they are. If they had threatened to blow up the Capitol building or the White House, they would have been much less pernicious. He also should have emphasized the mind-boggling hypocrisy of the Republicans, crying crocodile tears over the deficit that their reckless policies had made inevitable.
The proper approach to dealing with these juveniles would be to demand on an up-or-down vote on the debt ceiling extension, with zero strings attached. Obama could announce that, if congressmen voted against it and the extension was not approved, everyone in the U.S. and the world would know who was responsible for the ensuing disaster. Then, if the Tea Partiers took the bait and blocked approval, Obama could evoke the 14th amendment, after waiting a few days for the implications of this criminal act to become apparent to everyone. And the ensuing slaughter of Republicans in the 2012 elections would be wondrous to behold.
Instead, Obama viewed this as a golden opportunity to drive a “grand bargain” that would solve our National Debt problem in coming years. Anyone who thinks that the current group of Republican psychotics in congress would approve a grand deal that was even approximately compatible with the long-term welfare of our middle-class (and those less well off), or with the immediate need to boost government spending to cope with our current jobless crisis, is an imbecile. And Obama is no imbecile. Obama – the politician who chose Lieberscum as his mentor when he entered the Senate – consciously chose to sell out the interests of the middle-class, to curry favor with Wall Street and the mythical “centrist” voters who are fine with having their Social Security and Medicare benefits slashed in coming years.
Clearly, we do need to find a way to a way to control our burgeoning National Debt. The fix required will entail tax increases (preferably, expiration of the grossly irresponsible Bush tax cuts), a major reduction in our pointless military empire, and strategies for preventing the costs of medical care from soaring even higher (probably entailing a public option that would enable the government to bargain for lower prices). But none of these elements could be achieved legislatively until American voters wake up and relative sanity is restored to congress. Now is NOT the time for a "grand bargain"!
It looks like Democrats in congress are nonetheless willing to cave by approving a deal that will decisively cut government spending – beginning now, when such a cuts would have a devastating impact – without tax increases. Even if such a deal allegedly holds The Big Three harmless, it would still be wholly unacceptable. In fact, I would argue that any “deal” is unacceptable. The Republicans should get NOT ONE CENT of concession for their criminal behavior.
What is it about “you don’t negotiate with terrorists” that Obama and the Dems don’t understand?!