An extended comment on the ridiculous give away to the Republicans. The most important comment on this "deal" concerns a recognition of reality, both political and legal. The "Democrats" (of which I am certainly one) were crushed in the 2010 elections because they were billed as being unable to compromise on "health care" and because the "health care" law they passed was equally disliked by both left and right. I have about had it with the self serving claim of the "progressives" that the election was about jobs; it wasn't. The election was about the PPACA and about Obama because the Republicans MADE IT about the PPACA and Obama. And claims that the Republicans are reneging on their promises are totally wrong. The Republicans have promised to destroy the federal government and they are making great strides in doing so regardless of the "debt limit" kabuki and any musings of the "progressives".
More analysis follows:
The United States government is defined by the United States Constitution as a government in which the people, through their House of Representatives, have FULL CONTROL over government spending and the ability to block any move by the Senate regarding taxation or spending. Either the House or the Senate can SHUT DOWN the government any time they want. If there is no budget agreement then there is no budget. And if there is no budget then the government shuts down. We have seen this several times in the past and we saw it in play again earlier this year. Yet, here in "outer monbatia" this reality does not seem to intrude. It takes BOTH houses of congress and the presidency to make ANY "progressive" headway. It takes only one house of the congress to destroy government. What "we the progressives" (and I don't see myself as a progressive but as a Liberal) might WANT is, in the short term, irrelevant. Legally and Constitutionally (regarding the budget and not the debt ceiling) we are screwed regardless of what Obama and Pelosi might do or say. When we lost the House, we lost all power to do anything about the Republican assault on government specifically in regard to the 2012 budget. The Republicans are at war with themselves over how far they can go to the "right" (destroying government) without suffering the same fate as the Democrats suffered in 2010. But legally and constitutionally, there is NOTHING we can do about it.
Barack Obama is an idiot (or worse a traitor to his people) if he actually supports any "deal" concerning the budget being brokered by the Republicans. Any "deal" with the tax code that is not LIMITED to removal of specific loopholes in the current tax code is a death warrant. This idea of "overhauling the tax code" while the Republicans control the House, is a death sentence for any form of social insurance or regulation of business in this country. The tax code is the only thing that ultimately matters. When a government loses the ability to tax appropriately so as to obviate the total destruction of the economy and the environment at the hands of the greedy, then there IS NO GOVERNMENT but for the oppression of the people at the whim of the rich and the multinational corporations.
But what can be done and what must be done to save the nation? The answer is very simply NOTHING but raising awareness of what the Republicans are doing and trying to illustrate that this is an assault on the "producer class" (often confused with the "middle class" because they are very similar) of the US. In this effort, Paul Ryan and the other folks from Wisconsin are leading the charge while Obama tries to "deal". "Paul Ryan" is the gift that keeps on giving and so too is the governor of Wisconsin. There was a time when I though Obama was playing his cards in a way that would simply expose the Republicans for the corporate butt suckers that they are. But what he is about to do is to totally capitulate by supporting a Republican overhaul of the tax code that will obviate the automatic tax hikes in the expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts. Regardless of adjustments to COLA's and the Medicaid cuts (Medicaid cuts force the states to raise taxes more directly), the tax code changes that will be made by the Republicans will destroy any hope for the future. The expiration of the Bush tax cuts is automatic. NOTHING needs to be done in order for them to take place. The tax code can remain as it is until then and we will get many times MORE revenue from that expiration than we will ever get from screwing around with corporate jets.
The use of the corporate jets and the oil company subsidies has been employed to great benefit in exposing the Republicans for what they are. But now it seems that Obama is ready to give all of that away. What we are going to see in any "grand bargain" is another tax cut for the rich and more cuts to social services and regulations. And we are seeing the sane people taking it in the shorts based on the idea that it is the best we can do against the power of the House Republicans. And while that may be true, it is also political suicide.
The president seems to have trapped himself. He has accepted the "debt limit" law as being constitutional and will be forced to capitulate on that basis. Yet his ONLY bargaining chip in this entire affair has been and will remain his threat to let the US government default unless the wackos come to terms with the 2012 budget. By capitulating to the House he will lose the 2012 elections. Not just for himself, but for the entire party. The Republicans will destroy the recovery with cuts to spending and then they and the media will use the threat of a tax increase to scare the hell out of the public just as they always do. The actions we take now, and the exposure of the Republicans as treasonous assholes, are the only cards we have. The economic ignorance inherent in this populist mob called "the voting public" is breathtaking. But the mystery of "economic rent" (a micro economic term) can't be "fixed" any more than the failure of the voting public to understand the difference between a family budget and the budget of the US government (and government's proper use of fiat money) -- macro economics. We are ALL trapped by the ignorance of the both the rightarded and the moonbats and their failure to address economics as opposed to "moral" idiotology. In trade for "gays in the military" and "health insurance for the poor" we all get screwed financially.