Johnny Isakson:
“We know as a fact that we have to extend the debt ceiling to some point in time and if it’s past the presidential election of 2012, let’s ensure that each body in regular order can vote on a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget.”
“Which leaves us with one difference. And that difference is what is the enforcement mechanism on the $1.8 trillion cut that the joint committee, equally divided, is supposed to come on. I submit we can find the common ground, to find the silver bullet that causes that to happen. I would encourage all of us to forget now where we differ, to recognize where we agree, and work on building a bridge on those differences.”
If the tables were turned, Republicans would be laughing at the notion that this represents a compromise. Reid's bill contains no enforcement mechanism for requiring Congress to agree to the spending cuts recommended by the special committee created by his legislation. Boehner's bill, on the other hand, makes two-thirds of its debt ceiling increase contingent upon Congressional approval of the panel's recommendations.
Creating an alternative enforcement mechanism is nothing but a political loincloth; it would lead to the exact same outcome as the Boehner bill: dramatic cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, all before the 2012 election, almost certainly without any serious consideration to raising taxes on anybody, let alone those who can afford it most.
In a sane world, Democrats would reject such a plan out-of-hand. Instead, barring a heroic stand from House and Senate Democrats, it appears increasingly likely that it's going to happen. It would represent an astonishing victory by Republicans.