House GOP ransom note discovered!
Get a load of
this bullshit:
Frustrated by the logjam on Capitol Hill, House Speaker John Boehner is increasingly pressuring President Barack Obama — in public comments and private meetings — to step up to the negotiations table and offer some real ideas.
The Ohio Republican, who helped cut the deal with Obama that kept the government open earlier this spring, is now accusing the president of “failing to lead” on the high-stakes negotiations on the debt limit and is criticizing him on foreign-trade agreements and military action in Libya.
The uptick in rhetoric from the speaker reflects how much pressure he feels from all sides. Conservative freshmen don’t want Boehner cutting friendly deals; Democrats are attacking his party for being too “radical” on deficit cuts, and the Democratic Senate has been passive, at best, on the debt limit and other major issues.
“If the White House wants to get this done, it’s time for them to step up [to] the plate and get serious about it,” Boehner said of the ongoing budget talks. “We told the president, and I think we’ve demonstrated to the American people, that we’re ready to deal with the big challenges that face our country. I hope the president will join us soon.”
If I could say anything right now to John Boehner, it would begin with the letter F and with a U.
The notion that President Obama hasn't put forth a fiscal plan is absolutely ludicrous. (Even Boehner must remember it, because Paul Ryan was sobbing like a little child afterwards.)
The issue is that John Boehner doesn't agree with President Obama's fiscal plan. That's his right, but claiming that Obama doesn't have one is total garbage. And putting the full faith and credit of the United States on the line in a ham-fisted attempt to twist Obama's arm is deplorable.
Yesterday, freshman House Republicans left a meeting with Tim Geithner saying they weren't happy that the Obama administration hadn't endorsed their foolish fiscal policies, taking us one step closer to default.
Financial backers for House Republicans think this is all just a big joke, and that in the end, a deal will get done. Well, they simply aren't listening to what House Republicans are saying, which is that unless a comprehensive fiscal policy is agreed to, there won't be a deal, and that the only comprehensive fiscal policy they will accept is their own.
The only way the debt limit is going to get raised is if Republicans get reasonable. And I don't see that happening. Who knows what the exact odds are, but given the GOP's utter unwillingness to deal with the debt limit as a problem that needs to be solved, there is a very real possibility that we will enter into full-scale default on our obligations.
As they always do, Republicans are counting on Democrats to be the adults in the room. The only problem is that this time Republicans control the House. And unless they walk away from the ledge, this thing is going to go south—and fast.