Obama would like the public to think he can’t negotiate and that to do so would be unheard of. But in this, as in so many other things, he’s lying. What is actually going on here is that, in the past, presidents who have had to deal with divided government (as Obama is; the House is in Republican hands) have always known that in such a situation they must negotiate. Whichever party they have been affiliated with, and whether you think they were good presidents or bad ones, they have kept faith with the basic gentleman’s/woman’s agreement on which our government has always run, and that is that if the other side was duly elected to be in control of another branch of government, that group has some legitimate power and must be negotiated with.
Obama is different. He had the brilliant idea that, although Republicans are in control of the House right now, they have no power unless they agree with him, and it is okay for him to defy them because it will have no repercussions on either him or his party (which is largely aligned with him). Therefore he can Just Say No to whatever Republican demands might be, and blame them for the failure to come to any sort of agreement. And the reason he is able to get away with this is a simple one: he knows the media will not call him on it, but will instead support him and amplify his message.
It’s a toxic combination, and that’s what’s “unprecedented”—at least in this country.
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
Obama and the Shutdown/Debt Ceiling Issue
It doesn't get more true than this:
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2 comments:
Barak is a TRUE "Obomination"
By creating distress due to closures, Obama hopes to capture previously unattainable middle class votes. The problem is that those same middle class voters are having to deal with unemployment, stagnant pay, rising cost of living and food and now added to that increasing insurance costs. For already cash strapped middle class families, dangling the faint promise of a tax credit for subsidies down the road is not helpful. I also think the boneheaded reluctance of the president to pay military death benefits resonates beyond the Beltway in a way that those in power do not understand. Given the various scandals swept under the run and the media cover given for every one of them, it appears that he will slide by this time as well, but only until more than 51,000 enroll in the exchanges.
PS. EBT cards aren't working today. I suspect this is more of the same attempt to cause public angst against Republicans over the shutdown. I wonder if and when they find out the true cause if any in the media will do investigative reporting to find out the source?
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