Now, I’d like to sit down with you and work out a compromise, but the entire time we’re talking, I get to hold a loaded gun to your head, and if I don’t like what you have to say, I just might pull the trigger. Could you negotiate effectively under those conditions? Would you agree to do so? I couldn’t and wouldn’t, so nobody should be surprised that Barack Obama is savvy enough to refuse to talk until ALL the loaded weapons are cleared from the table.
In their first meeting since a budget impasse shuttered many federal operations, President Obama told Republican leaders on Wednesday that he would negotiate with them only after they agreed to the funding needed to reopen the government and also to an essential increase in the nation’s debt limit, without add-ons.
The president’s position reflected the White House view that the Republicans’ strategy is failing. His meeting with Congressional leaders, just over an hour long, ended without any resolution.
As they left, Republican and Democratic leaders separately reiterated their contrary positions to waiting reporters. The House speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, said Mr. Obama “will not negotiate,” while the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said Democrats would agree to spending at levels already passed by the House. “My friend John Boehner cannot take ‘yes’ for an answer,” Mr. Reid said.
The meeting was the first time that the president linked the two actions that he and a divided Congress are fighting over this month: a budget for the fiscal year that began on Tuesday and an increase in the debt ceiling by Oct. 17, when the Treasury Department will otherwise breach its authority to borrow the money necessary to cover the nation’s existing obligations to citizens, contractors and creditors… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <NY Times>
Photo credit: USA Today
Linking the two prevents Republicans from settling this crisis and immediately causing another.
Alex Wagner covered how Obama explained his reasoning.
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Obama and the Democrats have always been willing to negotiate with the Republican Party. But they rightly refuse to do so under coercion. LaTourette is dead wrong. Both sides have not painted themselves into a corner. Only Republicans painted themselves into a corner. As much as Republicans are trying to blame the Baggers for this, the leadership are the ones responsible, because they refuse to put a clean CR on the House floor.
Chris Hayes explains just how far Obama and the Democrats have moved toward a Republican position.
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Kudlow. A Republican Corporacon, is so full of you know what that his eyes are turning brown. Democrats aren’t “getting religion” about budget levels. They are bending over backwards to bed agreeable to Republicans. Look at that chart again yourself!
In summary, Democrats have already given to much. For them to negotiate further concessions with a gun to their head would be patently absurd.
25 Responses to “Savvy Move by Obama!”
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The new Teahadist meme is that Obama won't negotiate. There was a greet Tweet response that I'll expand just a wee bit beyond 140 characters – but the link to it is below.:
Teahadist republican: Can I burn down your house?
Pres. Obama: No
Teahadist republican: Just the 2nd floor?
Pres. Obama: No
Teahadist republican: The garage?
Pres. Obama: No
Teahadist republican: Let's talk about what I CAN burn down.
Pres. Obama: No
Teahadist republican: SEE … OBAMA WON’T NEGOTIATE!
https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/385468973971951616
This is their position, sadly. If he changed his mind and said, "Okay, burn down the garage", they would say "NO, we want the whole house!" Thanks for sharing with us, Nameless.
@JuddLegum Sums it up nicely
Sadly, they want to burn down the whole country.
What an ecxellent example!
The Teahadists with Bonehad aiding and abetting them, have put this country into a terrible position. Luckily for them, the DC did their jobs yesterday even though they are not getting paid.
What if that woman had made it through the barriers?
Patty, I'm sere there were several more layst of security, and she was not armed.
I fully support President Obama and urge him to hold firm. No kissing Repuke or Tea-Bag a$$.
I, too, fully support the President in this. He has conceded to them too many times all ready.
Me three!
Me four! . . . but then I don't count because I am a Canuck!
Canucks who have worked in banks certainly do count!
You are such a smart ass!
Were I not, you wouldn't luv me. 🙂
I have noticed that Al Jazeer – America news, while showing some of the repulican whiners gives very little attention that very unimportant Ted Cruz. I wish all of the local and cable channels would just ignore him. He doesn't make news unless the media makes him news. Even Houston said he was so nuts he wasn't worth the ink to write his story.
This is country of over 350 million people, of course our government is big. They say they want government out of our lives, sure they do just not out of women's vaginas, or people having an opportunity to marry the one they love, or who serves in the military, or equal pay, or allowing every citizen to vote….and many other issues.
Progressives have repeatedly made significant concessions in order to protect the economy from a series of manufactured crises. Today’s manufactured crisis is no different. The Senate-passed legislation to keep the government open sets funding levels that are even lower than previous compromises. If the Tea Party shuts the government down anyway, it will not be because progressives were inflexible. Just ask House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)—the compromise incorporated in the Senate CR was originally his idea. (Center for American Progress)
I wish the other networks would follow suit. Cruz is an idiot and does not deserve any notice.
True. I hold him up as an object of ridicule a\t times, but only whan hisa bizarre behavor has an effect on whaty's happening.
In other words, Mr Obama will not negotiate with domestic economic terrorists while a gun is pointed at his head. As he points out, the Congress has already incurred the expenses. So they need to 'man up' and pay the bills. And I agree with him. If you and I went out and bought a bunch of stuff on a credit card, we can't decide to negotiate about the prices we paid for stuff or paying the credit card bill. Why do the Republicanus/Teabaggers think they and the US government are any different?
Which really means "Mr Obama will not give us what we want."
That is to say that the Republicanus/Teabaggers are the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. Every time a new leak (complaint) comes up, he has to rush to plug that leak. It would seem prudent to plug all the leaks at once by authorising the debt ceiling increase and lifting the shutdown of the government before the dike completely washes away.
That ahas tfo be a clear NO. If we separately refund every need that Republicans fine politically inconvenient to have defunded, one at a time, it will take years. If we don't let them face the heat for the harm they are causing, they will have no incentive to just do their job.
I hope the President continues to hold firm. He and the Senate have all ready conceded too much to the Republican controlled House . They are trying to blame this on the President. Real people are suffering all ready due to the shutdown and I sincerely hope the American public will realize they have been sold a bill of goods by the Tea Party, and vote them all out.
And not just the Tea Party!
It occurred to me that the Republicanus/Teabaggers are all flash and no substance. Now they are howling about Mr Obama and the Democrats not being willing to negotiate. But where were the Republicanus/Teabaggers on previous occasions when Democrats proposed negotiations? Answer: nowhere to be found! I think that the Republicanus/Teabaggers are hoping the electorate will have short memories, which too often, based on past experience is true, and only remember that the GOP was ready to negotiate and the Democrats weren't during the 2013 fiscal crisis of Republicanus/Teabagger making.
The other thing, Mr Obama and the Democrats are willing to negotiate, but with a caveat — solve the shutdown and the debt ceiling limit first, then we'll negotiate. To me, that does NOT mean that Democrats are not willing to negotiate! What it does me is that the Democrats have become more savvy to Republicanus/Teabagger ways. Democrats have taken a page out of the Republicanus/Teabagger play book and altered it a bit to their style. The Republicanus/Teabaggers don't like that at all and have their knickers in a real twist such that the blood flow is being cut off.
Exactly! It's just like I ilklustrated in today's cartoon.
Thanks TC.
YVW, Pat!