Obama picks fight with GOP over tax cuts for the rich

[ProSense]

Obama picks fight with GOP over tax cuts for the rich

By Greg Sargent

The primary goal of President Obama’s presser, which just wrapped up, was obvious: He was clearly out to pick a major public fight with Republicans over tax cuts for the rich. Obama mounted a surprisingly aggressive moral case for ending high end tax cuts, casting it as a test of our society’s priorities, and argued — crucially — that anyone who fails to support ending them is fundamentally unserious about the deficit.

Obama is picking this fight in order to reframe the deficit and debt ceiling debate as a battle not over government spending — losing turf for Dems — but over who has the most balanced priorities and who is really working in the interests of the whole country.

Here’s the key quote, which mentions the corporate jet tax break no less than three times:

If we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, if we keep the tax break for corporate jet owners, if we choose to keep tax breaks for oil and gas companies that are making hundreds of billions of dollars, then that means we’ve got to cut some kids off from getting a college scholarship. That means we have to stop funding certain grants for medical research. That means that food safety may be compromised. That means that Medicare has to bear a greater part of the burden. These are the choices we have to make...

The Republicans say they want to reduce the deficit. Every single observer who’s not an elected official or politican says we can’t reduce our deficit in the scale and scope we need to without having a balanced approach that looks at everything. Democrats have to accept some painful spending cuts that hurt some of our consituencies that we may not like. And we’ve shown a willingness to do that for the greater good...

If you are a wealthy CEO or hedge fund manager in America right now, your taxes are lower than they’ve ver been. They’re lower than they’ve been since the 1950s. And you can afford it. You’ll still be able to ride on your corporate jet. You’ll just have to pay a little more...My believe is that the Republican leadership in Congress will hopefully sooner rather than later come to the conclusion that they need to make the right decisions for the country, that everybody else has been willing to move off their maximalist position. They need to do the same. My expectation is that they’ll do the responsible thing.

In another key moment, Obama seemed to draw a line against cost-shifting to seniors to solve the Medicare problem. He said:

We’re gonna have to look at entitlements. And that’s always difficult politically. But I’ve been willing to say we need to see where we can reduce the cost of health care spending and Medicare and Medicaid in the out years. Not by shifting costs on to seniors, as some have proposed, but rather by actually reducing those costs.

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[Vanje]

1. Our pretty President made Words.

This has happened before.

Words are not Fight.

[vaberella]

2. Fights aren't physical in Congress. Fights have always been done by words in our government. n/t

[tekisui]

3. Real fights include promises of vetoes, blockage of projects,

strong-arm dealings and actual give and take.

[phleshdef]

9. And you honestly think this group of Republicans really give a flying fuck?

For that matter, do you think red state Democrats do?

You can't strong arm people that have convinced themselves they have nothing to lose by being obstinent for the sake of being obstinent.

I think this is where the real split on the left is occurring as far as Barack Obama is concerned. There are those of us who recognize that "Congress is deciding to be a pain in the ass towards progress" as a valid excuse for compromises and watered down legislations and there are those of us that demand Obama do something, anything, to force them to do things our way and are disconnected from reality enough to actually think thats a realistic possibility. If you don't have a willing majority, then your agenda is not going to be fully realized. We haven't had a willing majority for anything really good in decades.

The only thing that the President can do in this situation is call their bluff, hope they are really bluffing and hope that if they aren't, it doesn't backfire on him politically whenever the media paints him as an uncompromising fascist who was willing to risk the entire global economy for the sake of his ideology. No matter how right he would be in doing so won't mean a damn thing whenever it gives us President Romney or whoever they prop up as a nominee and that person proceeds to actually do all the damage that Obama's critics on the left imagine on Obama.

[vssmith]

16. Money talks; Bullshit walks

[vaberella]

20. So Obama is supposed to bribe the Republicans?

And if you mean hold off funding---then that turns on him. I don't know what you're talking about.

[boppers]

28. "Fights have always been done by words in our government."? LOLWUT?

Uh, no. Not always.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:United_States_political_figures_killed_in_duels

That links cover political and non-political duels, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Cilley is what led to a law prohibiting congressmen from dueling.

[phleshdef]

5. You sound like the same group of critics that flail around about the bully pulpit all the time.

You can't have it both ways.

[Sheepshank]

6. you would perhps prefer a dictator? n/t

Words are not so pretty but the dictator has no opposition to doing what he says.

[CakeGrrl]

8. So why bother commenting since you knew it was a press conference?

What did you expect, WWF Smackdown?

[Ice Number Nine]

11. He needs to just pimp-slap Boehner across the room, huh?

[Vanje]

12. No.

He needs to sharpen up his Veto pen.

[bornskeptic]

26. What the hell do you want him to veto?

Do you think he should veto the bill increasing the debt limit, if it ever passes? What woul that accomplish?

[ClarkUSA]

27. ....

:thumbsup:

[liberal N proud]

13. New to politics?

Words mean everything in politics.

[great white snark]

14. Says our petty resident.

:eyes:

[Vanje]

17. "pretty" "president"

Get it right.

[Qutzupalotl]

29. Right over your head.

[FreakinDJ]

4. About Time

[Cosmocat]

15. THIS is THE Defining issue between us and them ...

the upper bracket tax cuts, and it is a CLEAR winning to dig in and have that battle ...

I like BO a good bit, and get most of what he does.

But, he should have had this battle 10 months ago ...

[ZombieHorde]

7. I saw that. I saw President Obama leading the party.

I have been wanting him to do this for a while now. I hope he keeps it up.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. He has been. It's just that DU sits on the computer day in and day out, complaining

and bitching instead of watching C-SPAN because it's the ONLY media outlet that will air these fights! The *ONLY* one.

[elleng]

35. ...

:thumbsup:

[MakingANoise]

18. Talk Is Cheap!

let's see if he does something about it other than speak with strong words, he's caved in too many times for me to just accept this blindly.

we shall see!

[JoePhilly]

21. Bad Bully pulpit, BAD!!!!

[Ice Number Nine]

24. When he says nothing, they scream at him to use the Bully pulpit.

When he says something, they crow that it is just 'mere words'.

He can't win with them because they aren't really interested in seeing him achieve anything.

[JoePhilly]

31. The outrage machine runs 24/7.

[vaberella]

22. Talk is most of what a President have. Not an AK-47. n/t

[jaxx]

19. K&R and I'll add another to the pot.

Obama Seizes The Bully Pulpit And Tells Congress To Do Their Job

Obama described the debt ceiling deadline as, “The yellow light is flashing but it hasn’t been a red light yet. . . . By August 2, we run out of tools to make sure that all our bills are paid.” If the U.S. defaults, “the consequences for the U.S. economy will be significant and unpredictable.”

The president hinted that his two daughters have a better work ethic than Congress, “Malia and Sasha generally finish their homework a day ahead of time. . . . They’re not pulling all nighters. They’re 13 and 10. You know, Congress can do the same thing. If you know you’ve got to do something, just do it.” Obama then contrasted his schedule with that of Congress, “I’m here. I’ve been dealing with Afghanistan, the debt crisis, Greece. I’m here. Congress is in one week, out the next.”

Obama then delivered the money quote of the press conference, “We have meetings and discussions and … they decide they’re not happy with the fact that at some point you have to make a choice. They all step back and say — ‘The president needs to get this done.’ At a certain point they need to do their job.” Obama then hinted that Congress might be kept in session until they actually do their jobs.

http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-congress-job

[flpoljunkie]

23. Nancy Pelosi tweets: Bravo!

@NancyPelosi



Today, POTUS fought for what House Dems have been calling for: balanced package that creates jobs & protects Medicare #Bravo

1 hour ago via web

http://twitter.com/#!/NancyPelosi/status/86172647246921729

[no limit]

25. What should we think if he doesn't win this fight?

[flamingdem]

30. Supposedly the senate has 51 votes, and even Bernie signed on nt

[ItNerd4life]

32. Finally. He should say that the 2 years in tax breaks didn't help.

so we are putting taxes back to where they were.

[RoryK]

33. As well he should.

I would very much like to recommend this thread, but, apparently, the time in which to do so has expired. Pity.

[elleng]

34. Stupid headline, imo. 'Reframe' MUCH BETTER, + to the point.

PrezO not out to pick a fight, but rather to clearly state, for the public, what the significant issue is, btw admin+repugs.