Austerian laughing stocks
by digby
Pass this around to everyone you know. They'll enjoy it and they'll learn something very important:
I wish I was as sure that this idea is now a laughing matter as Weisenthal is. It's hard for me to imagine Ruth Marcus and David Brooks ever finding the idea of human sacrifice amusing. They just "know in their bones" that the social safety net is unnecessary. After all, they don't know a single person who really needs it.
And unfortunately, our political leaders don't seem to have gotten the memo either:
President Barack Obama is reaching out to Republican senators — the most receptive participants from his recent “charm-offensive” dinners — to jump-start talks to reach a “grand bargain” on entitlements, spending and taxes, according to White House and Congressional officials.Obama — fighting against steep odds to reach a big legacy deal on deficits and debts — has personally pressed Congressional leaders for another shot at reaching an agreement similar to one that fell apart during negotiations with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in 2011.Republicans Obama considers to be committed to another round of negotiations in good faith.
But a senior White House official told POLITICO any speculation about specific participants would be “wrong,” and refused to confirm any names because none of the potential attendees had yet been contacted or even briefed on the new process.
The official did say the group of probably no more than eight would be largely “self-selecting” — GOP senators who had previously expressed interest in a budget working group.Obama’s team has kept Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the loop, according to leadership sources, but so far the effort has been spearheaded by the West Wing.
I'm going to guess the White House feels more strongly about this than ever: the second term domestic agenda is in trouble what with sensible gun safety being sabotage by the NRA and the immigration bill in danger from the right wing terrorism pants-wetters. This may be all that's left.
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