Fix the Debt haz a sad
by digby
... and settles in for a good old fashioned cry:
The decision to exclude the proposal from the budget was based on political factors. This is an election year with control of Congress at stake and Democrats did not want to be associated with an idea that slows the growth of Social Security benefits and pressured the president not to offer it.
Giving in to such blatant political calculations is disappointing, especially from a president who campaigned on changing the culture of Washington. We need real leadership in order to complete the changes necessary to put the country on a sustainable fiscal course. As we said in a statement:
The withdrawal by the President on this specific issue, and his general pivot away from focusing on the nation’s medium and long-term fiscal challenges, reflects a dangerous trend.
Reaching agreement on a comprehensive debt deal will require consideration of all policy options and compromises by both sides. While we welcome today’s statements from the administration indicating they remain open to supporting chained CPI in the context of a bipartisan deficit reduction agreement, the nation needs the President to lead on this issue. The clear pullback on his part is a disturbing sign that he will not.
The decision is a clear signal that the spirit of bipartisan compromise necessary to achieve any major breakthrough will not be available this year as both parties position themselves for the voting in November. This sad reality means that little will likely be accomplished on any issue this year.
Boo hoo hoo. The centrist fiscal scolds lost one. And to those icky hippies which makes it all the more galling. But I'm sure once they pull themselves out of their funk they'll realize just how many middle class and poor people they've already made to "sacrifice" with their slash and burn austerity campaign and they'll turn those frowns upside down:
And look at it this way --- with all that slashing of government spending, if the Democrats had managed to destroy Social Security too, these deficit fetishists would have to close up shop and go home. This way, they've managed to create a whole lot of suffering but they still have a good reason to keep making nice livings calling for other people to sacrifice even more. What could be better than that?
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