Obama: We Can't Make 'Extortion' A Part Of Our Democracy

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

President Barack Obama on Tuesday decried Republican obstruction over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling this month as nothing more than hostage taking, arguing that Democrats were right in resisting negotiations over Obamacare because it would set a dangerous precedent for the nation going forward.

"If reasonable Republicans want to talk about these things again, I am ready to head to the Hill," Obama said at a White House press conference. "I'll even spring for dinner again. But I'm not going to do it until the more extreme parts of the Republican party stop forcing John Boehner to issue threats about our economy.

"We can't make extortion routine as part of our democracy," he added. "And this is not just for me. They shouldn't have to pay ransom for me. We have to put a stop to it."

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-we-can-t-make-extortion-a-part-of-our-democracy

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The president Also said the following:

Think about it. The only reason that the Republicans have held out on negotiations up until the last week or so is because they thought it was a big enough deal to force unilateral concerns out of Democrats and out of me. They said so. They basically said, “You know what? The President is so responsible that if we just hold our breath and say we are going to threaten default then he will give us what we want and we won’t have to give anything in return.” Again that’s not my account of the situation. You can read statements from Republicans over the last several months who said this explicitly. And so for them not to say well it won’t be a big deal if it happens, that’s not how they have been acting over the last couple of month. If it is not a big deal then why would I give them concessions now to avoid it? It is a big deal. And nobody should be getting concessions for making sure that the full faith and credit of the United States is retained.

more plus video:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/08/1245308/-Obama-Being-Responsible-Means-Not-Caving-GOP-Hostage-Taking-VIDEO


TRANSCRIPT:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-president-obamas-oct-8-news-conference-on-the-shutdown-and-debt-limit/2013/10/08/866088c0-3038-11e3-8906-3daa2bcde110_story.html

[treestar]

1. Absolutely.

He's right.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. I hope that's a 3-inch headline in every American newspaper, but it won't be.

[MBS]

3. He was excellent this afternoon.

watch the whole thing on CSPAN.. really good
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Pres-Obama-News-Conference-with-Reporters/10737441929-1/

[steve2470]

4. thanks for this ! nt

[kpete]

5. more SPINE:

Obama is dishing it out to the Tea Party and rich people with their own agendas right now. He’s not waffling. Great stuff,

peace, kp

[truedelphi]

6. The lead in sentence about extortion would make total sense if

This nation had a democracy.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

10. Some seem to not like that I have sided with the idea that the GOP leadership

should be viewed as criminals if they are allowed to tank our economy.

Some have written that they will do their constitutional duty, and vote in a years time, while I try and point out that the 17th is not next year. They are more worried that the POTUS, who IMHO, should use the patriot act against financial terrorists than what could actually happen to this country and the world financial system if Boner and Crew go through with their threats.

[truedelphi]

16. The only time the Patriot Act was utilized againsta politician, so far,

Was when Homeland Security monitored Elliot Spitzer's financial records, via wiretapping, and discovered his paying for an expensive call girl.

It was important for the Bush Administration to take out Spitzer, as he would have used RICO to go after Geithner (Then head of the NY Fed Reserve) and several others.

So I don't follow you at all.

To go after the big financial criminals would not only take out people Bush appointed, but also people that Obama appointed, as they both used the same short list of financial head honchos to staff our financial agencies.

[Moostache]

7. USE the bully pulpit Mr. President....

I wish instead of campaign-style appearances that the President would take a page from Reagan and go straight to the national TV audiences....pre-empt EVERYTHING and give hours long talks about exactly what the Republicans are demanding and explain with graphs (hell, use the old-style flip-charts that made Reagan come across as down-to-earth) and bludgeon the hostage takers with direct talk to the public.

Either that or just declare the house leadership as enemy combatants and ship them to Gitmo before the closing and waterboard the fuckers until they are ready to allow a goddamn CR vote!!

[shireen]

8. Boehner is done

However this turns out, Boehner's tenure as speaker is over. He has handled things so badly thus far. And if he breaks down and brings a clean CR to the floor, he'll fall out of favor with the tea party nuts. He needs to realize that it's over and do the right thing so we can get on with our lives.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

9. Perhaps the POTUS should sidestep the GOP leaders and invite some Republican defectors to dinner or

aboard AF1?

[Earth_First]

11. That's why there is no room for compromise on the debt ceiling showdown...

None. ZERO. Zip. Zilch.

A compromise of any color is negotiating with extortion tactics.

Period.

I don't care if it's a new parking spot for a Republican committee member or new forumulas on Social Security or Medicare disbursement.

Keep at it Mr. President!

[quadrature]

12. when did gov't funding become all-or-nothing?

if I remember correctly,
long time ago,
there was typically a dozen or so
piecemeal appropriation bills
that funded gov't.
(or not, please enlighten me)

then, in 7,8,9,10 or so, everything became
a game of chicken. what happened?

[TomCADem]

13. We Should Not Even Have A CR Except Republicans...

...have repeatedly refused to negotiate over the budget throughout the year. Now, with the threat of default, Republicans want to use piecemeal bills to only open parts of the government they like, but leaving other less desired parts like the EPA closed. Heck, Republicans would have an incentive to shut down the government, so that they could selectively reopen only those parts of the government that they like.

[quadrature]

14. what is the problem with 'piecemeal'?

before 200x or 199x or so,
piecemeal was normal.

[TomCADem]

15. In this context? With the threat of a default...

...and in the midst of a government shutdown? Passing multiple bills isn't the issue. Its letting the government shutdown, then re-opening the parts that the far right likes. I don't ever recall this being normal in my lifetime. However, if you are aware of a similar situation, where a party drove the government into a shutdown, then prolonged it by re-opening the government a piece at a time, I would be happy to see it.