Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)John Boehner is Counting on Liberals to Stab Obama in the Back [View all]
John Boehner is Counting on Liberals to Stab Obama in the Back
By: Jason Easley
Jan. 10th, 2013
John Boehner has revealed his strategy for winning the next round of fiscal negotiations, and it involves liberals caving and forcing Obama into a bad deal on spending cuts.
This little nugget of insight was buried in the middle of the recent Wall Street Journal story on Boehner, Mr. Boehner says he has significant Republican support, including GOP defense hawks, on his side for letting the sequester do its work. I got that in my back pocket, the speaker says. He is counting on the presidents liberal base putting pressure on him when cherished domestic programs face the sequesters sharp knife. Republican willingness to support the sequester, Mr. Boehner says, is as much leverage as were going to get.
Boehner is gambling that conservatives are tougher than liberals. The whole House strategy is to convince liberals that Republicans are going to stick to their guns, and happily eat the defense cuts, in order to slash Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The Speakers comments were a tacit admission that the Republican strategy of threatening Democrats, the president, and the left is not working anymore. The president has learned to wait out any threat that House Republicans make, because in the end, he knows they will cave. Speaker Boehner needs a new weapon to use against the White House, and he believes that weapon is the lefts inability to stand together.
Since splitting the left is the stated Republican strategy, stories about the presidents desire to cut earned entitlements attributed to anonymous sources should start popping up in the mainstream media over the next month or so. House Republicans tried this exact tactic during the fiscal cliff negotiations, and like clockwork the professional outrage machine on the left jumped in and started doing the GOPs dirty work for them. (In the case of the fiscal cliff, Obama had floated a thought on Social Security as part of a deal that he knew Republicans would reject. Thus, the president used the lefts outrage machine as political cover in order to appear moderate.)
The problem with Speaker Boehners strategy is that it isnt based in reality. The Republican Party is completely fractured. The divide among congressional Republicans has tricked the whole way down to the base. The traditional behaviors of each party base are currently so reversed that Democrats are deeply united right now. In fact, the left has united on fighting Citizens United, voter ID laws, and changing the filibuster rules. The left is also united on the broad principle of protecting earned entitlements.
more...
http://www.politicususa.com/john-boehner-counting-liberals-stab-obama.html
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
18 replies, 1672 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (17)
ReplyReply to this post
18 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Then use your head and try to figure out what the fucking truth is before going off.
bluestate10
Jan 2013
#16
Oh well! The evil, invisible corporate boogieman again. We can't think for ourselves, so let's
bluestate10
Jan 2013
#17
Yes, the exact same media that kept telling us up to election night that the race was neck & neck
rustydog
Jan 2013
#9
I agree. Some people here can't stand the idea that money that is wasted in
bluestate10
Jan 2013
#15
Many have been stabbing Obama in the back since he announced his intentions to run back in 2007.
Liberal_Stalwart71
Jan 2013
#6
Gosh, if cutting entitelments is something the WH wll not do they need to speak to Plouffe:
Bluenorthwest
Jan 2013
#7
I really don't understand what the options are. Can anyone clear this up for me?
A Simple Game
Jan 2013
#10
Republicans will distort and lie and make them look like part os Sequestration. And on cue,
bluestate10
Jan 2013
#18