From the Huffington Post:
Tax Cut Deal Handling Angers House DemocratsThe president has responded that he acted honorably and drove the best bargain he could. But even his explanations offended some longtime allies. Aides to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi grumbled about a Dec. 7 news conference in which Obama claimed that some liberals would feel "sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are" by refusing to compromise, even if an impasse hurt the working class.
"Hardly anybody in the Democratic caucus here feels that the president tried hard enough to deliver on his campaign promises," said Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, one of dozens of House Democrats defeated in last month's elections. Obama had House Democratic leaders "go through what turned out to be Potemkin meetings with his staff, when the real negotiations were being done elsewhere," he said.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who has strongly supported Obama and won re-election last month, told MSNBC the chief House representative "wasn't even in the room, and we did feel left out" during the key tax-cut negotiations.
Obama may have lost the support of the Congressional Black Caucus who are all opposed to this compromise.
Some of Obama's longtime allies have lashed out. Illinois Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. – who publicly chastised his famous father for criticizing Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign – said of the tax deal, "If we recklessly cut taxes for the wealthiest 2 percent, then Obamanomics will look an awful lot like Reaganomics."
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
