Tea Party Held a Gun to Obama's Head

[SoDesuKa]

The biggest asset the Republicans have is an uninformed electorate, so they actually got away with holding a gun to the president's head. But whether that fact registered with the voters or not, Obama was not in a position to provoke a showdown with the Tea Party nuts. So regardless of who "won" or "lost" in the deal, the president kept America from defaulting on its debt obligations.

Obama's taking a hit for giving away the store, but I think it's an unfair rap. Blindsided as he was by Republican extremism - as we all were - he really didn't have a choice but to make a generous settlement with them. However, now that the manufactured "crisis" is past, Obama and the rest of us have time to educate the American people what really went down.

It wasn't a normal political negotiation; it was a hijacking. Obama "surrendered" - if that word is even appropriate in the context of an extortion - only for the sake of the greater good. This is mature, responsible behavior, and eventually people will come to recognize it as such.



"Do What We Tell You."

[chillspike]

1. But couldn't Obama and dems

just let the bill fail and then invoke the 14th amendment?

[SoDesuKa]

8. 14th Amendment

Obama's legal advisors probably counseled against this interpretation of the Constitution. It's not as clear-cut as some people say it is. The issue came up in a press conference, and Obama said he didn't think the 14th Amendment was the way to go.

[LaurenG]

2. And Obama turned around and said shoot the American people in the head

not me.

[Pholus]

4. It's closer to say he then shot us in the head cause it was nicer coming from him than the 'thugs.

[KharmaTrain]

3. A Lesson In Representative Democracy...

Right now I've got teabagger Louie Gommert (a Jon Stewart fave) crying on C-SPIN about how bad this bill was...not enough cuts, not soon enough and deep enough. From listening to him the Democrats won a big victory and Boner and McTurtle caved. The extremes of both parties aren't satisfied...and I'll bet there's a satisfaction among the leadership of both parties that this must be a good thing.

The ugly truth is we have "divided" government. But this is divided not in two but in three or more. The rushpublicans are bitterly divided but remain united on their core corrupt tennets of "no taxes" (the paragon of being selfish) and seeing politics as a bloodsport. The teabaggers are flexing their muscles that will turn bloody in next year's primaries and has forced the entire party off the abyss. Democrats are doing all they can just to prevent the slide from taking all of us down. The sad truth is the baggers have enough votes in the House to prevent almost any sensible legislation from getting passed along with 40 rushpublican Senators who have a long history of obstruction. What we have is gridlock.

[marions ghost]

13. +++++

u said it

Gridlock

[LaydeeBug]

5. Bullshit. He had the Constitution, but twirled around until he had a crisis to do this shit with

He ought to be embarrassed about it

[fasttense]

6. When the Republican Fascist Party first took over in Italy, they didn't need violence.

The Fascist didn't really need tanks and weapons (though they did use them and displayed them). They merely rigged elections, rigged laws and allowed the socialist to capitulate. At every turn the socialist caved in.

So now our own Republican Fascist party is doing the same thing and getting the same results.

But there is a solution. They can only rule you if you let them. Take the pledge, show up and plan to stay:

"I will commit to being in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., with others on that day or the days immediately following, for as long as I can, with the intention of making it our Tahrir Square, Cairo, our Madison, Wisconsin, where we will NONVIOLENTLY resist the corporate machine by occupying Freedom Plaza to demand that America's resources be invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation. We can do this together. We will be the beginning."

http://october2011.org/welcome

[DCBob]

7. I was also surprised by the extent to which the TP/GOPers were willing to go to get their way..

I really thought they would give in sooner considering the Republican party is funded by fat cat investor/corporate types who stood the most to loose from a default.

[SoDesuKa]

9. Mad Dog Republicans

One of the uncertainties of these past few weeks is whether the Republicans were as crazy as they seemed to be. If they were rational they would have accepted the original Grand Bargain, but they turned it down.

We can't say for sure that they would not have crashed the economy. It certainly appeared that they were willing to do just that.

[comtec]

14. they knew he'd cave because he ALWAYS caves

name ONE issue he hasn't caved in on

just one

[no_hypocrisy]

10. And how do you make sure they don't get away with this tactic again?

It worked this time. It could work again unless you have a super majority in the Senate and a majority in the House and no Blue Dog democrats.

The deficit will be a different number but it will still be there and all the republicans have to do in the future is threaten not to raise the debt ceiling.

[Demstud]

12. You're right, have to make a stand at some point

While short term this "deal" is less damaging than a default in the immediate timeframe, it's something that's going to come up again and again and again. At some point Democrats and Independents will need to make a stand and say enough is enough. I'm not sure if this was the time to do that, I'm no political strategist or economist, but the situation for the middle class and poor isn't going to be getting any better any time soon.

[bowens43]

11. bullshit.

The president was a co-conspirator. remember it was Obama offering up social security and medicare (although it will be saved for round two).

Obama not only gave away thew store, he offered to start emptying the homes and garages of the poorest Americans.....

We have been screwed and Obama did it with a smile on his face and his hand in our pocket.

[jpak]

15. Obama grabbed the gun and pistol whipped 'em

Teabagger fail

yup

[Bluerthanblue]

16. that's what the media would have you think- they actually held it to Boehners

head,
and he was exposed.

He got less than he'd been holding out for with the deal he settled on, and lost face in the process.