A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Well, no deal. Article on Obama's dual agenda,


Posted: Dec 31, 2012

In politics, nothing is simple or as it seems. This description of what's going on may be accurate, but it'll be only part of it anyway. 

From The Economist, 12/20/2012 (not much has changed since then, except we now know no deal was reached in 2012):

...Or will both sides allow the country to sail over the fiscal cliff, with Mr Obama hoping the public continues to blame Republicans for the failure of negotiations, while Mr Boehner hopes that the passage of Plan B allows him to blame it on Mr Obama?

The answer to that last question has a lot to do with the incentives facing Mr Obama at this point. It's not simply that he may get a better deal on taxes and spending cuts, from a Democratic perspective, if he allows the fiscal cliff to kick in on January 1st. It's also that letting the fiscal cliff kick in may better serve his other main incentive: dividing and weakening the Republican Party.

Mr Boehner's Plan B is an attempt to defray blame for the fiscal cliff onto Democrats, but if the country actually goes over the cliff, Plan B is unlikely to shield Republicans. Pressure from business groups and from taxpayers to reach a compromise deal before the economy suffers serious damage will become immense. Polls are consistently showing Americans more likely to blame Republicans than Democrats if negotiations fail. The president's initial $250,000 tax-hike cutoff still enjoys majority popular support; his secondary $400,000 cutoff is already a substantial compromise. The GOP is suffering tremendous political stress while the standoff continues, and that stress will become unbearable once tax hikes and defence sequesters kick in. Mr Boehner will have to come up with a Republican position that Democrats can accept, and it is likely to be very close to the offer Mr Obama put forth on Monday.

A vote over such a compromise deal would tear the GOP's congressional faction apart. However many Republicans defect on today's vote over Plan B (The Hill's count currently has 11 saying they'll vote no and 25 more no-comments and undecideds), a multiple of that number would refuse to vote for a real compromise with the Democrats. Democrats could achieve a fiscal-cliff deal by winning the votes of a couple of dozen moderate Republicans, but such a move would be electoral suicide for any Republican who tried it. Republicans will need to form a large bloc to give themselves cover for a compromise, but the larger the bloc, the more dangerous the division between the party's tea-party and moderate factions will be for its overall future.

Fostering the civil war in the Republican Party is crucial to Mr Obama's chances of getting any part of his agenda passed over the next four years. The top items on that agenda are climate-change legislation, immigration reform, and (suddenly) gun control, along with keeping up some measure of progressive stimulus until the economy is fully recovering.

But if the Republican faction in the House stays as united as it has been for the past 18 years, only immigration reform has any chance of passing. If Mr Obama can crack Republican party discipline on taxes, he may be able to press the other items on his agenda as well. Alternatively, he can look forward to elections against a divided, angry GOP in 2014, and hope to go into the last two years of his term with a stronger position in the House.

Republicans have locked themselves into an impossible position on budgeting by simultaneously vowing never to allow taxes hikes, and passing long-term budgets that create a fiscal cliff necessitating tax hikes. It's in Mr Obama's interests to gain Republican cooperation to work out the best possible deal, but if that's not forthcoming, it's also in his interests to use the impossibility of the Republicans' position to weaken them. Back before the elections, Mr Chait wrote a piece distilling the thinking he'd heard from Obama aides on the budget debates. "The term that keeps popping up among Obamans is break," Mr Chait wrote, "as in, 'we have to break the Republicans on taxes.'" That strategy seems to be working out. Either Mr Obama is going to break the Republicans on taxes, or he's going to try to break the Republicans. On taxes.

;

You left out the first half of this blog piece - and its link.

[ In Reply To ..]
Full disclosure of context ROCKS! In this case, the first half of the discussion was devoted to recalling how many different ways the House GOP and its so-called leadership have sabotaged and derailed this process time and time again.

The emphatic bolding was not present in the blog piece. I appreciate an author who not only provides full disclosure, but also allows the reader to decide which points are most important.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2012/12/fiscal-cliff-3

Source named at top. "..." and content indicate an excerpt. - Comment on content invited,

[ In Reply To ..]
this sort of thing...useful to whom?

I didn't copy the stuff about the GOP because that yeah-of-course wasn't what I found interesting and was pointing out to people who assume this's only about the budget agreement: That President Obama no doubt does have at least a "dual agenda," maybe triple.

I would certainly expect no less of him and his group of advisors. There are also probably other items on their wish list, but we may have to wait for the biographies for the details. Knowledge IS power, and the surest way to lose is to empower your opponent.

A dem.

Wrong. Deal struck in Senate by those who stayed in DC - to do their jobs,

[ In Reply To ..]
including President Obama. Vote is pending, but I doubt they would be broadcasting its details if they weren't confident about the Senate vote. Assuming the House leaves their marbles at home and shows up for work tomorrow, we will then see who exactly is splitting the GOP into fragments and which ones have the secret political agendas (such as keeping fear of their own 2014 party primaries at bay), since they will be forced to vote. That's assuming Boehner doesn't pull another Boehner by blocking the vote until he can cobble together his imaginary "united front."

Meanwhile, President Obama's actions speak much louder than the Economist blogger's words. It would appear the GOP needs no help from him when it comes to fostering division and weakness within their ranks. They're doing a fine job with that all by themselves.

I should know better than to trust "CNN Breaking - News." BUT, deal struck in a.m. 2013. :)

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Similar Messages:


Atlantic Article About The Iran Nuclear Deal. See LinkApr 08, 2015
. ...

Obama Looks Past GOP In Promoting His 2015 AgendaJan 04, 2015
Obama's approach for the new year appears to look straight past newly emboldened Republicans who take full control of Congress on Tuesday.   Link:  http://news.yahoo.com/obama-aims-start-2015-own-terms-145550900.html   Obama says, "Congress ... what Congress?" ...

Michelle Obama Adds Education Policy To Her Agenda OfNov 13, 2013
Michelle Obama's new initiative includes encouraging kids to go to college, "whatever it takes." That's our gal. :) FT “She just could not have done this four years ago,” said Catherine Allgor, a professor of history at the University of California, Riverside, who has written books about first ladies. “If she came out of the gate with something much more tied to policy, she would have been shot down. Just look at the reaction to her suggestions that people eat salad. ...

More On The Obama-GE Deal...Apr 21, 2011
See article. ...

Dual Hurricanes, Twin Tornadoes Aug 07, 2014
Have the climate change deniers noticed? ...

Obama Pharma DealFeb 15, 2010
Link below. ...

Obama's Hidden Iran Deal Giveaway. Apr 25, 2017
By dropping charges against major arms targets, the administration infuriated Justice Department officials — and undermined its own counterproliferation task forces. When President Barack Obama announced the “one-time gesture” of releasing Iranian-born prisoners who “were not charged with terrorism or any violent offenses” last year, his administration presented the move as a modest trade-off for the greater good of the Iran nuclear agreement and Tehran’s pledge to free five Ameri ...

Obama Engaged In Cover Up During Iran Deal. Jun 13, 2017
the Obama administration prevented multiple federal agencies from thwarting Iranian-backed terrorist organizations. The Iran deal shields Iranian-backed terrorists from prosecution. As the politics of the deal became more important than national security, the administration suspended a highly effective method of crippling Hezbollah, ISIS, and other terrorist organizations. The resulting disorder helped Hezbollah spread further in the Middle East and into South America. As the politics of t ...

Obama Tried To Sway Iraqis On Bush Deal. Jun 16, 2017
was negotiating a still elusive agreement to keep the U.S. military in Iraq, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried to convince Iraqi leaders in private conversations that the president shouldn’t be allowed to enact the deal without congressional approval. Mr. Obama’s conversations with the Iraqi leaders, confirmed to The Washington Times by his campaign aides, began just two weeks after he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination in June and stirred controversy over ...

Obama Administration To Public On Iran Deal: Butt Out Mar 26, 2015
Nuclear Terror: "Mind your own business" is the State Department's message to the public on previewing a deal that may let Iran get a nuclear bomb. The Most Transparent Administration In History strikes again. Maybe an Iran nuclear deal really is the ObamaCare of foreign policy, as White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes once quipped to liberal activists.   Fox News' Greta Van Susteren on Tuesday asked State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki a very basic question ...

After Obama's Bad Deal, American Black Hawk HelicoptersJun 26, 2017
for Afghan Air Force. The Donald Trump Pentagon, in so many words, is saying that the Obama administration’s decision to waive punitive sanctions and buy combat helicopters from Russia was a bad deal. The Pentagon’s first congressionally required report on Afghanistan under President Trump says the Russian Mi-17 chopper has proved a failure in the long war and will be phased out in favor of American-made UH-60 Black Hawks. The Obama administration came to realize the failure in its las ...

The Left Is Teaming Up With The Tea Party To Tank Obama's Trade DealApr 18, 2015
Has a miracle taken place or did some Dems wake up and see how Obama is trying to turn our government into something other than a republic?????FYI, this article is from one of the liberal Dems favorite leftwing websites. :)After years of ridiculing the Tea Party movement’s talk of Obama as an autocrat, the left is now pushing those very buttons. That sounds like a garden-variety pitch from a grass-roots constitutional conservative. Except Covington is no Tea Partier. He is an organi ...

Pro-gun âpatriot Groupsâ Plan Dual Rallies In Washington On Disputed April AnniversaApr 06, 2010
By Stephen C. WebsterMonday, April 5th, 2010 -- 8:16 pm Update (at bottom): Pro-gun ads appearing in this report not directly linked to RAW STORY The date April 19 seems to have a strange echo in American history. According to the media, a pro-gun group planning a rally in Washington, D.C. on that day is doing so because it is the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. While technically correct, that's not half the story. The controversy surrounds two groups: Oath Keepers and Second ...

Obama Deal Seeks To "Eliminate" Trade BarriersMay 22, 2015
Now Running $24.9B Trade Deficit With U.S. (CNSNews.com) - The Trans-Pacific Partnership that President Barack Obama is negotiating with 11 other nations seeks to eliminate both tariff and nontariff trade barriers with these countries, according to the Congressional Research Service. One of those countries is Vietnam, which the State Department says maintains a Communist regime. In 2014, the U.S. ran a $24,858,700,000 trade deficit with Vietnam, according to U.S. government trade data publ ...

Barrack Obama Sr......interesting ArticleSep 21, 2010
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0927/politics-socialism-capitalism-private-enterprises-obama-business-problem.html ...

When The Obama Magic Died...articleNov 15, 2013
By Fouad Ajami Nov. 14, 2013 6:59 p.m. ET The current troubles of the Obama presidency can be read back into its beginnings. Rule by personal charisma has met its proper fate. The spell has been broken, and the magician stands exposed. We need no pollsters to tell us of the loss of faith in Mr. Obama's policies—and, more significantly, in the man himself. Charisma is like that. Crowds come together and they project their needs onto an imagined redeemer. The redeemer leaves ...

Washington Post Article: Obama's MotherMar 20, 2012
... ...

Obama: Deal "within Sight" But He Sure Made Sure Dec 31, 2012
his audience wasn't reporters, just Obama lovers. This so-called deal does NOT include spending cuts.....and guess what? The raising of taxes on the few will only bring in $80 billion a year------and already he has earmarked to spend $60 billion, so that will only leave $20 billion towards debt and deficit. His audience loved it. When are they going to start doing the math and realize how deep that hole is gettingt? Obama: Deal ‘within sight’ Posted by Rachel Weiner&nb ...

His AgendaAug 25, 2012
...

Our President's AgendaJun 14, 2010
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-us-india-strategic-dialogue-reception ...

Republican AgendaMar 14, 2017
Well they are nothing if not consistent.  Big tax breaks for the 1% and 24 million old, poor and disabled without insurance.   ...

Immigration Reform Off The AgendaApr 30, 2010
I especially love the line about not doing something just for the sake of politics - who is he kidding?  The whole reason it's not on the agenda anymore is because of politics!  And you can blame the republicans or the democrats - they're both just as guilty of doing what's right for themselves instead of what's right for the country!  A politician doesn't do anything that isn't for the sake of politics! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100430/ ...

New Neighbor’s Agenda: White Power TakeoverAug 31, 2013
  Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times Paul Craig Cobb, 61, has been buying up property in this town of 24 people in an effort to transform it into a colony for white supremacists. More Photos » By JOHN ELIGON   Published: August 29, 2013 524 Comments FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ SAVE E-MAIL SHARE PRINT SINGLE PAGE REPRINTS   LEITH, N.D. — The bearded man with thinning, gray-and-bleach-blond hair flapping down his neck first ...

CNN Poll: 67% Oppose Obama’s Executive AgendaJan 30, 2014
A CNN/ORC poll of viewers who watched the last State of the Union address found that 67% oppose Barack Obama’s plan to pursue his political agenda via executive orders.During his speech last night, Obama unveiled a raft of executive orders and also promised to enact gun control measures “with or without Congress.”However, viewers reacted negatively to Obama’s plan to bypass lawmakers. They were asked, “In general, would you rather see Barack Obama attempt to re ...

Executive Order--Advancing The Global Health Security Agenda.Nov 05, 2016
Executive Order that the WH hopes nobody is paying attention to. Like pardoning hundreds of criminals. How much sovereignty do we still have? ...

How Do You Deal With It When You Believe Your Dad...Aug 22, 2010
I've posted about my dad on here a few weeks ago, how he steals and is a not so great person and nobody wants to be around him or anything cause of the way he is...Well me and my mom were looking through some of my old jewelry from high school.  Not really worth much of anything.  Well I got out my box with my grandma's class ring and a necklace her brother brought back from world war II for her.  The ring was gone and so was the necklace.  I have waited since I was ...

DEAL WITH ITAug 20, 2015
That's the headline on the latest Time Magazine cover accompanied by The Donald's picture. I love it!!!! ...

How To Deal With AlonenessApr 15, 2011
This sounds so whiny, but I work alone at home all day, my husband is a workaholic so he is not around much, and I don't have close friends that I can just call up to chat with.   I am finding myself doing unhealthy things like eating too much and drinking too much to fill up my lonely hours.  I feel so weak and I hate myself for not being strong enough to pull myself out of this hole that I have let myself slide into.  I probably need some counseling but my insurance wo ...

Who Else Feels This Way And How To You Deal With It?Nov 12, 2009
everyday these issues bother me:  Abusers, neglect, perverts, laziness, gluttony, selfishness, liers, rudeness, bitchiness, uncaring.  Cannot read headlines, what people do to their kids and pets.  I wish for elimination of sickos.  I have trouble sitting here working all day knowing what goes on.  Haven't watched the news for months.  I feel like I'm fading away.  ...

GOP AGs May Sue Over Nelson's DealDec 31, 2009
I think they should look into it. They make some good points. Why should all of us pay while one state will be exempt? GOP AGs may sue over health bill Alex Isenstadt Alex Isenstadt – Thu Dec 24, 5:57 am ET On the eve of an historic Senate health care reform vote, more than half of the Republican state attorneys general have organized to provide a legal analysis of the constitutionality of a controversial provision in the Senate bill and to explore potent ...