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July 13, 2011 in News, Nation/World
Obama to GOP: Don’t call my bluff
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama bluntly told Republican congressional leaders Wednesday they must compromise quickly if the government is to avoid an unprecedented default, adding, “Don’t call my bluff” by passing a short-term debt limit increase he has threatened to veto.
The presidential warning, directed at House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., marked an acrimonious end to a two-hour negotiating session at the White House that produced no evident progress toward a compromise.
Another round of talks is set for Thursday.
With a threatened default less than three weeks away, Moody’s Investors Service announced it was reviewing the U.S. bond rating for a possible downgrade, and the Treasury said the annual deficit was on a pace to exceed $1 trillion for the third year in a row.
With the negotiations at a seeming standstill, Republicans drew a warning of a different sort, from an unlikely source — the party’s Senate leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
In an interview with radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham, McConnell warned fellow conservatives that failure to raise the debt limit would probably ensure Obama’s re-election in 2012.
Republicans, many of them elected with the support of tea party activists in 2010, are demanding deep spending cuts as the price for allowing a debt limit increase to pass. But negotiations have bogged down over Obama’s demand for tax increases that GOP lawmakers say they won’t accept.
McConnell predicted that if Congress fails to act, Obama will argue “that Republicans are making the economy worse and try to convince the public, maybe with some merit, if people start not getting their Social Security checks and military families start getting letters saying their service people overseas don’t get paid.
“You know, it’s an argument he has a good chance of winning, and all of a sudden we (Republicans) have co-ownership of a bad economy,” McConnell said. “That is a very bad positioning going into an election.”
McConnell said his first choice was to reach a good compromise with Obama.
Short of that, “my second obligation is to my party … to prevent them from being sucked into a horrible position politically that would allow the president probably to get re-elected because we didn’t handle this difficult situation correctly.”
With bipartisan talks scheduled to resume on Thursday, two Democratic officials quoted Obama as telling Republicans, “Enough is enough. We have to be willing to compromise. It shouldn’t be about positioning and politics and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Talking with reporters at the Capitol after he left the White House, Cantor said the president had backed away from spending cuts agreed to earlier because of pressure from Democrats in Congress. He said the two sides were far from agreement on a $2.4 trillion package of deficit cuts that would allow the Treasury to borrow through the next election.
As a result, the Virginian said he had reversed his own position, and was now willing to ask the House to approve a smaller increase, with a second installment before the 2012 election.
“He got very agitated seemingly and said he had sat here long enough and that no other president, Ronald Reagan wouldn’t sit here like this,” Cantor said of the president.
Cantor quoted Obama as saying the talks had reached the point that “something’s got to give,” and demanded Republicans either jettison their demand for deficit cuts at least equal to the size of the debt limit or drop their opposition to tax increases.
“And he said to me, ‘Eric, don’t call my bluff.’ He said, ‘I’m going to the American people with this.’”
Democratic officials said that in fact, Cantor had twice earlier in the meeting raised the possibility of a short-term bill, and that he interrupted the president mid-sentence to do so a third time.
At the Capitol, rank-and-file lawmakers advanced their own fallback measures in case the bipartisan compromise talks fail.
One version, authored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was designed to make sure Social Security benefits are paid on time. Another, unveiled by a trio of House conservatives, would give priority to paychecks for members of the armed forces.
Without an increase in government borrowing authority by Aug. 2, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has warned, there could be a default posing a catastrophic risk to the economy, still recovering from the worst recession in decades.
At least in part, McConnell’s comments were a rebuttal to conservatives who criticized his proposal on Tuesday to let Obama raise the debt limit without a vote of Congress.
Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich called that idea an “an irresponsible surrender to big government, big deficits and continued overspending,” and Ingraham said she had received emails from conservative listeners likening McConnell to Pontius Pilate.
The Republican lawmaker brushed aside the biblical reference. But without mentioning Gingrich by name, he referred to two government shutdowns of 1995 that the one-time House speaker engineered in hopes of winning deep spending cuts from a Democratic president.
The tactic backfired politically on Gingrich and the Republicans, and benefited President Bill Clinton.
Some Democrats couldn’t resist the temptation to jab at Republicans.
“You have the Republicans who walked out of the Biden talks. You have the speaker of the House who’s close to entering into a framework agreement with the president of the United States walk out because other Republicans in the House undercut him,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a participant in the talks led by Vice President Joe Biden.
“And now you have Republicans trashing a proposal put forward by the Republican leader in the Senate.”
Nelson’s proposal was designed to ensure that Social Security recipients receive their checks in the event of a default, mandating that the program’s obligations no longer count against the overall debt limit.
He acted one day after Obama cautioned that he could not guarantee the checks would go out if there was a default.
On the other side of the Capitol, Republican Reps. Steve King of Iowa, Louie Gohmert of Texas and Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, a presidential candidate, said if the debt ceiling is reached, the Treasury should fund pay any allowances for members of the armed forces first and obligations on the public debt second, ahead of all other expenses.
Congressional Republicans have had a relatively muted response to McConnell’s debt limit proposal. Privately, though, conservative lawmakers have been critical, accusing him of giving up the leverage the GOP has to force Obama into making deep spending cuts as the price for an increase in the debt limit.
© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Dazzeetrader11 on July 13 at 7:48 p.m.
oooooooooooo………….big time …………Oooooooooo……..
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58937.html…
Hope he keeps going:)
misjustice on July 13 at 8:00 p.m.
Me too!
; )
I love the drama! Eric Cantor’s adam’s apple was quivering! Exciting!
misjustice on July 13 at 8:01 p.m.
“Republicans always planned to “blame” Mr. Obama for the debt ceiling increase, even if there was a deal. The House speaker, John Boehner, said Tuesday that the debt ceiling was the president’s problem, as if Mr. Obama alone had cut taxes, started wars, expanded Medicare and bailed out Wall Street. Republicans are no less complicit in running up the nation’s borrowing; they simply do not want to pay the bills now that they have come due.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/opinion/13wed1.html?ref=opinion
Spokane_Citizen on July 13 at 8:10 p.m.
Indeed…Cantor’s adam’s apple was quivering, and Mitch managed to swallow his own rather negligible chin and disappear into his shell.
This is playing into another repeat of the Newt government shut-down era….and won’t end well for repugs or America.
Daisy, Dazzee, blondsenseless, or whatever you want to call yourself…crawl back in your bottle!
crazyivan44 on July 13 at 8:22 p.m.
Hopefully it isnt the Newt era all over again and the GOP musters some guts and doubles down. This short term deficit increase shouldn’t even be an option. No increase in the debt limit and reduce spending PERIOD. None of these fools can see past the end of their nose. You know what, people are going to suffer as a result of any decision, period. The longer they wait the more people get wrecked by it. So cut your losses, stop putting bandaids on it and perform the surgery already!
force_vector on July 13 at 8:24 p.m.
Who had peas with dinner?
oneanddone on July 13 at 8:28 p.m.
How telling when McConnell says about his party, “…prevent them from being sucked into a horrible position politically…” These people always think first of themselves and their ability to wield power, not the taxpayer, not the country. With the budget, the only answer I can imagine is a constitutional amendment which states that no member of the federal gov’t, other than military, will be paid until a budget is passed and signed. Otherwise, no pay, no benefits, and once gone - gone for good. Let’s see McConnell try to get home at night with thousands of gov’t workers out gunning for him.
misjustice on July 13 at 8:33 p.m.
The turtle already has about a million Teabaggers gunnin’ for him!
Help him find his spine! Call him at 202-224-2541.
*Note to Teabaggers, turtles don’t have spines!
crazyivan44 on July 13 at 8:40 p.m.
oneanddone - how disgusting is it that these creeps can serve a single term and get their lifelong pension and benefits?
I certainly agree with you that except for a handful they are all out for themselves first.
reservedparking on July 13 at 8:50 p.m.
Love it - the republicant’s are imploding, eating their young, and otherwise self-destructing. Boehner nor Cantor can’t get control of their majority. Outstanding.
Blondscence on July 13 at 8:53 p.m.
I hope Obama offends many. I hope he plays tough with the Reds, the elderly, sick and the disabled and the veterans. Then he’ll be a goner of his own making. Afterall, he said he’s willing to be a one termer. I hope he meant it. Let this little socialist go “bye bye”. He has only 18 months left….he’s a lame duck now.
Smuggled in without a record. Now he has one. I hope people remember that he’s not done one good thing but push his unwanted socialism using Bush’s terms as his excuse. His own party has him surrounded.
misjustice on July 13 at 9:10 p.m.
Well, blondscence, unless the Rs get a viable candidate or unless President Barack Hussien Obama decides NOT to run (doubt it by the 2012 war chest he is amassing) then you’ll have to suck it up for another 4 years.
I mean really, Mittster with his magic underwear or Bachmann with her (I believe closeted) husband that prays the gay out of people and calls it therapy? Indies aren’t gonna go wild over either one of the Rs “front runners”.
Just sayin’…
; )
greenlibertarian on July 13 at 9:24 p.m.
crazyivan44 on July 13 at 8:40 p.m.
oneanddone - how disgusting is it that these creeps can serve a single term and get their lifelong pension and benefits?
I see why they call you crazy. Believe every idiot email you receive, eh?
Believe in hoaxes, eh?
What a surprise.
force_vector on July 13 at 9:25 p.m.
I hope you all see the irony here. None of you can agree on anything that resembles even the slightest compromise with those you disagree with. The behavior of our congress, and the resulting lack of credibility, is a direct reflection of the mandate you have all given them through your own vitriol and senselessness. We have seen the problem, and the problem is us.
greenlibertarian on July 13 at 9:28 p.m.
“Well, blondscence, unless the Rs get a viable candidate”
That would be the troll dazedandconfused, double dipping on Karl Rove’s dime.
Not a bad gig if you can get it.
RedCedar on July 13 at 10:00 p.m.
You got it, force_vector. What used to be statesmanship on the part of the politicians and civic responsibility on the part of the voters has turned into nothing more than a football game; pick your favorite team and then have fun talking trash about the enemy team and getting all worked up about making sure your team wins.
nslopeofw on July 13 at 10:24 p.m.
It is funny to watch O puff up. Does he actually think anyone is afraid? Maybe he should just stick to bowing to other leaders, and leave the governing to those who stick to their principals. Man i hope he is gone in ‘12. He shames our country every day.
crazyivan44 on July 13 at 10:37 p.m.
greenlibertarian - what email are you talking about?
Dazzeetrader11 on July 13 at 10:40 p.m.
We conservatives understand your basic premise - Obama is the Messiah and everything he does is good. Republicans are bad, evil and want old people to be ground up into fuel for corporate jets.
Obama does not hold the high ground. Multiple polls shows a solid majority wants government debt taken care of with CUTS!!! Obama is inept. He has failed to show any leadership and nows that he is involved, he is getting angry that the Republicans don’t simply cave to his greatness so he can get back to golf. Every day it becomes more obvious that Obama and his apostles have no clue how to fix the economy and create jobs, without the socialist policies that have failed every where they have been tried.
Simply put: Obama has no plan except to spend more. His is a failed presidency and a failed socialist. He might think about resigning.
Sounds kind of extreme? We think not. You liberals cannot think or breathe without spending. It’s your nature and always on your “pea” brains.
How will spending more cure what’s hurting America? He’s tried that and it’s been a disaster. In a nutshell…….you spend YOUR money and I’ll keep an eye on MY own stack.
This is just another reason why the money is kept on the sidelines. They/we don’t and can’t trust the socialist. He’s erratic at the best. And now, his threats are alienating him further from the blues and the reds. Terrible president…among the worst. Carter incompetence without the peanuts.
bdr on July 13 at 10:52 p.m.
Didn’t someone sing a song about this…..?
Jason Mraz - A Beautiful Mess
“I wonder if Biden’s words of wisdom come into play here too.”
They do the same things over and over expecting different results.
Dazzeetrader11 on July 13 at 11:06 p.m.
Well put nslope…it’s getting ridiculous to eve listen to him. He knows not of what he speaks and then changes it every 5 minutes. he’s unstable now. he cannot win. Even IF he taxed every millionaire in the country 100% there would never be enough to cure the debt he’s made already. SIlly to watch him.
greenlibertarian on July 13 at 11:09 p.m.
“crazyivan44 on July 13 at 10:37 p.m.
greenlibertarian - what email are you talking about?”
Ye of minimal intelligence, google it hoax, Congresscritters do NOT get a full pension after one term.
Pay frickin’ attention.
Your ignorance is showing, AGAIN!
So many ignoramuses, so little time.
misjustice on July 14 at 6:38 a.m.
Dazzee typed, “Simply put: Obama has no plan except to spend more.”
Hmmm, not true; or to use another word, lie.
He was pushing Mr. Boner for a “big package”, much of which was budget CUTS, and Boner whimped out countering that he could only offer 2 T instead of the 4 T he previously said could be done (over ten years).
And about that other lie, that buisness won’t invest in jobs because everything is just sooooo “uncertain”; when did our business leaders turn into such wimps? Ohhhhh, they are just too scared to create jobs, it’s just too uncertain, too scary!!!! REALLY? Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!
Poor babies! They want certainty? In an uncertain world? Well so do the rest of us.
RedCedar on July 14 at 4:01 p.m.
Multiple polls shows a solid majority wants government debt taken care of with CUTS!!!
That’s true, but when the pollsters go a step further and ask, “Do you want to cut medicare?” NO! “Do you want to cut the military?” NO! “Do you want to cut social security?” NO!
The majority wants cuts, but the majority also doesn’t want anything specific and significant cut. The congresscritters get reelected not by bragging about what they cut, but by coming home and saying “I saved grandma’s oxygen!”, “I kept Fort Fizzle open!”, “I built the new freeway to Forest Vista Estates!”, “I kept crippled children from freezing to death in the snow!”, and so on. At this point, we’re pretty much getting the government that most of us pretty much want.