The Presidential Planner: Debt Talks Continue
EmailABC News' Mary Bruce (@marykbruce) Reports:
Just one day after President Obama warned Congress against “toying” with the debt ceiling, the deficit talks will continue today when Congressional leaders meet with the President and Vice President at the White House.
House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer are all expected attend this morning's meeting.
With just weeks to go until the August 2 deadline to raise the country’s $14.3 trillion debt limit, Obama is expected to push congressional leaders to think big and embrace both spending cuts as well as new taxes and sources of revenue that exceed the $2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years that both sides have been negotiating.
The White House has made clear it’s not willing to “kick the can down the road” when it comes to solving the nation’s deficit and Obama will likely press the leaders to put together a larger package addressing new taxes, entitlement spending, defense spending, and discretionary spending.
On Wednesday, the president issued a stern warning that the debt ceiling should not be “used as a gun against the heads of the American people to extract tax breaks” for the wealthy and said that any agreement should include "what works," a modest tax increase on the wealthy.
“You're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts. And the facts are that a modest increase for wealthy individuals is not shown to have an adverse impact on job growth,” Obama said at the White House Twitter town hall.
The president said this week that in order to make a deal both sides are going to have to abandon their "sacred cows" and give a little. As Obama explained, “everybody's going to leave their ultimatums at the door” and do what’s best for the country.
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“…the debt ceiling should not be “used as a gun against the heads of the American people to extract tax breaks” for the wealthy…”
.
Nothing but the usual class warfare garbage from the community organizer in chief. Besides, he needs those guns for his Fast and Furious program to arm drug dealers in Mexico.
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | July 7, 2011, 8:47 am 8:47 am
““You’re entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts. And the facts are that a modest increase for wealthy individuals is not shown to have an adverse impact on job growth,” Obama said at the White House Twitter town hall.”
So this is a fact?? Did he cite a source or is this just some economist’s opinion too? This just shows why that twitter town hall was so ridiculous yesterday.
Posted by: J.R. | July 7, 2011, 8:55 am 8:55 am
“On Wednesday, the president issued a stern warning that the debt ceiling should not be “used as a gun against the heads of the American people to extract tax breaks” ”
So when Obama uses violent rhetoric it is a stern warning, but when Sarah Palin referenced scopes on “targeted” districts it was akin to being an accomplice to a nutball’s shooting spree. Unreal.
Posted by: J.R. | July 7, 2011, 8:57 am 8:57 am
Posted by: J.R. | Jul 7, 2011 8:57:21 AM
You are exactly right, J.R. Just yesterday I posted on another Political Punch blog what you see below. Not ONE liberal poster responded to it. How funny…
Here’s my post:
“And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we’re gonna PUNISH OUR ENEMIES and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,”
-Obama, October 2010
“Never in our history has the United States defaulted on its debt. The debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the American people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners, for oil and gas companies that are making billions of dollars because the price of gasoline has gone up so high. I mean, I’m happy to have those debates. I think the American people are on my side on this,” Obama said.
“I think it’s tempting not to negotiate with hostage-takers — unless the hostage gets harmed, in which case, I think people will question that strategy,” Obama said. “In this case, the hostage was the American people, and I was not willing to see them get harmed.
-Obama, December 2007
(explaining his decision to give in to Republicans on extension of Bush tax cuts)
What is with this guy? He uses these phrases so flippantly and I suppose he thinks they are catchy or funny. In a time of war(s) where our military people and other innocent bystanders are ‘being held hostage’, or have guns held to their heads, or are facing TRUE ENEMIES, for him to toss these words out like candy is just wrong. Is this the same guy who constantly talks about ‘everyone getting along’ and being ‘adults’? If someone called me a hostage taker, and then wanted my backing later on, I’d tell him very politely to shove it.
Posted by: Shoe | Jul 6, 2011 8:29:45 PM
Posted by: Shoe | July 7, 2011, 9:21 am 9:21 am
Mary Bruce writes: “The White House has made clear it’s not willing to “kick the can down the road” when it comes to solving the nation’s deficit”
Except of course for ignoring the Bowles-Simpson report, trying to ram through a Continuing Resolution in the lame-duck session, putting out a budget that was voted down 97-0 by the Senate, failure to put any actual proposal on the negotiating table during debt-ceiling talks, and repeatedly calling for additional spending.
To quote CBO Director Doug Elmendorf: “We don’t score speeches”.
What the White House has made clear, is that it doesn’t want any serious spending reductions.
Posted by: Dave in colorado | July 7, 2011, 10:25 am 10:25 am
What the White House has made clear, is that it doesn’t want any serious spending reductions.
Posted by: Dave in colorado
You must be watching what they do and ignoring what they say.
This ain’t gonna get it done…”$2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years that both sides have been negotiating.” And that’s before we hear the weasel words.
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | July 7, 2011, 10:52 am 10:52 am
AWR Hawkins reports:
“Nixon had nothing to do with planning Watergate. Only with covering it up once he learned of it after the fact.
Watergate provided the Left with such a singularly sweet opportunity to bring down a Republican president that they’ve never gotten over it.
No one died during the Watergate break-ins or as a result of Nixon’s cover-up.
Jump now to 2011 – of the approximately 2500 guns sold only a few hundred have been recovered and at least one federal agent, Brian Terry, lost his life due to this ludicrous operation.
Talk about a cover-up: this operation was somehow planned and conducted without the full knowledge of the Acting ATF Director, the Justice Department, or President Obama having any knowledge of it.
Look folks, this is ridiculous. Where is Chris Matthews? Where is that Keith guy who used to work for MSNBC? Where are all the freaks who wanted to hang George W. Bush in effigy for supposedly-lying about Iraq?
Why are they silent in the face of so great a cover-up?”
Jake, keep asking…
Posted by: wheresmymoney | July 7, 2011, 10:56 am 10:56 am
“Nixon had nothing to do with planning Watergate. Only with covering it up once he learned of it after the fact.”
Oh well! That’s fine. What a decent upstanding Republican . . .
Posted by: bill | July 7, 2011, 12:47 pm 12:47 pm
Sarah Palin referenced scopes on “targeted” districts it was akin to being an accomplice to a nutball’s shooting spree. Unreal.
Posted by: J.R. | Jul 7, 2011 8:57:21 AM
Palin’s people put rifle scope sights on people she felt deserved to be removed. People her crowd had referred to as enemies of America. Not very smart. Obama spoke a commonly used expression for trying to force people to do what you want – and the gun was NOT pointed at his enemies. Nor did the image suggest it should be.
Funny who the right can’t see the difference. Real funny.
.
Posted by: Chuck | July 7, 2011, 12:55 pm 12:55 pm
A double scoop of hypocrisy from our boy prince:
Obama 7/5/11: “It is my hope that….we’ll all leave our political rhetoric at the door.”
Obama 7/6/11: “the debt ceiling should not be “USED AS A GUN AGAINST THE HEADS of the American people to extract tax breaks” for the wealthy.”
What a difference a day makes.
Now Obama is offering MAJOR cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
Gee, I thought only Paul Ryan wanted to “end Medicare as we know it.”
Posted by: The Audacity of Hypocrisy | July 7, 2011, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm
Now Obama is offering MAJOR cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
Posted by: The Audacity of Hypocrisy | Jul 7, 2011 1:18:35 PM
What major cuts is Obama offering? You seem to know so much . . .
Posted by: Arnold | July 7, 2011, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
Funny who the right can’t see the difference. Real funny.
—
Fast and furiously funny, I’d say…
Posted by: .223 | July 7, 2011, 1:37 pm 1:37 pm
“Palin’s people put rifle scope sights on people she felt deserved to be removed. People her crowd had referred to as enemies of America. Not very smart.”
The implied assertion of cause and effect is baseless.
The use of the expression “rifle scope sights” is inaccurate and prejudicial.
The focus on Palin is obsessive.
The failure to acknowledge the pervasiveness of this kind of language and symbolism in all walks of life, including lib/prog/dems political ads, is either ignorant or hypocritical.
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | July 7, 2011, 1:47 pm 1:47 pm
“Palin’s people put rifle scope sights on people she felt deserved to be removed.”
No she didn’t. She put scopes over districts, not the actual congressmen. Get your facts straight before “shooting” off like that.
“Funny who the right can’t see the difference. Real funny.”
Both instances were metaphors but it is funny how the left is hypocritical when it comes to their usage.
Posted by: J.R. | July 7, 2011, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm
Posted by: J.R. | Jul 7, 2011 1:49:59 PM
Those are real people who represent the districts with gun scope sights targeted on them. People Palin thought we should get rid of. Not a bright idea for Palin, whos supporters are extreme enough to label those people ‘enemies of America’.
You go ahead and support that kind of extremst imagery. I don’t.
Posted by: Chuck | July 7, 2011, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
“You go ahead and support that kind of extremst imagery. I don’t.”
Right on, Chuck. They bring a knife, you bring a gun.
Posted by: Chi | July 7, 2011, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm
“You go ahead and support that kind of extremst imagery. I don’t.”
I got it, metaphorical guns to the heads of the American public used by a democrat…OK.
Metaphorical crosshairs on a map targeting districts used by a republican…extremist imagery.
Got it. So do you know what double standard or hypocrit means?
Posted by: J.R. | July 7, 2011, 2:31 pm 2:31 pm
Posted by: J.R. | Jul 7, 2011 2:31:51 PM
Let’s recap, shall we . ..
Those are real people who represent the districts with gun scope sights targeted on them. People Palin thought we should get rid of. Not a bright idea for Palin, whos supporters are extreme enough to label those people ‘enemies of America’.
Obama spoke a commonly used expression for trying to force people to do what you want – and the gun was NOT pointed at his enemies. Nor did the image suggest it should be.
Posted by: Chuck | July 7, 2011, 2:40 pm 2:40 pm
Posted by: Chuck | Jul 7, 2011 2:40:41 PM
That’s quite a pretzel you’ve spun yourself into, but whatever makes you sleep better at night. Republican metaphors-bad, Democrat metaphors-good.
Posted by: J.R. | July 7, 2011, 3:02 pm 3:02 pm
Republican metaphors-bad, Democrat metaphors-good.
Posted by: J.R. | Jul 7, 2011 3:02:54 PM
Didn’t say that at all. What was said was . . .
In the case of the Palin situation, those are real people who represent the districts with gun scope sights targeted on them. People Palin thought we should get rid of. Not a bright idea for Palin, whos supporters are extreme enough to label those people ‘enemies of America’.
Obama spoke a commonly used expression for trying to force people to do what you want – and the gun was NOT pointed at his enemies. Nor did the image suggest it should be.
Posted by: Dana | July 7, 2011, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
“Obama spoke a commonly used expression for trying to force people to do what you want – and the gun was NOT pointed at his enemies. Nor did the image suggest it should be.”
Yes, of course he did. His metaphor is OK due to your pretzel logic. You take someone else’s harmless metaphor and extend to mean accomplice to attempted murder. I get it. Basically, liberals cannot think for themselves.
Posted by: J.R. | July 7, 2011, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
“Obama spoke a commonly used expression for trying to force people to do what you want – and the gun was NOT pointed at his enemies. Nor did the image suggest it should be.”
Yes, of course he did.
Posted by: J.R. | Jul 7, 2011 3:34:27 PM
Now you’re beginning to close in on understanding it.
Palin’s metaphor was a gun sight pointed at her opposition.
Obama’s metaphor was NOT a gun pointed at his opposition.
Posted by: Dana | July 7, 2011, 3:53 pm 3:53 pm
“What major cuts is Obama offering? You seem to know so much…”
Posted by: Arnold | Jul 7, 2011 1:36:43 PM
NY Times 7/7/11–”Obama administration officials are offering to cut tens of billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid in negotiations to reduce the federal budget deficit, but the depth of the cuts depends on whether Republicans are willing to accept any increases in tax revenues.”
Posted by: The Audacity of Hypocrisy | Jul 7, 2011 3:48:05 PM
Oh okay, I get it . .. you don’t know what specific cuts are being suggested.
Posted by: Arnold | July 7, 2011, 3:56 pm 3:56 pm
“Oh okay, I get it….you don’t know what specific cuts are being suggested.”
Posted by: Arnold | Jul 7, 2011 3:56:50 PM
I can’t be any more specific than Obama himself. Of course, he never actually proposes real numbers, he only makes speeches with vague offers. And the head of the CBO recently reminded him that “we don’t estimate speeches.”
Nevertheless, Obama has just proposed cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid–after spending months demonizing Paul Ryan and the GOP for trying to destroy Medicare.
This is hypocrisy so epic that you need an ancient Greek poet just to chronicle it.
Posted by: The Audacity of Hypocrisy | July 7, 2011, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
Obama has just proposed cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid–after spending months demonizing Paul Ryan and the GOP for trying to destroy Medicare.
Posted by: The Audacity of Hypocrisy | Jul 7, 2011 4:05:13 PM
Sorry, I’ve been sick for a few months, please provide me with the quotes where President Obama demonized Paul Ryan for trying to destroy Medicare.
Posted by: Arnold | July 7, 2011, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm
Obama has just proposed cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid–after spending months demonizing Paul Ryan and the GOP for trying to destroy Medicare.
Posted by: The Audacity of Hypocrisy | Jul 7, 2011 4:05:13 PM
Sorry, I’ve been sick for a few months, please provide me with the quotes where President Obama demonized Paul Ryan for trying to destroy Medicare.
Posted by: Arnold | Jul 7, 2011 4:24:59 PM
Oh okay Audacity, I guess you were just making stuff up. Where are the quotes from the President demonizing Paul Ryan for tyring to destroy medicare?
Posted by: Arnold | July 7, 2011, 7:12 pm 7:12 pm