July 11, 2011
Republicans Walk Away from $4 Trillion in Spending Cuts
First Read: "Six months ago, how many Republicans would have believed: 1) that the Obama White House would have backed a plan to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years; 2) that the president would agree to link the debt limit to spending cuts; and 3) that Obama would put Medicare and Social Security on the table? The Tea Party and deficit hawks like Jim DeMint would have won the argument when it comes to debt, and they would have achieved something -- especially on Medicare and Social Security -- they'd probably never get under a Republican president, unless he or she had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. But Republicans walked away from the deal, because they wouldn't give up the one thing that Democrats were asking for in return: any increases in tax hikes for the rich."
This is exactly why the Republican party that we knew from Nixon through the elder Bush has died. At this point its hardly a cohesive unit at all, except that the 'old guard' are afraid of losing their seats, either to Democrats (in most places) or to the Tea Party (in the South and rural Midwest). If we actually see a real third party in the next few years, look back to moves like this to see how it finally happened.
BTW - this is a big win for President Obama politically.
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