But the Conquered, or their Children, have no Court, no Arbitrator on Earth to appeal to. Then they may appeal, as Jephtha did, to Heaven, and repeat their Appeal, till they have recovered the native Right of their Ancestors, which was to have such a Legislative over them, as the Majority should approve, and freely acquiesce in.
-John Locke

Monday, July 25, 2011

US Default Watch, Part 8

WTF is going on? 

Reports this morning are that Senators Reid and McConnell sent a proposal to the President.  Their plan isa two-part approach, in which the August deadline for default is addressed by agreeing to a short-term increase in the debt limit, coupled with a an even greater amount in budget cuts with no tax increases.  Part 2 is then a commission find more cuts that can be made before further debt-limit increases can be considered.

Well, this is certainly resembling progress; let's see - we have the Senate Majority Leader and the Minority Leader agreeing on a bipartisan plan that appears to take a serious approach to the deficit.  It even looks like the Dems have given in - for now - on their demand for increased revenues (higher taxes for those of us who pay taxes).  Remember way back, about 10 days ago, when Obama chastised Congress for "playing politics" with the debt ceiling?  Remember when he said that if he was presented with a serious plan, that he would be ready to move on it?  Remember how he changed his mind about a short-term deal - going from automatic veto to something he would consider?  Ok, good, so now we're on the same page.  Remember when he articulated his vision of addressing the debt ceiling and reducing the deficit?  Me neither...because he hasn't done that.

So, today we have a bipartisan plan that looks, on its face, to be serious, and when it's presented to the President he SAYS NO.  I know you're not scratching your head, wondering why Obama rejected this plan.  The answer, as Jennifer Rubin points out, is because this plan does not kick the can far enough down the road for Obama's comfort.
The ONLY reason to reject a short-term, two-step deal embraced by both the House and Senate is to avoid another approval-killing face-off for President Obama before the election. Next to pulling troops out of Afghanistan to fit the election calendar, this is the most irresponsible and shameful move of his presidency.
 Obama is "playing politics" with the debt ceiling.  It's that simple.  He hasn't put forward a plan or a credible budget.  Instead, he wants to act like the referee between the Republicans and Democrats and strives to appear like the adult watching over kids fighting over a toy.  He fails to realize that he's in this too, though he's incapable of providing any leadership. 

More and more it comes into focus that the solution is going to entail moving around this President.  He is an obstruction right now.

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