Picture the all-too-familiar scenario: it’s nearing a fiscal decision deadline. Congress is deadlocked over action — in this case, it’s Sequestration (large budget cuts). It’s possible that there will there will be no decision on Sequestration by March 1, because deadlines mean nothing in Congress – as we just witnessed with the Fiscal Cliff debates running over the edge.

Or are we being set up for more taxes? I’m getting a little nervous about the media dribble from the last couple of days.

First, the Weekly Standard reports that Obama said in Virginia,

“You know, the one thing about being president is, after four years, you get pretty humble. You’d think maybe you wouldn’t but actually you become more humble–you realize what you don’t know. You realize all the mistakes you made. But you also realize you can’t do things by yourself. That’s not how our system works. You’ve got to have the help and the goodwill of Congress, and what that means is you’ve got to make sure that constituents of members of Congress are putting some pressure on them, making sure they’re doing the right thing.”

Put pressure on members of Congress? Like….Boehner? Which leads me to my second rollout:

Last night on Fox News “Special Report”. Real Clear Politics posted the video of Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) telling FOX News about what would happen if Boehner “caves” and agrees to tax revenues to avoid the sequester:

“I don’t quite honestly believe that Speaker Boehner would be speaker if that happens. I think he would lose his speakership,”

And if that’s not enough, much of the the Sunday “Meet the Press” roundtable was a shill for more taxes.

David Gregory read Bob Woodward’s opinion piece pointing out that sequestration originated with Obama, the point of the article. But Gregory makes sure that he gets in their Woodward’s opinion that Obama’s “call for a balanced approach is reasonable and he makes a strong case that those in the top income brackets could and should pay more. But that was not the deal he made.”

But instead of “moderator” Gregory focusing on the point of the piece –that Obama is currently lying when he blames the GOP for Sequestration — Gregory cherry picks the revenue part (those in the top income brackets could and should pay more) and blathers on that the White House has always included revenue in any “deal”. Yet Gregory fails to remind his audience that Obama got his revenue during the Fiscal Cliff, the original Sequestration deadline.

What’s worse is that Gregory further opines, during an exchange with Former Rep Harry Ford Jr (D-TN), that “they have only rescinded something like 18 percent of the Bush tax cuts. So there is more room to go”.

So folks, over the last three days, we’ve seen discussion about the 1) reasonableness and room for more tax increases; 2) a scenario where Boehner “caves”; and 3) the President talking about putting pressure on Congress to “do the right thing” and “goodwill” and all that.

Are we being set up? Is a narrative being shaped to soften the blow over a last minute “deal” that avoids *gasp* sequestration cuts and adds in new taxes?

The thought of this potential reality is nauseating, especially knowing that tomorrow, Wednesday, February 27, we will be 1400 days without a budget.

Update: How does this square with today’s Front Page Headline: Senate GOP Ponders Ceding Power to President Obama?!