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E.J. Dionne finds an acorn on debt ceiling.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  July 16th, 2011 at 10:00 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Ignore the rest of his article on the ongoing debt ceiling controversy – Dionne is the kind of person who is comfortable trying to portray House Majority Leader Eric Cantor as being some kind of Machiavellian mastermind running a shadowy conspiracy to control the Republican party behind the scenes, if you know what I mean* – but as Mickey Kaus notes, Dionne’s got a good (if probably unintended) idea here for putting President Obama on the hot seat:

…Cantor takes every domestic spending cut that was discussed as part of the negotiations with Vice President Joe Biden, declares that the administration has blessed them, and packages them together for a vote.

Dionne calls this a worrisome scenario: I call it a good idea that hasn’t really been assessed and discussed yet by us folks over here at the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, which is why I’m highlighting it now.

Thanks, E.J. Dionne!  If this works out, maybe we’ll buy you a fruit basket or something.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*And I think that you do.

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  • renny

    and anything that shows the hypocrisy and double dealings of the left is a positive choice.

    Or, if not Biden’s work, which is likely corrupt in some way, take the fearless leader’s own Debt Commission’s recommendations, package some of them into a bill in the House, and send the dealie off to the Sen., which needs something to wake it up from terminal somnambulance.

  • johnt

    heavy handed, clumsy, often the reverse of what is,and always belligerently arrogant. I guess it helps being crazed, the desire to grasp the opposition by the throat.
    A good move by Cantor, but to what end? Democrats will deny and reject with a flood of lies, like it never happened. We know that, like we know the owl like boy/girl Dionne will cover for them.

  • YnotNOW

    Since Obama and Reid have not produced a serious budget proposal to attach to a debt ceiling, and will not agree to a reasonable “Grand Bargain,” the House should pass their own bill (which is the normal order of things according to the Constitution), and ask the Senate to do their mark-up for a joint committee resolution.

    Take spending cuts (from Biden’s negotiations, Debt Commission, Republican Study Committee proposals) and package in a “cut-cap-balance” proposal with the debt ceiling raise. Dare the Senate to propose their alternative that can pass. And highlight this in press briefings – the HOUSE has done it’s job – why isn’t the SENATE doing theirs?

  • izoneguy

    House Passes Paul Ryan Budget Proposal in Partisan Vote
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/paul-ryans-budget-proposal-passes-house-democrats-medicare/story?id=13384520

  • YnotNOW

    There may be overlap, but these are 2 different things.

    (though it does prove tha the House is doing it’s job, while the Senate abdicates)

  • izoneguy

    Harry Reid won’t even propose on.
    Obama’s budget proposal got 0 votes.

  • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

    Let’s take off our partisan hats for a second. Objectively speaking, a REAL solution would be a true compromise between what CAN pass the House and what CAN pass the Senate, and what WONT be so offensive that the President would veto it … THIS …

    “?Cantor takes every domestic spending cut that was discussed as part of the negotiations with Vice President Joe Biden, declares that the administration has blessed them, and packages them together for a vote.”

    … IS PRECISELY THAT COMPROMISE.

    How do we know?
    1. That is what Boehner’s position has been all along.
    2. Senate Democrats have balked at tax increases, while others, like Sen Conrad have worried about getting spending under control. This kind of bill, were there a “default or this” choice, WOULD pass the Senate. The only roadblock is spendaholic Reid himself.
    3. We know because we know every Republican vote will be AGAINST tax increases; that partisan Obama desire is only ‘on the table’ because its an Obama 2012 election talking point. Any bill with tax increases is DOA.
    4. Any “entitlement reform” bill is far too complex and ambitious and a pinata for Democrat demagoguery. The real reform that conservatives and Republicans want wont be supported by Democrats and vice versa. In 2005, Bush’s efforts fell flat, and today, with a divided House and Senate, its just … impossible. And made impossible squared with Obama’s insistence on tax hikes tied to it.

    By the process of elimination, the ONLY path to a debt ceiling increase is with a simple spending cut only bill tied to it. #2, #3, and #4 leave the conclusion “spending cuts + debt ceiling raise” but the devil is in the details on how MUCH to cut. Compromise is possible. The House goes with Ryan budget and cut, cap and balance. Then the Senate goes with whatever they go with. Let Cantor offer the watered down “Biden Cuts + debt ceiling increase” as the last best final offer.

    Then its done, or we go to default.

  • rbdwiggins

    I’ll buy him a bottle of wine.

  • YnotNOW

    see:
    http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/15/gop-announces-vote-on-18-month-debt-ceiling-plan/

    And of course, the Senate still is not…

  • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

    EJ is worried because deep down he knows Obama is bluffing and that McConnell’s plan saves Obama the embarrassment of being called on his bluff while also cutting the Tea Party types off at the knees.

    DC liberals like EJ hate the Tea Party with a passion because they are the true threat and challenge to the DC liberal mindset. They will always push the GOP and ‘advise’ them to go in a direction to drop such principles and ‘intransigence’ and ‘extremism’ in favor of inside-the-beltway go-along blandness.

    Any House bill that does the “cuts only and debt ceiling increase” WILL call Obama’s bluff. He has unnecessarily insisted on tax increases solely for political purposes, and at CROSS-PURPOSES to his original plea for a ‘clean’ debt ceiling increase.

    One must wonder aloud why Obama went from wanting the least amount of added baggage to the debt ceiling increase, to declaring an all-or-nothing big-deal-or-no-deal approach. Obama is apparently milking the ‘crisis’ for political mileage, not concerned about the economy collateral damage of his stubborn approach. The media covers by calling the GOP stubborn (for being realistic and firm).

    All the GOP need do is ACT in a way that firmly stands behind their principles but is also fair and reasonable. A spending cut only debt ceiling increase will do that.

  • jaykali

    Once you show your hand in a negotiation it’s over.

  • Spiral

    Many Republican House members don’t want to walk the plank again on spending.

    Many Republican House members who represent less than “safe” congressional districts have already had the experience of voting for the Ryan plan and then being severely criticized by Democrats (and Obama) as having voted to “throw Grandma off the cliff.”

    There are about 50 Republican House members who have told their leadership, “I’m not voting for any more spending cuts unless I can be sure that the Democrats in the US Senate and President Obama will accept them. I don’t want to walk the plank on more politicially difficult spending cuts, only to see them used by my opponent in the next election, even though those spending cuts never become law. I’ll vote for spending cuts, but only if they are actually going to become law.”

    That’s why there is a desire among some Republicans, including but not limited to McConnell, to kick the can down the road until the spring of 2013. The idea is to get a GOP controlled US Senate and a Republican President. Then these 50 US House members would say, “Okay. Now we have some true partners in cutting spending. I can vote for politicially risky spending cuts which will actually become law.”

    Some US House Republicans are willing to vote for tough spending cuts, but only if they actually become law. Not votes that are only used by the DCCC in TV ads against us.

  • grandma

    With Obama going nuts, I wonder if there will be a primary between Even Bayh and Obama. Unions love Bayh.

  • http://travismonitor.blogspot.com Freedoms Truth

    Of course these political cowards do not seem to notice the obvious multiple reasons their political cowardice is folly:
    1) The reality of these cuts is far less than the histrionic over-the-top Democrat claims about them. Actually passing them, making them law AND SEEING THAT THE WORLD DOESNT END will disprove the Democrats.
    2) The polls show the public is no longer buying the claims. #1 is ‘the boy who cried wolf’ and the budget is plenty big and the Democrats will have a hard time saying THAT and also seeing Obama take *credit* for whatever he did. What is he going to say? “I wanted to tax-and-spend more but the mean old Republicans didnt let me.” That will go over like a lead balloon.
    3) If they have ALREADY voted for them, they will get criticized anyway. More and more Ryan plan votes wont change that.
    4) FAILURE to cut spending that is truly politically difficult for the GOP as a failure to show spine will cause conservative defections.
    5) Caving hands Obama a victory and a 2nd term. That in turn will make coattails that gets Democrats elected.
    6) We do not now nor will we EVER have ‘partners in cutting spending’ and it is insane and political folly to pretend we do. THAT IS OUR #2 ISSUE AGAINST DEMOCRATS! They spend, we are fiscal conservative. The #1 issue – they are for job-killing tax hikes, we are for job-creation. Compromise along the McConnell lines disarms the #2 issue for Republicans. Pathetic! Bad strategy!

    The politically smart thing is to hold the line, NOT pre-cave. The pre-cave only validates the Democrat criticism, giving it more power and making those very Republicans more vulnerable.

  • Spiral

    Obama can’t get reelected with 9 percent unemployment. That’s why there are at least 50 Republicans in the US House who are saying, “Let’s defeat Obama in 2012 and win a majority in the US Senate. Then we can take the tough votes. Votes that actually become law.”

    Many Republicans US House members don’t like casting votes to cut spending when they get ignored by the US Senate because it allows the Democrats to say, “Congressmen Smith voted to eliminate Medicare.” If the legislation becomes law, Congressmen Smith can say, “You see. The elderly have better health care now than they did before. The Democrats’ scare tactics were obviously false.”

    But asking Republican US House members to vote for spending cuts, when Harry Reid will simply oppose them and allow the Democrats to use them in campaign ads against the GOP in 2012 is not going to convince House Republicans to vote for those cuts.

    You might want Republicans in the US House (especially those representing marginal districts) to vote for spending cuts without worrying about reelection. But they do care about getting reelected. They don’t want to do what the GOP of 1995-1996 did, which was hand President Clinton a 2nd term because they wanted to reform medicare.

    All I’m saying is this: Don’t hold your breath waiting for the Republican House to vote for significant spending cuts unless the Democrats sign on at the beginning.

    What is likely? An increase in the debt ceiling sufficient to kick the can until Spring 2013.