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The Negotiations Fraud

By: streiff (Diary)  |  February 10th, 2010 at 11:17 AM  | 

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From CBS News:

Unannounced, President Obama took to the lectern in the White House briefing room today to give a personal readout of his meeting earlier with congressional leaders of both parties.

“Despite the political posturing that often paralyzes this town, there are many issues upon which we can and should agree, he said.

It was more a plaintive plea than a political observation. His top legislative priorities are going nowhere and he’s searching for a way to get them out of lockup.

Not really.

Given the astronomical Democrat majorities in both Houses of Congress one has to wonder why Obama actually cares about Republican votes.

He doesn’t.

Obama is merely searching for a way to blame Republicans for his failures. His offers so far have been dishonest in the extreme. His position on the proposed health care take over bill is that Republicans should negotiate around the edges on the House Bill that was crafted without their input. This is not negotiation. This is condescension of the worst kind and is nothing short of a demand for capitulation. Minority Leader Boehner has been correct to express skepticism over where these negotiations can possibly lead the GOP if the starting and final positions are set and the GOP is only called in to give bipartisan cover.

Obama is on the ropes.

His own caucus is realizing that he is radioactive with the voters. His disapproval ratings are setting records for the first year of any president since such numbers have been tabulated. The voters are very skeptical of his goals and his governance. The GOP is right to steer clear of large scale negotiations with Obama who simply does not have the juice to bring Congressional Democrats along to his position.

COMMENTS

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  • Bobcat51

    but will Cantor and company still fall into the 0bama PR trap ?

    When your opponent is on the ropes you put him on the canvas for a full count, Republicans ,please do not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, 0bama is a disaster and most can see the Emperor has no clothes.

    • streiff

      we need to break this guy for the sake of the country

    • gman2008

      http://michellemalkin.com/2010/02/09/oba-kabuki-places-everyone-places/

      • Bobcat51

        attend and are made to look fools by dancing to 0bama’s tune it will only feed into the calls for a third party.

        Cantor and Boener better find a backbone cos this is not going to end well for limp wristed Republicans if they fold on this issue!

        • neyney

          Cantor has the perfect “out” because of Obama’s impromptu press appearance yesterday. It’s obvious that Obama has no intention of any bi-partisanship whatsoever. All Cantor has to say is that he agreed in good faith but that Obama’s statements have made it clear that the good faith is only on one side. He can point out that the GOP voiced their concerns at the Republican summit meeting and that if Obama isn’t willing to start over on HC and only wants the GOP to go along with what he wants then he is withdrawing his agreement to meet with him. No matter whether or not the GOP meets with him the MSM will paint the Republicans as obstructionists so what’s to lose? Man up GOP and don’t fall for this. You should have learned your lessons from how the GOP summit meeting was done. Obama made a bunch of strawman arguments and the GOP didn’t call him out on it and just took it on the chin. Stop playing nice and start fighting. If you don’t realize that your seats are just a vulnerable to true conservatives as the Dem seats. You’ve been the party of no for a year and I say that should continue with regards to this Obama photo op disguised as a bi-partisan summit. It’s a trap.

    • writeblock

      There is nothing to be gained by “negotiating” with Obama. He will use the occasion to grandstand at length–as he did at the GOP retreat–and then turn around and accuse the Republicans of grandstanding. The meeting would place Obama once again in a starring role with Republicans looking weak as minor players.

      The notion we have nothing to fear is false. There’s plenty to fear–demagoguery, for one thing. What’s to prevent the Democrats from demagoguing Ryan’s free market solutions, for instance? They’ve done this with Bush in an election year with the issue of SS–why not with Ryan, accusing Republicans of wanting to eliminate Medicare protection for seniors, etc.? It would be typical.

      Republicans so far have benefited most by just saying no–which is exactly what a majority of the public wants them to say. Sitting down with the opposition just reinforces the notion that the health care bill is still very much alive. Reports indicate there can be no movement on the bill as long as the public is opposed. This would seem to be a ploy to change public opinion, not to garner fresh ideas from the opposition party.

  • vamoose

    Both these guys were on Grate last night and while a little mush-mouthed gave every indication that they would not fall for the trap. They essentially have two points: 1) pronounce the existing bill dead, and 2) take a stepwise approach that focuses on reducing health care costs.

    These guys both need their resolve strengthened. It’s time to let them know. Cantor is my rep and I will be calling his office today.

    “Obama is merely searching for a way to blame Republicans for his failures.” That’s the essence of what’s happening. Just say “no” to blame shifting and blame sharing.

    • gman2008

      http://tinyurl.com/y96tu2c

      In short, we are watching and the House GOP is opening itself up to a situation in which they have nothing to gain and everything to lose while Obama has everything to gain and nothing to lose. This is bad strategy and the above post puts them on notice as to how their performance will be scored (kind of like scoring a key vote).

      Their safest bet – stay the hell away.

    • http://theadmiralsbridge.blogspot.com/ Stephen Halsey

      …and shows his squishy side way too often for me. I hope he and the rest of the GOP leadership ‘man up’ and decline to attend this trap. I just emailed him this:

      Congressman Cantor;

      Please,

      Do not

      Do not

      Do not

      Do not

      fall for this trap being set by President Obama. This proposed health care summit is nothing more than a media stunt to give the appearance of him being ‘bi-partisan’. He is not bi-partisan. In fact, there has never been a more partisan President in modern history. Obama is a Marxist idealogue and he has no intention of meeting you and the GOP leadership in the middle on anything. There is a chasm too wide on the subject of health care to be bridged by someone who has never shown ANY willingness to work across the aisle when he was a state senator in Illinois, as a US Senator and now as POTUS. He wants government rationed health care. We want tort reform, the ability to purchase coverage across state lines and other free market solutions.

      These are non-negotiable points. And there is no way to bridge this gap.

      Unless Obama says he is willing to start from scratch, will all due respect, you and Congressman Boehner should respectfully decline Obama’s invitation.

      The American people are with you on this. Do not fall for this trap.

      Sincerely,
      Stephen Halsey
      Richmond, VA

      • writeblock

        …Is that a year’s worth of GOP frustration in the House has Republican egos yearning to express their own brilliant ideas. Providing them with a platform is a tempting ploy by Obama and should be resisted. The GOP should say no firmly. No negotiations until the bill is declared dead.

    • Scope

      Cantor’s my rep too, and, the saddest part of that is no one will primary him. I don’t know if you listen to Joe Thomas in the morning, but, Cantor is on there every so often. Last time, Joe was talking to him about the Obamacare bills, and he said in essence that he wanted the Republicans to have input on the bills, and to be allowed to add their ideas also. Never said the first “kill the bill.” There is no question that Cantor is a big government guy. He loved and pushed “cash for clunkers.”

      I’ve recently heard Rush refer to the fact that the “McCain Era” is over. Cantor never got the memo.

      • vamoose

        I got right through and whoever answered the phone listened patiently. I told them flat out not to talk to the president about health care until the president pronounces the present legislation dead. This is the president who said he would meet the leaders of Iran and other rouge states without preconditions, but when it comes time to meet with Republicans he has 2,700 pages of preconditions. I’m more ticked at the president than with the GOP.

        I don’t believe our health care system is broken or in need of comprehensive overhaul. Like everyone else I would like to see health care become more affordable, but I think the only way to accomplish that is through free market forces, not government control.

        I liked Cantor when he was in the state legislature and if being in GOP leadership means being more political and less principled–which it sure seems to–then I’d like to see Cantor step down from leadership and become the kind of fiscal hawk he was 10 years ago.

  • melvinwinter

    Disney Prepares Audio-Animatronic Obama Robot for Obama-Republican Health Care Forum: http://www.youtube.com/user/Optoons#p/u/0/79zIWm2ffiI

  • erod

    Until this president mans up and accepts responsibility for his actions he will be a miserable failure. Dropping some of his liberal dystopian dreams and stop acting like a child wouldn’t hurt either. But what do I know? It isn’t like he can get voted out of office or anything. sarc

    • Scope

      He “IS” a miserable failure.

  • gman2008

    It’s time to hold the House GOP’s feet to the fire.

    http://tinyurl.com/y96tu2c

  • XOT

    . . . should pretty much be what is above: “His position on the proposed health care take over bill is that Republicans should negotiate around the edges on the House Bill that was crafted without their input. This is not negotiation.” If the GOP leadership would state it as bluntly and with succinct context, most reasonable people would also see it for what this is – a political stunt. i don’t know why there is any reason to dance around it.

    • Scope

      They still have a big fear of the “N” word- The party of NO.

      • writeblock

        …of Republicans always worrying about what people might think. Don’t they read the polls? People hate the bill. They can’t do any better than what they’ve been doing–nothing! Only Obama can gain from this. It’s time we stopped measuring ourselves constantly by liberal yardsticks. Why should we mind if they call us obstructionist? The public doesn’t.

        • XOT

          Because the bill is so braodly disliked, stating such a position for not taking the meeting will then not be perceived as being the party of no (other than to the ultra liberals who don’t care what anyone else thinks!).

  • http://itsaboutfreedom.proboards.com/index.cgi#general bigalsouth

    1. Announce Agenda
    2. Announce Venue Time and Date
    3. Invite B-HO

    Sheesh, it’s no harder than this.

  • Thomas Holmberg

    sorry … I already knew the answer

    stopping the sarcasm now

  • itrytobenice

    Read this quote from CBS:

    And if the opposition continues to block his objectives, he said he “won’t hesitate to condemn what I consider to be obstinacy that’s rooted not in substantive disagreement but in political expedience.”

    We only oppose statist takeover of HC because of political expedience. I guess political expedience is the new term for Liberty.

  • AceInTX

    Minority Leader Boehner has been correct to express skepticism over where these negotiations can possibly lead the GOP if the starting and final positions are set and the GOP is only called in to give bipartisan cover.

    This is the point we come to that scares me and perplexes me to no end.

    We’re at the end of this…the time is ripe to drive the stake into the heart of the HCR Vampire. The Dems have built this thing up with everything they’ve wanted….Now is when they start laying the bait and it’s a question which of our RINOS will take the bate first…

    maybe it’ll be a promise to add the Stupack Ammendment to the Bill….will that be enough to pull Graham in?

    Maybe it will be tort reform? Will that pull in McCain, Snowe, Collins?

    Then there will be the appeal to Legacy…Maybe they throw one or two of the above on the Table and appeal to Voinovich…”you’re leaving this year…This could be your last hurrah…You could go down in History and forever be remembered as the man who did the right thing and gave the American Party what they’ve hungered for for over 100 years”.

    I don’t want to be pessimistic….and I really do believe this is dead…and it will be as long as the Republican caucus holds…the only question is…will it hold…and if it doesn’t…how cheaply will the betrayal be purchased?

    • yoyo

      Yeah…. *sigh*

      I can see my esteemed Sr. Senator rolling over. And 2014 is a long way off. I wouldn’t put anything past him. And I am not sure that it would take the Stupak Amendment to get him to do it.

      30 pieces of silver, oops I mean 30 carbon credits, would probably be enough to buy his soul, er, vote.

      The Honorable Senator Lindsey O. Graham (SC-R[ino])

    • Scope

      an interview that Stuart Varney did with some Dem. Cohn from Tenn. the day Murtha died. It was only a few hours after the announcement of the death. Varney asked Cohn if the Dems would consider Tort Reform in the Healthcare crap. The guy went nuts and started on “my friend Jack Murtha just died. He went in for simple gall bladder surgery. The doctor punctured his intestine. That’s malpractice, and someone should pay for that.” I doubt they will ever consider Tort Reform, and Murtha will be the poster child against it.

      Yes, I wonder how small the price tag will be to jump onboard- probably nothing more than a promise from the Liar in Chief, or, maybe an invite to his super bowl party next year.

      • AceInTX

        The Unions, The Atheists and Trial Lawyers are all the Dem’s have left…I doubt that would be in the offing….unless they buried something deep in the legislation that gutted tort reform even as they passed it….

        but this is a nervous time for me because this is when the RINOs do their work…Just is some big piece of legislation is about to die…that’s when the opening is greatest for a squish to ride in…save the Dems and earn themselves undying adoring press coverage for the next 6 weeks or more…

        I don’t think it will happen this time because Obama has overplayed this so badly…and poisoned the well so much that our RINOs will stay on board…\

        At least I hope so…but I’m cringing thinking about Voinovich in his closing days

    • writeblock

      …would subject the bill to the full process of voting in both chambers. This would subject it to a filibuster.

      • AceInTX

        if you read what I wrote above it had to do with what bones Obama can throw in to get enough RINOs to get on board and finish this.

        Moments like this is what RINOs live for…the thing is dead at the moment…Obama can throw in a kicker…allow one or more of them to ride to the rescue and break the filibuster and declare to one and all what a great deal they got for the American People.

        Then they get to go on the MSNBC tour starting with Matthews followed by Olberdork and Maddow…finishing with Morning Joe the next day before making the rounds at CNN…

        The media darlings who jump on board then get to ride the publicity and bask in the glow of adoring press reports at least for the next year.

        Again…I still think this is so unpopular that they’ll hold the line…but there is still the possibility and no one should relax until it’s buried forever

  • bk

    I’m showing my age here, but if this will be televised they need some props and flip charts would do the trick. I’d suggest prefilling pages and pages of flip charts with things Republicans would like added to or removed from the bill. Each time one of them gets tossed, one of the GOP delegation walks over to the flipchart and marks a big X on that line.

    It’s all a dog and pony show anyway, so it would make for good theater to have 400 ideas across 50 pages and 398 red X marks to go along with it. And it would infuriate Obama and the Dems who figure they know how to play the media better.

    Then they can come out before the rest of the cameras and say that the Democratic idea of bipartisanship is accept none of the Republicans’ ideas and then try to blame them for not being bipartisan.

    • Scope

      You see that, you get that, got it, get it.

    • AceInTX
  • rbdwiggins

    President Obama already has the Albatross securely draped around his neck. Just toss him the anchor and deep-six his anti-American agenda, his presidency and his Party.

    • izoneguy

      Going down?

  • jayburd

    someone should count how many times he speaks for the American people or tells us what we are thinking, while his poll numbers scroll across the bottom of the screen. And don’t forget all the”There are those who,,,”.