McConnell Makes A Grave Mistake

by Steve

It’s amazing, but the scenario Deacon laid out just a few days ago may come to pass. Obama can seize the high ground and damage the GOP for several cycles if only he has the guts.

Late last week, Deacon surmised that the GOP would balk today at the grand deal, because they really didn’t care about the debt and deficits, but only cared about making Main Street keep paying for the pillaging of the public coffers by Wall Street and the wealthy. Sure enough, Boehner and McConnell said the big deal was off, because Obama had the gall to demand more revenue and fairness from Corporate America and the wealthy. Obama went ahead with today’s meeting anyway.

And after the meeting concluded a while ago, McConnell made the gross mistake of blaming their reluctance for the big deal upon Democrats’ unwillingness to sacrifice Social Security and Medicare.

Seriously, that’s the reason now given by the GOP. They don’t want the wealthy and Corporate America to pay their fair share, but they want Obama and the Democrats to make Main Street continue to pay for the Top Two-Percent’s party.

A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blamed Congressional Democrats' refusal to greenlight any changes to Medicare and Social Security for the ongoing stalemate.

"The members will meet again tomorrow, though it's disappointing that the President is unable to bring his own party around to the entitlement reform that he put on the table," McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said in an e-mailed statement.

This has been set on a tee for Obama to hit one out of the park, if he has the guts. Like Deacon said last week, all Obama has to do now is hold a press conference tomorrow, pointing out that the GOP wants Main Street to submit to unpopular cuts in entitlement programs while the same members of Congress who created this mess still insist that the Top 2% continue to get off Scot-free at Main Street’s expense.

According to polls, even low and moderate income Republicans are against benefit cuts to deal with the deficit. For Boehner and McConnell to insist on entitlement cuts and no tax increases or new revenue this late in the game allows Obama to frame the whole GOP as beholden to an extremist fringe that believes the bottom 98% should subsidize the Top 2%.