It’s a familiar pattern — the President proposes some kind of gawdawful “grand bargain” that the Right won’t take, anyway, while lefties roll their eyes and say, “What is he thinking?” Well, this week he did it again — Paul Waldman explains —
President Obama offered a “grand bargain” yesterday, and although it wasn’t particularly grand, it was a bargain: Republicans would get a lowering of the corporate income tax rate, something they’ve wanted for a long time, and Democrats would get some new investments in infrastructure, job training, and education. Inevitably, Republicans rejected it out of hand. “It’s just a further-left version of a widely panned plan he already proposed two years ago, this time with extra goodies for tax-and-spend liberals,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. At this point, Obama could offer to close the E.P.A., eliminate all inheritance taxes, and rename our nation’s capital “Reagan, D.C.” if Republicans would also agree to give one poor child a sandwich, and they’d say no, because that would be too much big government.
Bloomberg explains it in a way that makes the bargain seem less awful, because it closes a lot of “corporate welfare” tax loopholes for corporations. Bloomberg adds:
More broadly, it’s not hard to see Obama’s strategy: With its cuts in tax rates and narrowed loopholes, the plan is designed to appeal to a wide swath of corporate America, the small-business lobby and a large number of congressional Republicans who support cutting taxes and ending corporate welfare. And with its increases in public-works spending, the plan appeals to organized labor, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a large number of Democrats who support more stimulus spending.
There are those who might say that it just makes Obama look impotent to keep proposing these things only to the see GOP say, Are you kidding? I guess they have a bit of a point. But I think his only strategy by now is to put offers on the table that make the Republicans look increasingly extreme and unreasonable, so that the American people see more and more clearly what the problem is.
And not just the American people in general—in this case, corporate leaders in particular. Presumably, corporations are going to support Obama’s plan by and large; hard to see why they’d oppose something that lowers their taxes (although it’s true that specific companies in specific areas will fight to retain their loopholes). Corporate leaders have had plenty of patience with Mitch McConnell. But how much patience are they going to have with a McConnell who blocks a tax cut for them?
Maybe still a lot, I don’t know. But this is now the only way left to penetrate the GOP’s wall of obstruction: Drive the wedge right between the congressional GOP and its usual power centers. Corporate America wants immigration reform. It wants lower tax rates, and it (or a large majority of it) will happily accept infrastructure reform as part of a package. Obama wants those same things. The Republicans are against them. Surely at some point, some corporate leader or leaders will step forward and say enough. Even that probably won’t make congressional Republicans move; they are married to the most rabid section of their base, and they are not going to budge.
Corporate America doesn’t always act rationally, however.
IMO – President Obama is aware he’s been a lame-duck president for 3 years. He will retire as the longest sitting lame-duck president in history if he doesn’t get a different Congress in 2014. Not necessarily a democratic majority, but a mix of democrats and republicans who can work across the aisle and pass compromise legislation. If this doesn’t happen in 2014, Obama will have marked time for the last six years of his term with virtually nothing coming out of Congress more creative than renaming a few Post Offices.
Obama is trying to draw the GOP out to publicly take positions which expose the dog-in-the-manger strategy of blocking everything for everyone unless the democrats surrender unconditionally to the Tea Party agenda. This isn’t going to be enough, IMO to blow the obstructionists out of the House in 2014. But it’s the only card Obama can play.
I just turned on MSNBC’s Schmoe Wid’ Cup O (Why? Because I’m a masochist!!!), and, as usual, that assjack has things bassackwards, and is smoking blow for the Wing-Reich.
He said, in effect, ‘I like this President. But it’s been nearly 6 years, and he still doesn’t know how to do his job. Yadda-yadda-yadda…”
No, Schmoe, it’s been nearly 6 years, and you’re either obfuscating and covering for your “team,” outright lying, hopelessly stupid, or some combination of all 3. My bet’s on the last one.
Here’s where I wish what the Conservative mouthpieces say about George Soros is true, because then he, like the Koch brothers and their ilk on the Reich-wing, would fund “grassroots” organizations that would go to Republican Congressmen and Senators home offices, and go to their Town Hall meetings and meet-and-greet’s, and hound the politicians about why they turned down lower corporate taxes which they’ve always supported, AND WHERE ARE THE JOBS!!! WHERE IS THE JOBS BILL!!!!!
But sadly, that George Soros is as much a fictional figure as their perceived take on the real Obama and Reagan, and countless other Manichean mythological poltical figures that Authoritarians need to believe in, and so create those tales to weave those fictional stories into their lunatic tapestry.
But sadly, Republican obstructionism is still working – the economy is still sluggish, and the MSM blames both sides – as Schmoe Wid a Cup O’ demonstrates. His morning show is watched by almost all of the Villagers, and so, all of the pinhead punTWIT’s will now make appearances, and write their columns, echoing Schmoe’s take.
And what’s terrifying, is that we are one huge domestic terrorist attack, or a major economic downturn, away from a potential Ted Cruz Presidency.
Authoritarian ideologues and demagogues thrive in bad times, and we’re far from any good times – and Republicans are determined that if they can’t bring on really bad times, the very least they can do for themselves, is slow down any rate of progress towards better times.
Republicans don’t care about the welfare of the country. They care only for the power of their party.
Party over country!!!!!!
PARTY UBER ALLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If we could just marry the “Git ‘er done” of the Republican Party with the “Having a clue what needs to be done” of the Democrats…
Isnt’ infrastructure investment a net gain for the corporations anyway? I suspect the materials and equipment needed wouldn’t be sourced from Ye Olde Neighborhood Construction Provider, and don’t corporations need things like reliable bridges/highways and power grid? Seems that the “grand bargain” is doubly or triply grand for corporations.
“IMO – President Obama is aware he’s been a lame-duck president for 3 years. He will retire as the longest sitting lame-duck president in history if he doesn’t get a different Congress in 2014”
I agree but his presidency will still go down as one of the most important in history and he will be credited with saving our great republic. Why; imagine having two terms of president McCain and vice-president Palin, or just one term of Romney/Ryan!