The Debt-Ceiling Debate and 2012

WSJ ^ | AUGUST 4, 2011 | KARL ROVE

[throwback]

After big events like Tuesday's debt-ceiling vote, Washington goes into overdrive to declare who won and who lost. But politics is more complex and less binary than that. In this case, neither party helped itself with the public during this struggle.

But Democrats hurt themselves most of all. They made a huge strategic mistake by failing to raise the debt ceiling late last year when they still controlled Congress.

Instead, Democrats tried to make the GOP complicit in their spending excesses. On Dec. 8, for example, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explained his decision not to tackle the debt ceiling until the new GOP House took office by saying he wanted to "let the Republicans have some buy-in on the debt." This ended up giving the GOP months to leverage the debt ceiling into a battle over spending cuts.

President Obama paid the highest price during this long confrontation. By the time he signed the debt ceiling, he had enraged his own party, issued demands that were routinely ignored, reinforced his reputation as being obsessed with raising taxes, and failed to produce a concrete plan of his own.

At the start of last December, Mr. Obama's job approval rating in the weekly Gallup poll was 47% approve and 45% disapprove. Last week, it was 40% approve and 52% disapprove. If the election were held today, Mr. Obama and his party would be swamped.

For Republicans, the outcome was far more positive. House Republicans adroitly shifted the debate's focus from how much to raise the debt ceiling to how much should spending be cut. They achieved this even while the other two centers of power in any legislative struggle—the Senate and the White House—remained in Democratic hands.

In doing so, Republicans achieved roughly two-thirds of the spending cuts sought in the...

[throwback]

The main danger for Republicans is that while 76 of the 87 House GOP freshmen voted with Mr. Boehner, a substantial minority of GOP activists did not want the debt ceiling raised regardless of what the consequences were for the economy. A dispirited base could generate costly primaries and depress turnout.

The only insight of Rove's I can probably agree with in this piece since it describes me. At least he knows I hate him and his ilk and why.

[Jedidah]

Rove is right in describing the larger picture. The entire political conversation now is about fiscal policy, which would normally make eyes glaze over.

If they play it well and drag it out through the fall’s upcoming battles (continuing resolution to fund government operations, extension of Bush tax cuts, vote on balanced budge amendment, etc.), this should seriously help Republicans next year.

We must control the conversation.

[lewislynn]

a substantial minority of GOP activists did not want the debt ceiling raised regardless of what the consequences were for the economy.

The opposite is true.
Phony big government loving dimwit!

[org.whodat]

Rove, supports the rinos and big government spending, I would never have guessed it, giving all of those spending bills bush vetoed. The man is a vacuum hose.

[Paradox]

Rove is right in describing the larger picture. The entire political conversation now is about fiscal policy, which would normally make eyes glaze over.

I agree, and although it seems a very hollow victory for diehards like us, the conversation has been changed, and that is a big step. The real test will be what happens now, if we can continue down this road onto which we have taken baby steps. We need to take bigger ones, and then start running.

[frog in a pot]

“We must control the conversation.”

That is certainly correct.

Republican politicians must develop the natural capability of speaking from the same political page - the page that makes plainly and abundantly clear in non-PC terms the collectivist threat to America and the steps Republicans will take to protect America against that threat.

In corporate terms, there should be a single mission statement consistently reinforced at every presser, not 100 different agendas or “possibilities”

At the same time, they have got to learn to effectively (bluntly) resist the efforts of the MSM and other political operatives to distort the Republican message or lead them off topic.

It can be argued the only time Republicans effectively avoided the MSM’s game plan was when they coalesced behind the “Contract”.

[sam_paine]

What we really must do now is focus on primary battles to weaken the GOP immediately rather than continue the offensive and plot the near-term political strategy to get Reid and Obama and Keynes and Geithner and Sebelius Napolitano and Holder and Carney and Jarrett and etc... out of our lives forever. /s

[throwback]

They aren't controlling the conversation, though. The debt only became the central focus because of the need to raise the ceiling. They bumped the ceiling past the next election. Obama is counting on the 5 minute memory of the American public. Without a need to raise it again before November, the topic will fade (not for anyone paying attention, but for most). Obama's biggest poll hit was due to this debate. He'll recover. Granted, the general economy won't, but Rove and company are once again trying to win by default. Thinking that if they just avoid the bogey man of the government shutdown and play it safe, they'll win with the generic Republican.

An immediate example of them not controlling the debate is this small airport bill. Republicans should be beating their brains in with that. The government lost how many millions in airfare taxes because the Senate will not pass an interim bill to cut some of the subsidies? When I watch the news, I see dims demagogue it complaining that Republicans are impacting jobs, when actually dims refuse to let a nickle be pried from their fingers at a cost of bunch of "revenue" to the government. If ever there was an example of dysfunctional democrat government, it's this. Yet, what do I see on the news: Obama saying Congress needs to get this done. No detail. The average shmuck seeing that goes "boy that congress sure can't get a d_mn thing done". So when they could lay the blame clearly at the dims feet, the Republicans end up taking an equal share of the blame. It's like they have no perception how this stuff shows up out here in the rest of the world and the impression it makes.

[org.whodat]

2/3 of the American people oppose this deal, and most of them would vote the setting congress out of office, and you post says eat you “S” sandwich and support the GOP, man the GOP sucks as bad as the democrats. I want to put the leadrhip of both parties in the street and without their damn retirement if it were possible. Most of them wish to wind up on K street and continue their careers of screwing their fellow citizens.

[sam_paine]

I want to put the leadrhip of both parties in the street and without their damn retirement if it were possible. Most of them wish to wind up on K street and continue their careers of screwing their fellow citizens.

Ok. So we can agree on fantasy land. Now let's talk about reality.

[sam_paine]

I want to put the leadrhip of both parties in the street and without their damn retirement if it were possible. Most of them wish to wind up on K street and continue their careers of screwing their fellow citizens.

Ok. So we can agree on fantasy land. Now let's talk about reality.

[Siena Dreaming]

Rove is right in describing the larger picture. The entire political conversation now is about fiscal policy

Correct and for the first time in decades the Dem MO did not work even though Obama tried furiously...a ramp up of spending along with tax increases.

In order to get lasting reform the terms of the debate have to change first. This was Boehner's goal and he succeeded IMO.