Posted on 09/16/2013 12:39:28 PM PDT by markomalley
President Obama delivered only brief condolences for the victims of the shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Monday morning, before quickly pivoting to a scheduled attack on Republicans.
The pending budget crisis this fall is a pointless battle between GOP extremists and reasonable people, Obama declared today from the White House.
“I can’t remember a time when one faction of one party promises chaos if it can’t get 100 percent of what it wants… that’s what happening right now,” he insisted.
The GOP’s small-government legislators are “a crew” who wish to “sabotage” Obamacare and show “an unwillingness to compromise,” he announced.
“Are some of these folks so beholden to some extremists in their party that they’re willing to tank the entire economy… [and] to hurt people just to score political points?” he asked.
Obama’s partisan language reflects a willingness — or even a desire — for a dramatic political clash this fall with the GOP that would temporarily shut down the government.
The president is already fundraising for the 2014 mid-term elections, when he will try to regain a Democratic majority in the House.
Obama’s uncompromising remarks were accompanied by a report touting the administration’s efforts to recover from the 2008 Wall Street crash. The report acknowledged that Americans have recovered less than half of the wealth lost in the real-estate bubble and subsequent crash.
GOP legislators and activists have long complained about the budget-crisis narrative, which they say obscures the harm caused by many government programs, and the small-scale changes being sought in the government’s huge annual budget, which reached $3.5 trillion in 2012.
That’s down slightly from 2011 spending of $3.6 trillion.
But the GOP has failed to shift this establishment narrative, partly because GOP’s leadership is uncharismatic, dispersed and split, while Obama is charismatic, owns the White House and is backed up by a disciplined Democratic Party and most of the established media.
This time around, the House’s GOP leadership is trying to rally their diverse caucus around a two-sided legislative proposal.
That incomplete proposal would demonstrate the GOP’s desire to replace the Obamacare law, and also force Democratic legislators into the politically dangerous task of defending the unpopular law and its various loopholes for congressional staffers, big companies and unions.
However, Obama offered no hint of concessions.
“The first order of business is to pass a sensible budget that replaces the sequester… [and] funds the investments in basic research and infrastructure that we need to grow” he said.
The fix for the nation’s economy, he said, includes a tax increase. “It is the only way to do it,” he said.
The president did offer a few backhanded tokens of respect for Republicans worried about the nation’s high unemployment and record national debt that has grow more than $6 trillion under his tenure.
“It is time for responsible Republicans who share these goals… [and who] genuinely want to see the economy grow,” he said.
Obama also used the event to urge House approval of the Senate’s ambitious immigration rewrite plan.
“Once we’re done with the budget… let’s focus on the other things [including] finishing the job of immigration reform,” he said.
The rewrite would legalize around 33 million immigrants over the next 10 years, according to various estimates. That annual inflow is triple the current immigration rate, and it would put roughly two immigrants into the job market for for every four Americans who turn 18.
One trick pony
That's exactly what you did a$$wipe. Project much?
Millionaires and billionaires
The shooters haven’t been identified yet.
What if there’s a rad-muslim/leftist angle?
What will the White House and their Big Media shills say then?
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste.
And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
shouldn’t the massacre of 12 navy officers and civilians a mile from the White Hut have gotten its own speech of condolences from the Cinc????????????
but no, their massacre was just a seque into attacks on the GOP over the budget?
barry- grow a HEART you spineless arrogant pos
wanna bet Putin will make a more sincere expression of sympathy
“Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste”(Rahm”Dead-Fish”Emmanuel)!!!
I doubt there’s profanity adequate to describe these political hacks!
And he’s apparently going to have quite a Latin shindig at the White House tonight with all his Latin musician donors. It’s a good day to party!
We have gotten zero percent of what we want. Chaos had better be on the cards.
Indeed. But Cloward and Piven aren't conservatives.
Obama going dancing tonight
Big salsa party at the white hut
plenty of time to look sad at the funerals later this week and another chance to give a GOP slamming speech in the eulogy
Just Obama being the Divider-in-Chief.
Sounds like lots of fun! Just because you’re Commander in Chief, you can’t let terrorist attacks or workplace violence on a military base keep you from your presidential duties, right? Besides, this was planned months ago and so much time and effort has gone into it. Say what you want about GWB, I do not think he would be partying tonight!
It’s not Obama’s fault - he didn’t know about the shooting.
Based on previous statements, Obama won’t know about the shooting until 3 days from now when he see a mention of it on ESPN.
Give the guy some slack why don’cha.
/sarc.... do I have to write that?
Still desperately wagging the dog.
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