Posted on 07/12/2011 3:05:57 PM PDT by tobyhill
The top Republican in the Senate proposed on Tuesday giving President Barack Obama sweeping new power to, in effect, unilaterally increase the nation's debt limit to avoid a first-ever default on U.S. obligations.
The new mechanism would take the place of the current White House debt negotiations among congressional leaders and Obama. Those talks over spending cuts and tax increases have grown increasingly acrimonious.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., offered a new plan to allow the president to demand up to $2.4 trillion in new borrowing authority by the summer of next year in three separate submissions.
Those increases in the so-called debt limit would automatically take effect unless both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic Senate enact legislation specifically disapproving it.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Subtle Freepers: oxymoron, usually.
Is it really that hard to understand what McConnel is doing ?
Yes. For most Freepers, yes, it really is that hard to understand what McConnel is doing.
McConnell
1) he cannot say the Republicans are obstructing the deal because he controls the spending
2) he has to submit cuts to get the spending approved
3) he totally owns when and the amount that the debt limit gets increased
4) there is no discussion of tax increases
5) if Obama refuses it, the responsibility is his if default happens
Likely zerO will be very irritated at being put in the situation of having to ask, repeatedly, for money. Besides the box you outline above, his ego is getting poked.
Irritated opponents make mistakes.
I agree that this political jujitsu.
Your step 2 is stated incorrectly.
His cuts can be anything and if totaled correctly cannot be stopped without a 2/3rds vote of both houses.
In other words Congress abrogates all financial control because the TV people may talk bad about them.
The top portion of my post, above the dotted line, is a quote from Free America52.
The proposal _does_ request cuts equal or greater than the new debt issued. If zerO vetoes his own cuts, they can still get hung around his own political neck and that of his Party. All of this is to take place before the election.
However, I am in the camp that thinks, since there will be no compromise w/zerO, and the Senate is not in our control, this is a challenge to zerO: he and the dems will own the entire mess.
Since it isn’t going anywhere because it won’t fly in the House nor will the dems and zerO accept responsibility, all the hyperventilating is excessive. McConnell knows this.
It is interesting that the media is not ignoring this proposal. Everyone knew the base would go ballistic. The media cannot resist publicizing GOP dissension. So, this is now a major topic of discussion. Had the media ignored it, zerO could have, as well. All he can do now is reject it. If it was so advantageous to the administration, wouldn’t they accept it promptly?
It isn’t going to happen and the administration has been rather nicely played, in public. It is a political response to a political position, albeit, I suspect the furor will be short-lived, as there is no advantage to the dems in further discussion.
WTF? Why is McConnell bending over like this? Does somebody have pics of him toe-tappin’ in the men’s room?
My point is that he could gut the military and defense and propose a like amount of increases in his first step and we don’t have a two-thirds majority in both houses to stop him.
Yes, he is that destructive. And yes, the Democrats are corrupt enough to let him.
Yes. He could. Then all the troops could be brought home and they could vote against him in 2012.
It is very unlikely this is going to pass and if it did,it is designed to give zerO political heartburn.
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