"The deal announced last night by President Obama and leaders in Congress will avert a short-term economic calamity, and it will serve as a necessary step toward grappling with our budget deficit. We urge Congress to pass it."But this deal is just a first step, and no one should declare ‘mission accomplished.’ As Third Way has said from the beginning of this debate, the only way to avert a long-term fiscal crisis is a grand bargain. The deal pending before Congress gets us part of the way there by making real spending reforms on both the defense and domestic sides of the ledger.
"But to finish the job, the next steps toward such a bargain must involve tough choices on both sides – Republicans must be willing to throw out their pledges and support an increase in revenues; Democrats must tell their core supporters that the only way to save entitlements like Medicare and Social Security is to reform them. Both options must be on the table immediately, and neither side should view their absence in the current deal as an opportunity to declare them off-limits. . . "
The most important message in this is:
"[T]his deal is just a first step, and no one should declare 'mission accomplished.' . . . Both options [tax reform and entitlement reform] must be on the table immediately, and neither side should view their absence in the current deal as an opportunity to declare them off-limits."
Ralph
My computer is being deluged with emails from progressive groups (MoveOn.org, Credo Action, Democrats.com) to sign petitions calling on the defeat of the debt deal.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a mistake. I don't like the bill; I deplore where we have gotten to; but as of August 1, 2011, I ask: If not this, what?
Do the Dems want to be held responsible for the default? Make mistake. The Repubs would sell that idea and people would forget who caused the problem in the first place.
Better, I think, to gear up for a major effort to influence the next step. This measure merely buys some time to do that. It doesn't solve anything -- unless we give up at this point.
Do the progressives seriously think that they can get any better bill passed tonight?
Maybe this is their tactic: create enough furor to extract some kind of promise from Obama and the Dem leadership about the Nov 23rd plan.
VP Biden has reportedly told the Democratic Caucus that the Tea Partiers "have acted like terrorists."
ReplyDeleteAnd the New York Times today editorialized that "to escape chaos," we have "a terrible deal." They wrote further that this "demonstrates the effectiveness of extortion. Reasonable people are forced to give in to those willing to endanger the national interest."
Those should be campaign themes for the next year.
Meanwhile Nancy Pelosi is giving tepid support, at best. An aide said she will vote for it. But her statement about the Democratic votes was this:
ReplyDelete"I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my Caucus to see what level of support we can provide."
Those are not the words of someone who intends to twist arms.