Why Is Obama Trying To Push Dems Off A Cliff With His SS & Medicare Cuts?

[TheMastersNemesis]

Clinton essentially pushed the Dems off the cliff over NAFTA. Then went on to help pass favored nation status for China, GATT, Telecom 96, Welfare Reform and other GOP legislation. He got impeached for his efforts. The Dems lost the House and eventually the Senate. And the GOP got a pass on everything and got 98% of what they wanted.

If Obama succeeds with his grand bargain he will have a failed presidency and the Dems will own the denigration of Social Security and Medicare for generations. And even if the GOP abolishes both programs should they get power the Dems will still get the blame.

[donco]

1. What cuts

are you referring to?

[TheMastersNemesis]

3. Any Grand Bargain That Obamas Wants Will Include SS & Medicare Cuts

if he gets some revenue. He could decide to forgo revenue for a promise. He is playing a dangerous game. He should drop the bargain idea altogether.

[donco]

5. Where are

you getting this info?All i have seen is speculation.

[Thinkingabout]

6. Maybe he is seeking to show he has put this on the table to get a response from the repubs and

then they can not say he has not put any on the table. Watch them run again.

[GoCubsGo]

20. Or, maybe...

...he is trying to get people riled up so they get off their asses and get on their representatives' cases. Some here are already doing that, but most people are not. The man can't do it all by himself.

[madokie]

22. I agree

[kenny blankenship]

2. Honestly? So he can be "greater" than his party.

"He transcended his party affiliation and forced Democrats to cut their cherished programs."

That's what will make him great in his own mind and within the Beltway punditry bordello. He will at last be worthy of the 1%ers love, indubitably and forever.

[Egalitarian Thug]

9. The payoff will indeed be substantial.

He has reaffirmed my belief that wanting to be the President should be an automatic disqualification from ever having any access to power.

[MrSlayer]

4. Because that is what the owners want.

Why do you think?

He's not an idiot nor is he being duped or naive. He's doing what he's being told to do. The same as Bush, Clinton, Bush and Reagan. The change was coming since the 60's but it didn't take full effect until 1981.

http://m.

&feature=fvwrel

The bad guys won.

[jsr]

7. There is nothing but liability for Dems in 2014 and beyond

if they touch Social Security or Medicare.

[Dragonfli]

8. his entitlement offers are a standard boilerplate position of one subset of "democrat"

I personally don't consider this subset Democrats at all, but rather Republican politicians that for varying reasons (including infiltration) have registered as Democratic, but technically you only have to register as one to call yourself a Democrat.

This group started when Koch Industries gave funding to the DLC and served on its Executive Council

http://www.correntewire.com/why_its_feature_not_bug_koch_family_funds_dlc

One member of the DLC's executive council is none other than Koch Industries, the privately held, Kansas-based oil company whose namesake family members are avatars of the far right, having helped to found archconservative institutions like the Cato Institute and Citizens for a Sound Economy. Not only that, but two Koch executives, Richard Fink and Robert P. Hall III, are listed as members of the board of trustees and the event committee, respectively--meaning that they gave significantly more than $25,000.

Shortly after their Koch connections became well known they re-branded as "Third-Way" or "new" Democrats and most of their economic blueprints were transferred to the new Third Way website (Although they still keep the DLC think tank Progressive policy institute around to push free trade and cuts to SS and Medicare)

These third wayers are proudly pro corporate, unyieldingly free trade, and rabidly anti "entitlement"
their standard policy hope is to cut SS, they have been promoting it since the 80's.
They are responsible for past free trade agreements under Clinton, the destruction of welfare, and the end of the bank regulations that led to the recent crash. You can easily guess what the next false flag attack on citizens will be (while posing as Democrats) simply by reading their website: http://www.thirdway.org/

A very thorough recent post by MadFloridian on this false flag group of republicans: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022497884 (a must read)

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. +1 and once again, we need a like/recommend option for comments. n/t

[Fire Walk With Me]

15. Thank you!

[leveymg]

26. +1000. Call them Blue Dog, DLC or Third Way Dems, their economic policy is Rockefeller Republican

and corporate globalist, which is the very opposite of the populist progressive that Obama's rhetoric sounds like sometimes at election time.

I'm afraid the President is all things to all people -- a radical centrist -- with the most powerful getting most of what they want, most of the time. And, he's okay with that.

[Milliesmom]

11. Obama Reassures House Democrats On Cuts To Social Security, Medicare

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/14/obama-house-democrats_n_2880723.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

[Chakab]

12. Because he's not any kind of liberal,

and he acutally thinks that the cuts will make him look like "the adult in the room" and secure his legacy with the Beltway elite.

[hfojvt]

13. he doesn't know any other way to save social security

[Oilwellian]

30. ROFL...that is so RICH

no pun intended.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Because the very rich have been after the SS monies for years

and Obama, through his actions, is apparently little more than a shill for them. Sorry, I voted for him as well, but the facts reveal a terrible trend:


Who or what exactly enables "austerity", or "sequestration"?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022445620


Stunning visual display of wealth distribution .. absolute must see for EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022507452


Banks and wall street are continuing to be bailed out to the tune of taxpayer billions every year, given the green light for malfeasance, and this week we learn the government says corrupt banks are "too big to jail". While he's begging to hand the SS monies over to the rich.. Remember "banks got bailed out; we got sold out"?

Scattered examination of the Plutocracy:

http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-leaked-2006-citigroup-plutonomy-memo.html

Also, the Clintons are said to have long since invested in an outsourcing company. Worth Googling.

[deutsey]

23. You could practically see Bush salivating over it

after the 2004 election when he strutted around saying he now had the "political capital" to privatize Social Security.

[KoKo]

27. +1...Good Links...things get lost here on DU, so good to catch up.

[ProSense]

16. Senate Democrats

passed a budget out of committee yesterday. It now goes to the floor.

Senate Budget panel approves first spending blueprint in four years

By Vicki Needham

The Senate Budget Committee on Thursday evening approved its first budget in four years and, as expected, the 12-10 vote came down right along party lines.

The fiscal blueprint produced by Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) makes modest cuts to the federal deficit over the next decade and contains $975 billion in tax increases by ending tax breaks for corporations and wealthier individuals.

Murray explained that she is asking wealthier taxpayers and bigger businesses to chip in a little more to "make critical investments to get economy going again."

The budget also proposes $100 billion in stimulus spending for road and bridge construction and repairs, school repairs and worker training.

- more -

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/288339-senate-budget-panel-approves-first-budget-measure-in-four-years

Here's the most important thing: sparing safety net.

Senate panel to approve budget sparing safety net

By ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting on the Senate's first budget since President Barack Obama took office, a Democratic-led panel is moving toward party-line approval of a fiscal blueprint that would only modestly trim the budget deficit while protecting safety net programs from slashing cuts proposed by Republicans.

- more -

http://news.yahoo.com/senate-panel-approve-budget-sparing-safety-net-070103758--finance.html

Patty Murray: Our budget is balanced, fair

Unlike House Republicans, Democrats in the Senate take a responsible approach toward tackling the deficit.

<...>

The highest priority of the Senate budget is protecting our economic recovery and laying down a strong foundation for broad-based economic growth.

It responsibly replaces the harmful cuts from sequestration that threaten 750,000 jobs this year alone. And it invests in infrastructure, education and innovation...Our budget also strengthens and protects Medicare and other programs seniors and families depend on, because we don't think they should have to bear the burden of deficit reduction alone.

Our budget also tackles our deficit and debt responsibly. It builds on the $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction enacted since 2010 with an additional $1.85 trillion in new savings — exceeding the bipartisan goal laid out by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission.

We do this in a balanced and fair way, with one half from responsible spending cuts across the federal budget, and one half from closing wasteful loopholes and deductions that benefit the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations, such as those that allow offshore tax abuse or provide deductions for shipping jobs overseas.

- more -

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/03/14/democratic-budget-patty-murray/1989075/

The WH previously issued a statement in support of this budget.

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Senate Democratic Budget

The Senate Democratic budget is a concrete plan that will grow our economy and shrink our deficits in a balanced way, consistent with the President’s belief that our economy grows best from the middle-out, not the top-down, while reducing the debt as a share of the economy. It’s a plan that doesn’t dwell on ongoing debates, but rather moves our country forward by making investments critical to our middle-class security – like education, manufacturing, and rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges – while looking for waste, fraud, and savings throughout government. This budget makes tough spending cuts and leaves no sacred cows, but it also makes sure that seniors and the middle class aren’t forced to bear the full burden of deficit reduction by eliminating wasteful loopholes through tax reform, so that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.

Republicans and Democrats have now put their plans on the table. And while there are differences, both sides share some common goals. The President looks forward to seeking compromise and common ground with Congress so we can grow the economy, create jobs, and cut the deficit in a balanced way.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/13/1193895/-White-House-press-secretary-statement-on-the-Senate-Democratic-budget

Republicans are never going to agree to any deal.
Why compromise with Republicans on taxes is impossible, in one vote
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/03/14/why-compromise-with-republicans-on-taxes-is-impossible-in-one-vote/

It's time to move on with the Senate Democrats' budget and get back to focusing on creating jobs, climate change, immigration, rebuilding the infrastructure, implementing and strengthening the health care and Wall Street reform laws.

[RandiFan1290]

17. hmmmm

[Octafish]

18. It is odd.

It's like he wants to dismantle the New Deal to save some money on paper, instead of taxing the wealthiest people the world has ever known for real progress.

[forestpath]

19. Well, he did call himself a Republican a few months ago....

[deutsey]

24. And oh, he admires Reagan

Makes me want to every time I've heard Obama cite him.

[forestpath]

25. Makes me want to puke, too.

[JoePhilly]

21. Obama hates us.

[ananda]

28. Obama is seriously weak on matters where he needs to be strong.

And those are matters that affect the poor and vulnerable, which now
is at least half the country.

[OnionPatch]

29. If he goes through with the cuts he's hinted at

His legacy will be destroyed. He'll just be another shill for the rich. What a horrible shame that would be. You'd think he'd care about that even if he doesn't care about the future of the party. But then you'd think he would care about all the people who will be harmed by these cuts, first and foremost.

[alp227]

31. Clinton impeached over NAFTA? really?

Didn't the Republicans do it over Monica not politics?

And I say we must keep emailing and phoning Congress & the White House every day! Dont' be silent!

[reformist2]

32. This is why we should never rest until we get money out of politics.

I'm not saying they're all the same, but the differences between who gets to run for office are far less than we are led to believe. Obama is better than most, but he's still was the lesser of two evils.