House majority drip Eric Cantor (R-VA) wants spending cuts to offset hurricane relief in the wake of Irene. To show he means business, he has generously offered to forgo his salary for the remainder of his time in Congress, and is urging his fellow pinheads to do the same.
Cantor, incidentally, makes a little over $16,000 a month as House majority leader. Raise your hand if you think he’s worth it.
I’m fairly sure President Obama is aware that Republicans forced him into a box by holding the world economy hostage over raising the debt ceiling. But I’d be a lot happier if he’d kicked and screamed a little more, if he’d made it abundantly clear that he was signing onto a deal that would cripple the economy in the long run only to spare the country from defaulting on its debt and plunging the world into catastrophe. When the economy tanks, Obama needs to be able to say, “I told you so,” but I’m not sure he did clearly enough. His progressive base sounded the alarm, but everyone wanted them to shut up.
Republicans keep saying we can’t raise taxes when the economy is weak, but not many economists agree with them. What economists do agree on is that you shouldn’t cut spending when the economy is weak. More jobs will be lost, which will snowball into a recession — or worse.
And when that happens, Obama will get the blame — which is what the Republicans planned all along. But who will make this case during the next election cycle? And will the public be able to connect the dots that complete the picture Mitch McConnell started when he stated that the Republicans’ first order of business was to make Obama a one-term president?
Everything the Republicans have done since President Obama was inaugurated was to diminish him — and sadly by trying to be reasonable he’s played right into their hands. By all logic, Republican policies and practices should doom them for many elections to come. But contrarily, their reward might be unparalleled success — and for Americans, hard times.
It may not be too late for Obama to make a statement. When it comes time to sign the bill, he needs to make it clear that he’s signing it to avert an immediate disaster, while at the same time warn us of the dangers of excessive cuts and spell out what they might be. He needs to be on record that agreeing to this deal was a good idea for only ONE reason.
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