The Senate’s cloture vote on Harry Reid’s debt bill just failed 50-49.
What now? McConnell says an agreement with President Obama is on the horizon:
McConnell said he is “very very close to being able . . . to recommend to my members that this is something that they ought to support.”
“You’ll see that this is a process that could get him (President Obama) past the election. We’re working on the combinations that will get us there,” McConnell said. “I’m particularly appreciative that we’re now back talking to the only person in America who can sign something into law and that’s the president of the United States.”
Thoughts?
Update 6:00 p.m. ET: Back after doing my part to stimulate the economy (shopping!), and it looks like an agreement may happen soon:
Weekly Standard reports “defense [spending] is on the chopping block,” which may cause Republicans to balk.
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“You’ll see that this is a process that could get him (President Obama) past the election. We’re working on the combinations that will get us there,”
THIS SCARES ME !!!!!!!!!!!
It takes a very clever person to manage a fool. God help McConnell.
Primary every Republican who allows Obama to extend this past the 2012 elections.
Republicans are now in the cat bird’s seat. But look for them to cave and give it away. And look for the TEA Party to start taking to the streets again in 2012. Jeff Sessions seems to be the only one smart enough to be leader of the Senate. Seems the Senate has left for the day. Harry Reid has to go take a Valium.
[…] maneuver, since voting “no” permits Reid to bring his bill up for a vote later.Linked at Legal Insurrection — thanks!PREVIOUSLY (11:45 a.m. ET): The outlines of the Neither Fish Nor Fowl Bipartisan […]
What the hey? Three Democrats voted against the Reid bill:
Manchin of West Virginia, Nelson of Nebraska and REID, OF NEVADA.
Reid was procedural. Now he can bring it back for another consideration.
I am furious. Why in the hell would the republican party be interested in helping zero?
McDumkoff should be replaced.
retire05: Reid had to vote no so he could bring it up again (procedure thing)
Also, the catbird seat doesn’t mean much if no deal is passed; guarantee that the media will make such a big deal that republicans will be at least likely to be blamed by the public.
And give Scott Brown (R-Mass) credit; he said he’d vote for Reid’s bill and he did (not that I like the vote, but honesty is so short in DC it should be applauded 🙂
This debt ceiling squabble is but one battle in a long war. Let us not take our eye off the real prize:
http://obpopulus.wordpress.com/2011/07/31/how-to-win-a-war/
Yup.
Gotta WIN, rather than have and stick to principles. I mean, what’s more important? That nice office in DC, servants, free lunch and med/care, or bankrupting the country?
Sheesh.
Pyongyang on the Potomac: something today in exchange for a promise to negotiate tomorrow. Nothing is too big or important to fail, the only question is how painful and difficult will the fix be, if possible, when it happens. The failure’s now more probable and the fix, still possible on the country’s terms, will be more painful and difficult.
Vote was 51-49, Reid voted against his own bill in order to preserve his right to reintroduce it. Dems Manchin, Ben Nelson, and Reid himself voted against it. Scott Brown (R)ino voted yes with the Dems.
Thoughts?
Let’s do what the Catholics do: lock ’em all up and don’t let them out until they’ve agreed on a decision.
And I don’t mean in the Ritz Carlton with gourmet meals.
McConnell is unquestionably right that any deal must be one that Obama can and will bless with his signature. But he also knows that Obama is already a big loser in this process, having failed to get a “clean bill,” a bill with “balance,” etc. and with his lousy approval ratings dropping further as people watched his lack of leadership, resolution and responsibility. On top of all that, he has further ticked off his liberal base, having done a poor job of the politics.
This impasse has to end and the outline of the deal in the works is a big victory for Republicans who hold only one third of the decision-making power.
Folks who blab about running primaries against all those GOOers who support such a deal should definitely be told, go ahead. It is an empty, silly threat.
Finally, it is a good thing that McConnell talks openly about the one thing Obama wanted mosf all along and has held out for — the long timeframe to get him past the election. Everyone knows this to be the case and it is time for the GOP to start criticizing Obama for it. Anyway, the debt and taxes issue will not go away, and Obama will still have to confront it next year as he pledges not to raise taxes at the end of 2012 after having publicly demanded they rise a hundred times.
don’t give an inch: now new spending, no new taxes, no increase in the debt limit and real cuts now.
J.E. Burke, you make a great point. Challenge those who are against you more than they’re with you. Keep the threat of a challenge open for those who are with you 50-75 percent of the time, for now. But why primary someone who’s with you 90 percent of the time? It’s illogical.
I still think the debt ceiling failing to be raised causes about 40% *immediate* cuts in spending across the board. Seems better than any deal on the table now. Plus our crediut rating might still go down.. so bonus: its more difficult for the government to borrow. I’m *really* not seeing any negatives here. Whats the problem with letting it just fizzle out?
While JE Burke’s analysis above is persuasive, I think press reports of a tentative deal from unnamed congressional sources is just preparing the public to be enraged at conservatives. Look out for Lucy and her football. I predict the House will walk away from a last minute deal due to yet another Obama-style bait and switch — and the media will blame the right for blowing the deal that never was.
The press will portray the deal as one negotiated between the GOP leadership and the White House.
The Republican base and the Democratic base will likely be upset with the “deal.”
Who benefits with independents? Obama? Republicans? Democrats?
Does it really matter, since the 2012 election will be about the economy and Obama’s stewardship.
I say… Republicans should see how far 0bama is willing to negotiate to get a debt bill
-Ask for a complete and total voiding of 0bamacare…
-set a stimpulation like: Bush tax cuts get made permanent
and never again will be on the table up for debate or discussion.
-but also sweeten the deal and add tax cuts for all in the nation
(except liberals… liberals should face tax hikes way at like 90-95%)
so that they go extinct and leave the nation in droves.
They’ll blame 0bama for their suffering and likely refuse to support him in 2012. they won’t have the money to fund his election… that’s for sure.
…this is an opportunity… we must take full advantage of.
The one thing that gives me hope is that the only way Boehner could get his compromise bill through the House was to add the BBA requirement. Not just a promise of a vote, but the guarantee that it has to go to the states. The best deal is still no deal, but getting the BBA to the states is not a bad compromise.
If McConnell makes a deal with Obama, it will not include the BBA. What remains to be seen is what the House GOP leadership will do. Will they bring it to the floor so that it can pass with just Democrat & RINO votes, or will they respect the wishes of the House GOP majority and let it get amended to include the BBA?
I predict a Boehner sellout and passage with just Dem / RINO votes.
If the future of the Republic is in McConnell’s hands then no man’s property, liberty or life is safe…
Looks like the struggle over the Boehner bill will have served as nothing more than a wedge between conservatives and rest of the party.
6:24 pm
Boehner Balking at Debt Deal
by Joseph B. White
House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) appears to be balking at the debt ceiling deal that Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has signed. Mr. Boehner is concerned about provisions in the deal that could lead to sharp cuts in military spending, say people familiar with the situation. House aides have warned that just because Mr. Reid has signed off on the deal doesn’t mean the deal is done.
Washington Wire, WSJ
7:14 pm
GOP Leaders Sign on To Tentative Debt Deal
by Corey Boles
House Republican leaders have agreed to a “tentative deal” to lift the U.S. debt ceiling and cut the deficit by roughly $2.4 trillion in a series of stages. House leaders have scheduled a briefing for their caucus at 8:30, aides say. The move comes after a long afternoon during which House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), balked at proposals that could lead to sharp cuts in military spending.
Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) “signed off” on a debt-ceiling plan pending the approval of the Senate Democratic caucus, a congressional aide said Sunday.
Now, the leaders have to round up their troops and schedule votes.
Washington Wire
Weekly Standard reports “defense [spending] is on the chopping block,” which may cause Republicans to balk.
Progressives will beat our swords into Dowshares and our spears into windmills? Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore [Isaiah 2:4 & Micah 4:3]
except for beefing up our Afghanistan presence, raiding Pakistan, assassinating militants in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan by drone, still doing stuff in Iraq, still detaining terrorist suspects at Gitmo and illegally offshore, attacking Libya in support of radicalized rebels, ordering Special Ops in Somalia, giving special security packages to Mali and otherwise training and equipping many African countries, encouraging the Egyptian revolt (going Islamist), undercutting Israel’s security, etc.
And that’s just the ME and SW Asia under Obama. Why would we need a strong and flexible military?
And as Obama has pulled troops out of Iraq, we now have the the worst week in Iraq in how long? And Obama wants to cut defense spending. Yeah, that’s what Clinton did, and when we went to war in Afghanistan, we had planes sitting on the tarmac not able to fly for want of parts.
How about we cut the welfare checks to those who don’t deserve them? How about we tell those women who have three kids and no baby daddy that it is time for them to pull their own load and get a job, no matter how meager? How about we do some real investigation and knock the four people I know who are collecting SSDI but working under the table, off SSDI (if you are healthy enough to work a job, you don’t need my tax money)?
Nah, instead all we hear about is slashing money to seniors who paid for their benefits a long time ago and slashing funds to the military.
How about we tell those women who have three kids and no baby daddy that it is time for them to pull their own load and get a job, no matter how meager? How about we do some real investigation and knock the four people I know who are collecting SSDI but working under the table, off SSDI (if you are healthy enough to work a job, you don’t need my tax money)?
Goodness, quite the Modest Proposal you got there. Whom are you satirizing?
If you think funding a capable military which the Dems have no problem using for wars, humanitarian missions, and targeted assassinations essentially steals food from the mouths of babes or is causing a witchhunt for hard-up part-time workers, then just say so.
Why, why (why why why) do these Republicans feel like they have to go along with all this? It’s the good Mr. Obama who has signed off on not having a budget since he’s been in the White House. It’s Mr. Obama with Reid and Pelosi who’ve spent us into this crisis- Republicans could have rested after they passed their bills and sent them off to the senate.
Do they really think the evening news will now portray the Republicans in a good light, please!! If Leiberman is going to oppose this, god bless and let him do it. Don’t forget there is a lot of nasty ‘foreign aid’ in the defense budget that most good Americans would NEVER support if the media told them what it really is.
Obama and Reid really shouldn’t get the last laugh here; anything that makes Obama look less than the inept fellow he is ought to be ignored. Let Barry fix this mess.
“House Republican leaders have agreed to a “tentative deal” to lift the U.S. debt ceiling and cut the deficit by roughly $2.4 trillion in a series of stages.”
Yeah, right.
I understand the only real, immediate cuts in spending amount to about $20-billion. The rest of the $2.4-trillion in “cuts” are absolute fiction, the result of gimmicks like base-line budgeting (where “cuts” result in increases).
The lies and gimmicks haven’t stopped. Reid and Obama are laughing their asses off now.
How many times does the average citizen need to be kicked in the head before he realizes he’s being mugged?
Ten years from now we’re going to be kicking ourselves in the head for not forcing the government to shut down when we had the chance.