Robert Reich: The President’s Last Stand Is No Stand At All: Why the Tax Deal is an Abomination

[highplainsdem]

http://robertreich.org/post/2132901013

The President’s Last Stand Is No Stand At All: Why the Tax Deal is an Abomination

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

-snip-

It’s politically nuts. Polls showed most Americans are against extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

It would have been a defining issue for the President to use to show whose side he’s on (the middle and working class) and whose side the Republicans are on (not the middle and working class). And given that the House turns over to Republicans in January, the President probably won’t have another chance like this one.

It loses him even more of his “base” — by which I mean people who think of themselves as Democrats and are committed to the ideal of equal opportunity and don’t want the nation to become even more of a plutocracy.

It makes him look weak — Republicans got everything they wanted. And when a President looks weak, he is weak.

-snip-

Reich advises House and Senate Democrats to reject this abomination, and the President to get new advisors.

[nashville_brook]

1. seeing the press corps today...THEY think he's weak. They begged him to prove he's not.

He lashes out at liberals. Point taken.

[RufusTFirefly]

2. Saving a spot for Dr. Reich under the ever-expanding undercarriage of the Bus. n/t

[QC]

21. Fortunately, he doesn't take up much room. n/t

[OrwellwasRight]

36. Brilliant! nt.

[hulka38]

3. But he was kind of talking tough today. n/t

[leftstreet]

4. Negotiating with Zombie Reaganomic Theorists. Why?

K&R

[Lasher]

24. Because he is one of them.

See what he does. See what he 'gives into'. If you like Reaganomics you've gotta love Obama.

[glitch]

5. VERY well worth clicking on the link and reading the article.

Four paragraphs can't do it justice. K & R thanks for posting!

[TwilightGardener]

6. I feel like a broken record. Why are they acting like a middle class only deal

would pass the Senate? Isn't that where his ire should be directed? It's not like this was Obama's first choice. This is what he thinks will pass the Senate.

[Statistical]

8. +1. Obama is in a lose-lose situation.

Obama is in a lose-lose situation.

Without a compromise no bill gets through Senate.
Then taxes go up for middle class on January 1.
That will be labeled the defacto "obama tax increase".

"The largest tax increase on the middle class in the history of the country was enacted by the out of touch Obama administration".

[TwilightGardener]

10. I know. That's the ultimate trap. People are crying now that he broke a promise.

Wait till they manage to shoot even THIS deal down and Obama breaks TWO promises.

[Statistical]

12. Exactly. There may not be enough votes.

Then Obama looks weak, pisses off the base, AND "the Obmama tax increase" still goes into effect on the middle class come January 1.

This is exactly why the before and after photos of Presidents looks like they have aged 20 years.

[ProSense]

17. And don't you know

that if taxes go up, these pundits will sing the President's praises for standing up to Republicans while most Americans wonder what the hell hit them (Obama's tax increases).

Not sure what's going on, but the whole thing is bizarre.

[Knight Hawk]

37. It will pass

It will pass because there are a lot of phony democrats who want us to think thet are one of us but really are for their rich friends and their own pocketbook.They can get a BIG tax cut for themselves and their rich buddies and sponsors and give us a little tax cut saying they wanted us to get ours .

[ProSense]

16. Ignore the two votes they took last Saturday

just to say the President looks weak.

Two bills, one that raised the threshold to $1 million, and both failed. Four to five Democrats voted against one or the other.

It will be interested to see what Congress does here.

[quakerboy]

29. Thats what happens when your opposition knows

that you will give in, before you even start talking, and has no desire to come to a fair agreement.

Say you are standing on the street and a guy with a baseball bat walks up and demands your wallet. Do you give him your wallet?


Say he is 6/4, brawny, swastika tatoos on both temples, wearing leather, with an angry and determined look on his face. Will you give him your wallet?


Now say he is instead 5'1, appears to be having trouble standing upright, looks slightly confused and not to sure of himself. And he happens to drop the bat, and doesn't even bother to pick it up as he stares off in the distance, nonconfrontationally. You still going to give him your wallet?

[ProudDad]

30. 51 votes to change the rules in the Senate...

Not 52, not 55, not 60...

51 votes to change the rules...

51 courageous Dems with principles...

ooops, ain't got that, I guess...

[defendandprotect]

49. Thank you for pointing that out -- need to keep reminding folks of that --!!

[ProudDad]

51. Tell me about it...

Gadzooks -- some people's lack of knowledge of history is astounding!

And this "history" only goes back 30 years (50 at most)...

It's damn scary...

[lildreamer316]

7. After following Mr. Reich for several years, I wish he were in the administration.

I know, crazy idealist me, lol. Sigh. Maybe next time someone will listen to him.
Common sense - such a precious commodity.

[highplainsdem]

15. +1

[ProudDad]

31. He got to the point where he couldn't take the triangulator in chief

Mr. pResident William J. Clinton...

And quit in disgust...

He worked on the transition for this new one and obviously was completely ignored by that one too...

[amborin]

9. worst of all

(and someone else remarked on this here), the temp payroll tax holiday may set the stage for a
more organized attack on social security

[somone]

14. That is plain as day

There is a reason for every item in the package

[ProudDad]

32. Exactly as it was designed to do... (n/t)

[inna]

54. "starve the beast". absolutely classic stuff.

x(

[laughingliberal]

11. K & R nt

[me b zola]

13. K&R

[defendandprotect]

18. Reich has a point ... we should be pushing for the "advisors" to go ....

These are the people who created the financial crisis -- and profited from it --

and who have been dragging their feet on any real reversal or remedy being put in place!!

[Poboy]

19. recommend.

[smokey nj]

20. K&R

[highplainsdem]

22. kick

[Better Believe It]

23. K & R

[BrklynLiberal]

25. +1000...kick, rec, will share with everyone...

Reich and Krugman and Lakoff....people who have been ignored by this administration...at their own peril.

Even David Stockman..the Raygun guy is against this abomination.

[ProudDad]

26. Check out his latest book

within the tight constraints of the dominant paradigm, he's the only one with anything approaching an answer...

http://www.amazon.com/Aftershock-Next-Economy-Americas-Future/dp/0307592812

DON'T buy it at Amazon though!!!

Spend a couple of bucks more and get it at your local bookseller...

Or check it out at the library (if they haven't closed 'em all yet)...

[avaistheone1]

27. K&R

[hay rick]

28. K&R

[OlympicBrian]

33. K&R

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[McCamy Taylor]

35. Is it possible Obama is being blackmailed? Cheney and Rove had all that AT&T

wiretap data. Did they find something on Obama or his family? Sometimes I look at the senseless way that Obama is behaving and I have to ask myself "is he being forced?"

[RufusTFirefly]

38. Quoting the great Bill Hicks...

I have this feeling that whoever's elected president, like Clinton was, no matter what you promise on the campaign trail – blah, blah, blah – when you win, you go into this smoke-filled room with the twelve industrialist capitalist scum-fucks who got you in there. And you're in this smokey room, and this little film screen comes down … and a big guy with a cigar goes, "Roll the film." And it's a shot of the Kennedy assassination from an angle you've never seen before … that looks suspiciously like it's from the grassy knoll. And then the screen goes up and the lights come up, and they go to the new president, "Any questions?" "Er, just what my agenda is."

[Knight Hawk]

40. Good Point

I never thought of that but something just doesn't make sense here.One thing that might be happening is Obama has lost his confidence and close advisors/friends.I did not particularly like Rahm but he is gone .Also Axelrod is going back to Chicago and even Michelle has been very quiet lately.Rahm and Axelrod were strong types that I feel Obama needs around him.I know he can pick up the phone but that is no substitute for having someone close by .He needs some strong,agressive peer types around him .This IS his first rodeo.

[MissDeeds]

39. K&R

[Marr]

41. This "compromise" ought to prove to everyone once and for all what Obama really is.

It's like a caricature of his regular MO.

As Reich points out, the major thing that Obama got in "exchange" for giving away the store is something that he could've got for free anyway. Better than free, in fact; the fight would've been short and cost the Republicans politically.

Obama pushes the agenda of the wealthy-- an extremist version of it-- and pretends he has no choice. He's become a very bad joke.

[inna]

53. exactly, except that the joke is on us.

[Faryn Balyncd]

42. K&R

:hi:



:kick:

[BREMPRO]

43. best deal he could get? all you have to do is watch Mcreepell and his evil minions

barely able to contain their ecstatic glee over this deal, and the outrage and denunciations by his OWN PARTY. Just stunning how much he could have gotten given the situation,if he played hardball and worked more closely with democratic members. Now that he's crafted this "abomination" behind closed doors, it's about his ego and the recurring theme that he feels like he's being under-appreciated by Dems for what he's done, and the delusion that he really is helping the average American with this deal. What exactly IS the "long game"? Now the WH is even using Bush-like urgent political theater threats-" LOOK, if you don't take THIS deal, we could fall into a new recession." Sound familiar? If we don't invade Iraq we could see a mushroom cloud" Why isn't he using this kind of threat on THE REPUBLICANS to get them to cave on their issues? Fuck. How about a BETTER, more progressive deal that doesn't balloon the deficit to no positive short term economic effect, hand huge tax breaks to the wealthy, and undermine social security? Why not craft legislation that excludes small business from tax increases somehow? the only credible republican objection- SO- exclude SMALL business- and show up the republicans for their true motives and constituents when they object- the wealthy and large corporations incorrectly lump in with "small business'. PLAY THEM FOR CHRIST SAKES. They are TOTALLY VULNERABLE on this and NO PAIN was inflicted on them, CLEARLY. Just GLEE.

Disgusted with his strategy, negotiation, capitulation, self-delusion about how well he's helping the middle class, and petulant behavior toward his own party and his base. Compromise YES, but DON't GIVE away the STORE without a fight- punting on second down. Gotta wonder...

[defendandprotect]

44. k/r ...

[donco6]

45. The abomination has to go. n/t

[AzDar]

46. K& R

:kick:

[defendandprotect]

47. Of course, "it's nuts" -- and further weakens the Democratic Party ....

shouldn't elected Democrats -- and we members of the Democratic Party also be

upset by that?

Further, it continues the movement of "deals" to back rooms --

What about Congress?

FED runs economic policy now instead of the Congress -- we should have Congress

openly debating and discussing economic policy and full employment. Guess our

millionaires and multi-millionaries in Congress don't really want to do that.

PLUS Obama's last move to cut off the public -- with 76%+ of the American public

wanting single-payer national health care, Obama took it unto himself to make

damaging back room deals with Big Pharma -- no Medicare negoation on drug prices.

And with private Health Care industry to assure them that he would keep single-payer

"off the table."

This is a very dangerous way for the president to act -- it shortcircuits what's

left of govenrment and our access to it!!


No one is talking about these back room deals and the harm they do to "democracy."

And the harm they are doing to the people -- !!

[DeSwiss]

48. K&R

Everyone wants to think that Obama is getting bad advice, or that he's either nuts or clueless. But I don't think he's crazy. And if a fungus like George W. Bush can govern as President, then we know Obama's not that stupid. Then all that remains is that what he's doing is intentional.

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." ~ Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four

[mmonk]

50. Far left purist sanctimonious ............oh wait.

[inna]

52. too late to rec, but enthusiastic kick

[Hell Hath No Fury]

55. Kick -

[mdmc]

56. ..

[Odin2005]

57. Everyone should read his new book "Aftershocks"

[Hawkowl]

58. Weak doesn't get re-elected

That is the one thing we can say with certainty in America. We don't elect weak leaders. Terrible leaders, stupid leaders, yes. Weak never.