The Possibility of a Rational Agreement...
Rational Nation USA
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Liberty -vs- Tyranny
From the Los Angeles Times...
The White House signaled Wednesday that President Obama could accept a short-term deal to raise the debt ceiling, but only if it appeared lawmakers were close to an agreement on a significant deficit reduction plan.
Finding solutions to major problems may be a possibility after all. That is if the ideologically pure "accept no compromise" republicans determine to be objective and reasonable. Were it not for the "Gang of Six", with Coburn leading the way, I would hold out little hope that objective reasoning might prevail.
The President has signaled he is willing to consider a short term agreement to raising the debt ceiling if lawmakers were closing in on an agreement to significantly reduce the deficit.
As this site has readily maintained finding a solution so the nation doesn't default on its obligations should be priority one. And it ought to be bipartisan.
As Rational Nation USA follows the deficit reduction/debt ceiling connection it is becoming increasingly apparent that ideology has overtaken reason. Of course this is to the detriment of political dialogue, and has affected lawmakers ability to make objective decisions.
The good news is we are still talking about our differences. After all, we must commit to abridging our differences and enact legislation that will correct our fiscal shortcomings. It won't be easy, however it can be done.
The rest of the Los Angeles Times article...
The hope of such a "grand bargain" was revived Tuesday by the so-called Gang of Six senators, who outlined a deal that would achieve nearly $4 trillion in deficit reduction in the next decade through spending cuts, entitlement reform and an overhaul of the tax code.
But Congress must act to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, and the plan discussed in the Senate Tuesday was just a framework, not specific legislation that could take weeks to move through Congress.
Obama has repeatedly called for a debt limit increase that would carry the government through to 2013, arguing that the political environment for another increase would only grow more challenging with both the White House and Congress at stake in 2012.
Press secretary Jay Carney said at his daily briefing Wednesday that the president still believes that. But, "if both sides agree to something significant, we will support the measures needed to finalize the details of that."
"We need to be sure that that fail-safe option is there, even as we pursue aggressively the possibility of doing something bigger," Carney told reporters.
A plan based on a legislative maneuver devised by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may be that fail-safe option, or perhaps it would be a simple extension for a matter of weeks or months that would allow time for the Gang of Six plan to move through. It is unclear, though, which if any plan could pass both the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-led House.
Obama reached out Tuesday night to House Speaker John Boehner, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and McConnell. Both parties' leadership will be coming to the White House Wednesday for separate meetings.
Republicans and conservatives have been presented a once in a lifetime opportunity to effect real change. In the process we have the golden opportunity to restore real fiscal sanity and discipline.
Whether fiscal conservatives will be successful remains anybody's guess.
Maybe it's about time we trashed Norquist and begin using reason and objectivity.
Just saying...
Via: Memeorandum
Obama's idea of a rational compromise is to double the entire national debt.
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps with the 3-1 ratio actually reduce it.
ReplyDeleteTime to move beyond ideology, which by the way I am in agreement with yours for the most part, and find solutions.
Both to cut the spending and meet our obligations at the same time.
We cannot live in a vacuum. Reality has a way of exacting its due.