Whereas Senator Harry Reid previously tabled McConnell/Reid and we thought it was dead, it came back to life by earning the endorsement of the President today in his news conference.
Now, to be sure, McConnell/Reid is not a good deal. But I think it is the least crappy deal that we can get at this point. Better than "cut cap and crap." Better than "gang of six." Better than Obama/Boehner.
Now is the time for all Democrats to rally around this admittedly bad deal in order to prevent an even worse one. Since Boehner has, at least for today, torpedoed the "Grand Bargain," I'll repeat the same call for us Dems to just jump on the McConnell Plan and move on.
As the President said, this will shift responsibility for the debt ceiling over to him. My response has been "so what?" He's going to take heat over it regardless. May as well make it routine and easy. The president certainly backed off his bluff that he wouldn't sign any debt ceiling under $2 trillion, which was a bluff I don't thank anyone actually bought. He now says he'll sign the McConnell bill.
I call on Speaker Pelosi to join President Obama in endorsing the McConnell/Reid plan. Lets pass it in the Senate and put together enough votes in the house so we can move the fuck on to things the American people care about.