Yeah.
So the Teabags, making up less than .00000000001 of the population, and now resoundly hated in every state that elected them (Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, and right here in Florida), apparently get to call the shots.
This great cartoon from the health care debate sums it all up: Democrats really suck at this game.
Harry Reid screwed up the health care debate last year, so I didn't expect much now. But even though I still admire Obama, I have to agree with that Dem. Congressman who said he would never let him negotiate anything for him.
For everyone who is NOT in business, this is how negotiation is supposed to work... ask for the moon. Demand everything you want up front. Then you can move to the middle, which is what your original position was the entire time.
The GOP did just that. Now they are high-fiving saying "I can't believe that worked". Obama, on the other hand, let it known up right up front what he was willing to give away. This included raising the age of Medicare. W--T--F did you think was going to happen?
So this "deal" includes a bi-partisan commission that will recommend cuts and taxes (oh...but the taxes can't raise revenue... WTF?). Congress has to vote on their recommendations. If the recommendations are not acted upon, MEDICARE WILL BE CUT!!
Cue American Crossroads and other right-wing SuperPACs running ads in every swing state that Obama is cutting Medicare... all thanks to Obamacare. Even though this was always the demand of the GOP.
FOLKS--THIS WAS THEIR END GAME!
They tried to cut Medicare by floating that assinine Paul Ryan bill, and the Democrats beat them over the head with it. The NUMBER ONE GOAL of the GOP has been to cut Medicare, and now they get to do it with an automatic "trigger". This way not one GOP who negotiated this deal will get blamed.
Don't give me this crap that the Medicare cuts only go after "providers" instead of "beneficiaries"... who do you think that's going to effect more??? Even fewer providers will see Medicare patients. Isn't that the whole point of Medicare? To get treated?
OH..but our democratic geniuses negotiated that there will be Defense cuts as well: Big. HAIRY. REID. Ass. Deal. Don't think for ONE SECOND that these teabaggers give a rats ass about Defense cuts. (Boehner is right now even trying to negotiate that away.)
THE ONLY LEVERAGE WE COULD HAVE HAD WAS ENDING THE EXTRA TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY. That's it. The last budget battle in December PROVED that the teabaggers really, really, really, really, really, reaaaaaaalllllllllllly want those tax cuts for the wealthy. That is the only thing that could have guaranteed they would not pull the trigger. But that was a "nonstarter" with the GOP.
WHY? Because they have EVERY intention of pulling that trigger. That's why. If they didn't, they wouldn't have objected so strongly to not having that in. But we, the Democrats, entrusted with protecting Medicare, threw that right in. Nice Job.
Our only hope is that the Democrats in Congress quickly grow a spine and say NO to this awful deal. If the teabaggers want to own this economy, let them. Obama, wise up and go to the 14th amendment and end this madness. Yes, a lot of people will be hurt by this unfortunately, but maybe they will be more careful in the ballot box. Voting in morons will get moronic policy. The answer is NOT to vote in more.
The worst thing we could do is to cave and go along with this. If you have a Democratic Congressman, tell them to VOTE NO.