I always have to laugh when the President does something horrible and says it was a decision he did not make lightly, as if he didn't actually like whatever it was he came up with.
Similarly, Senator Jeff Merkley put out a statement that's pretty much that.
Normally he's on my wavelength but not this week. Check it out.
Although it does not do as much as I want, this bill does ensure that the wealthy will be contributing more as we work to bring our deficits under control. I far prefer that choice to further cuts to education, law enforcement, and investments in the infrastructure our economy depends on.
But let’s be clear: this deal carries great risks as well. This deal sets up more cliffs in the near future, including the expiring debt ceiling and the sequestration, pre-planned cuts to programs essential to working families. And as before, there will be some who use these cliffs to launch renewed attacks on Medicare and Social Security. We cannot let those attacks succeed.
In other words, he voted for this even though he knows there's trouble ahead. It will be interesting to see what he does when the next round starts up.
There's more, plus comments, at Blue Oregon.
http://www.blueoregon.com/