Once he has given it away? To cut right to the chase:
Reality Check: Obama Cuts Social Security and Medicare By Much More Than The GOP
But his cuts to Social Security and Medicare combined are somewhere between $200 billion and $380 billion deeper than the GOP budget. On these programs there is no room to "compromise." The president is already to the right of the right.
How exactly does he "negotiate" this position in regards to Medicare and Social Security? He would have to give up cuts to bring himself back to where the Republicans start!
Ok, now take a moment and read this article, also from the Atlantic:
Paul Ryan's Budget Simplified Save the Rich, Spare the Old, Forget the Poor
But this budget is as notable for what it cuts as for what it doesn't cut. Social Security, defense, and Medicare -- together making up about half of the federal budget -- would scarcely be cut at all. After all, it's hard to win a Republican election if you abandon old voters and the defense industry. As for health care and cash support for the poor? That's where the hammer hits.
To put this as simply as I possibly can - I think President Obama has set the stage for a rout of Democrats in the mid-term elections.
In my opinion, Americans are low information, emotional voters. President Obama has positioned himself TO THE RIGHT of the GOP in regards to cuts to Medicare and Social Security, the 2 most popular social programs in history and the ones utilized by the majority of both the middle and the lower classes as critical lifelines. Mid terms generally mean lower turn out and the participation rates of elder voters is usually disproportionate to their actual numbers, giving them greater power in influencing elections.
The older voters are ALREADY skewing GOP. What will Obama's budget policies do? Will it cause them to turn to Democrats or Republicans? There was an article in my local paper today discussing the President's plan for means testing Medicare and that the percentage of Medicare participants paying more for their Advantage plans would go from 1 in 20 to 1 in 4. I can just imagine the "Harrumphs" echoing all over Southeastern Virginia.
No doubt there is some great stuff in the President's budget. Unfortunately, they will pretty much never see the light of day due to the smoke and flames that will be set off by the Social Security and Medicare cuts he suggests.
My best advice for the Dems is to step away quickly from the President's budget. Tell him, thanks for your help, but we'll take over from here.