Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says that there simply can’t be a deal without tax rates on the wealthiest going up. We can’t fix things by raising taxes on the strapped middle class. In simple terms—we can’t balance the budget with blood from a bunch of turnips. Republicans want to reduce the deficit with painful budget cuts. But even more than that, they want President Obama to be the one who has to name those painful cuts. Republicans won’t stab you in the chest. They’ll only stab you from behind so that while they’re doing it they can yell “Look out! Obama has a knife!”
Mitch McConnell has hinted at a few specifics that the Republicans want. The first thing you learn from them is why Republicans don’t want to tell you what they want to cut. McConnell wants to raise the eligibility age for Medicare to 67. Republicans spent the campaign attacking Obama for cutting Medicare! No wonder they want him to be the one to propose their plan to cut Medicare!
John Boehner said he was “flabbergasted” by the White House proposal on the fiscal cliff. Flabbergasted? What are you, an 80-year old dowager now, John? The Speaker is flabbergasted! Someone get that poor dear some smelling salts before he swoons! I think he has the vapors! “Flabbergasted” is the kind of word used by rich little old ladies—the kind who live in apartments decorated like Rush Limbaugh’s old New York City pad.
Developing: John Boehner just released a fiscal cliff “plan” complete with magic no-rate-increase revenues and Ryan-budget healthcare cuts. Didn't we just vote on the crap?
In his weekly radio address, President Obama said it’s unacceptable for Congressional Republicans to “hold middle class tax cuts hostage.” That’s what they’re doing! I’m surprised the Republicans haven’t already cut off the ear of the middle class tax cuts and mailed it to Obama.
Grover Norquist claims that “Tea Party 2 is going to dwarf Tea Party 1 if Obama pushes us off the cliff.” Come on, Grover—everybody knows the sequel is never as good as the original. And that goes double when the original was bad. I don’t want to see “Tea Party 2!” I would rather watch “Lincoln 2: The Rise of Andrew Johnson.”
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