Debt deal -- winners/losers

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14368249

US debt deal winners and losers

Many Tea Party activists will not be happy unless all their demands are met

Loser: the President

It could be worse for Barack Obama. But not by much. If America had defaulted on its debt he would be a marked man. That has not happened.

But he loses in two ways. First the policy. Let's be quite clear about this - the only victories for Mr Obama are the bullets he has managed to dodge. He has been forced to accept deep cuts which run counter to all his plans and which his party hates. Remember he would have liked a second stimulus plan. Instead, he has been made to swallow spending cuts which undermine his attempt to transform America.

The second way he loses is that he has not looked like a leader.

He has made a big play to seem to be the only grown-up in the room, the sensible compromiser. That may appeal to the centre, but it is hardly hope and change. He has not grabbed this issue and wrestled it into a shape pleasing to his supporters. OK, it is hard to know how he could have done that.

But that is what makes great leaders great, they spot possibilities that elude the rest of us. The one chink of light for Mr Obama is that he has kept tax rises on the table for the future. But that is hardly a strategy.

In 2012 he can, of course, contrast what the Republicans have done now, with what he would like to do. But that only really works if you think the policies of his first two years have been judged an outstanding success.

Winner: the Tea Party

Any other movement would be crowing victory from the rooftops. They seized on a vote that had become as routine and uncontroversial as putting the cat out, and crafted it into a crisis. They used it to push their main demand to the top of America's political agenda. And they have won the deep cuts to government spending that they wanted.

But the Tea Party is more than just fiscal conservatism, even if it is far short of the madness its enemies claim. It is a movement of people so consumed with the righteousness of their cause, like the mirror image of 1960s radicals, that they are convinced betrayal is inevitable.

To the fiscally pure, 99% of what they want is as bad as a fat zero and a kick in the butt. Only the Tea Party could claim that this deal is a strategic masterstroke by Mr Obama, as Redstate does.

They may want to feel like hunted underdogs but it is clear to the rest of us that the Tea Party is not a freakish aberration of the angry but a power that can win elections and change the policy of a country. The way it has done this has reinforced its image, good and ill.

Its detractors will say this episode proves its irresponsibility and willingness to drive the country to the brink of disaster to get its way. Supporters will glory that rebel souls have proven the worth of making a stand and holding true to a cause. And more centrist Republicans will hide their guilty secret from sight.

[^_^ 5,021]

Yup, huge victory for the Tea Party.

[mawilson 2,133]

Yup, huge victory for the Tea Party.

Why? They didn't cut a damn thing.

[^_^ 5,021]

Why? They didn't cut a damn thing.

It's a huge victory for them, I don't expect a die hard Democrat like yourself to admit it.

[mawilson 2,133]

It's a huge victory for them, I don't expect a die hard Democrat like yourself to admit it.

Does it mean we'll get more of them next year?

[^_^ 5,021]

Does it mean we'll get more of them next year?

Now that the American people have seen what a resounding success the tea party has been, I don't see why not.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Why? They didn't cut a damn thing.

They got validation that hostage taking is a viable political strategy. Ransom was paid and - much like we see off the Horn of Africa where Somali Pirates continue to exact ransoms for their prey - the next hostage taking is just around the corner: FY 2012 starts October 1 and not a dollar has yet been authorized or appropriated. Government shut-down, anyone? Won't be long before you read that word all over the news again. Meanwhile, the economy will continue to deteriorate and jobs will continue to be shed, unemployment will continue to rise (as will the deficit as a result of all this) and they have all but accomplished the only goal they have.

[mawilson 2,133]

They got validation that hostage taking is a viable political strategy.

Gotta respect them for not kowtowing to the Republican-Democrat Regime... too much.

[dalegg 143]

Yup, huge victory for the Tea Party.

It's kind of funny, they are considered the winners in all of this, but I think they all actually voted against the final bill that passed.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

They got validation that hostage taking is a viable political strategy.

Right. Now the President and the Democratic leadership have effectively castrated the tea partiers until 2013, without any effective reductions in spending until after 2016. Meanwhile, to appease the pacifists, the Military and the Healthcare providers will be dealt a blow, when no deal comes from the highly partisan "special" congressional budget committee. Obama played the middle for fools, and he was right.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

The GOP got in bed with the Tea Party in 2010 to take them to their current majority.

They are the ones who have to get rid of them.

[웃 910]

We should split the country into West America and East America.

On the left side we can have have higher taxes, surpluses, universal health care, education, infrastructure, social safety nets, etc.

On the right side we can have low taxes, massive deficits, no health care, no education, no social safety nets, etc.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

We should split the country into West America and East America.

On the left side we can have have higher taxes, surpluses, universal health care, education, infrastructure, social safety nets, etc.

On the right side we can have low taxes, massive deficits, no health care, no education, no social safety nets, etc.

Call it tomorrow's America and yesterday's America. I'll move to tomorrow's. And we better build some damn wall to keep the other side out. Otherwise they'll come unwanted to work under the table, take advantage of our health care system and get their kids a good education.

[mawilson 2,133]

It's kind of funny, they are considered the winners in all of this, but I think they all actually voted against the final bill that passed.

Exactly!

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

It's kind of funny, they are considered the winners in all of this, but I think they all actually voted against the final bill that passed.

Exactly!

What's funny about that? They're a protest movement, not an assembly capable of governing.