Excerpt: "Anything can happen, but it appears the GOP is on the verge of pulling off a political victory that may be unprecedented in American history. Republicans may succeed in using the threat of a potential outcome that they themselves acknowledged would lead to national catastrophe as leverage to extract enormous concessions from Democrats, without giving up anything of any significance in return."
President Barack Obama, with House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, takes part in a White House meeting, 07/07/11. (photo: AP)
GOP on Verge of Huge, Unprecedented
Political Victory
01 August 11
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y all accounts, it looks like a deal is about to be announced in which the debt ceiling is hiked in exchange for the promise of major spending cuts, including to entitlements, totaling at least $2.4 trillion.
Anything can happen, but it appears the GOP is on the verge of pulling off a political victory that may be unprecedented in American history. Republicans may succeed in using the threat of a potential outcome that they themselves acknowledged would lead to national catastrophe as leverage to extract enormous concessions from Democrats, without giving up anything of any significance in return.
Not only that, but Republicans - in perhaps the most remarkable example of political up-is-downism in recent memory - cast their willingness to dangle the threat of national crisis as a brave and heroic effort they'd undertaken on behalf of the national interest. Only the threat of national crisis could force the immediate spending cuts supposedly necessary to prevent a far more epic crisis later.
Under the emerging deal, President Obama can hike the debt limit in two stages - the first in exchange for equivalent cuts; the second after a Congressional committee comes up with second round of yet more cuts, including to entitlements. The talks appear close to resolving the spending cut "trigger" that would force the committee to act - without giving the GOP an incentive to deliberately sabotage its work. The remaining question is how to get it through the House. But a deal seems imminent.
Again and again, Dems drew lines in the sand that they promptly erased as the threat of default grew. A clean debt ceiling hike? Dropped. Cuts to Medicare benefits? They'll likely be in that committee's crosshairs. The insistence on revenue hikes? Withdrawn.
What make this all the more remarkable is that throughout this process, Republicans themselves conceded not just that a debt ceiling hike would be disastrous for America, but also that it was inevitable. Yet they were still able use the threat of default as leverage. How?
The simple answer: Dems weren't prepared to allow default - no matter what. Republicans, by contrast, treated the debt ceiling hike as a necessity, but one that had to happen on their terms. In a remarkable act of political cynicism, they recast the debt ceiling hike itself as a GOP concession - even though they had already agreed it had to happen to avert an epic national crisis. And Dems made this possible by accepting the dynamics of the situation as Republicans defined it. Whether there was another alternative for Dems is another question.
If Dems had refused to budge from the demand for a clean hike, would Republicans have blinked - or would they have allowed default? The bottom line is Dems weren't prepared to take that risk, and the fast-approaching deadline meant moving to negotiations was imperative. Should Obama have waged a far more aggressive P.R. campaign to saddle the GOP with potential blame for default? Maybe, but public opinion in recent days was running strongly for compromise and against Republicans - and they still continued to use the threat of default as leverage. Could Dems have had more success with a more aggressive approach? We'll never know. Call it the road not taken.
The road that was taken is leading to a deal in which Dems are agreeing to take huge amounts of money out of the economy when the recovery is shaky at best. It also seems to ensure that Dems will agree to entitlements cuts heading into an election where the GOP was supposed to be deeply vulnerable over their drive to end Medicare as we know it. Dems will promise to salvage victory in the form of "smart" entitlement reform. Maybe so. For now, it appears the GOP is on the verge of a huge and unprecedented victory.
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Thank you, Frank Rich.
I used to love 60-Minutes. I watched Mike Wallace and Dan Rather do REAL reporting and I felt like I actually learned about something important after watching it. I felt that the story about Tora Bora was very believable but nothing came of it. Supposedly, Cheney himself told them to stand down when they had OBL trapped and in their sites. Now; I don't know if anything they've reported is true or just a "made for T.V. drama".
They fired Dan Rather for having a shady source for his expose' on GWB but never denied the validity of any of the data.
All I can say is, America needs a news service that actually uncovers real information and one that can be trusted. I won't be watching 60-Minutes anymore. A mistake can be overlooked but a hoax is something different.
It seems that FOX has set a new standard for "success" in the "news" business in America. And all of America has lost because of that.
I suspect that Karl Rove, in a moment of pure genius, decided the best way to defuse Bush's lost year on AWOL would be to trap a well-known correspondent with easily forged and easily exposed papers.
It if was Karl, you've got to hand it to the sleazy bastard, it worked!
Isn't it amazing how the media is simply a political toy now?
A friend recently told me he believes being a whore is the only real legitimate profession: because whores admit to being whores.
A hoax indeed, in the spirit of the New York Times' WMD reports about Iraq.
Isn't it amazing how the media is simply a political toy now?
A friend recently told me he believes being a whore is the only real legitimate profession: because whores admit to being whores.
Sometimes, fredboy, you are prevented from even whore legitimacy: I was told that I was not a real prostitute by a member of a sexworkers association:SWO P. I had ( or so I thought) been a prostitute for 3 months back in 1986 when I was homeless and desperate. "You were not a real prostitute", this SWOP member told me, to my great surprize. I sure do get REAL "stigma" though, because I went public with what I did to survive for those 3 months in 1986 (what did I do, if not sell sex for money, I wonder????)
I believe that Bush II had planned for the catastrophe he created to blow up on the next president's watch. He just planned it incorrectly, like he did everything else.
I see that your hard time happened during the Reagan administration too. I'm glad you made it. A lot of people don't make it through these planned catastrophes that profit the rich and destroy the poor.
As for myself, I remember being out of work for months and couldn't find a job to save my life.
We in California had to put up with Reagan 8 years longer than the rest of the nation. He was a B rated actor but an A++, award winning political actor.
Our political class and most journalists are obvious whores. The only surprise is what cheap whores they are.
CBS was founded by William Paley, who was head of propaganda for the Army Psychological Warfare Division during WW II.
CBS was owned by Westinghouse, which was one of the world's largest military contractors.
CBS was then merged with Viacom, which was founded by Summer Redstone who was in "Special Branch Military Intelligence" during WW II.
"Consider the source" remains a relevant proscription.
Ooops ! You are placing your own ignorance on display, here, ptalady - no wonder our schools are being so dumbed down.
As a bit of a Grammar Nazi myself, may I suggest that, at a minimum, you take a few seconds to consult the dictionary before you presume to "correct" a word regarding which you are apparently clueless yourself ?
Look up "proscription", and you will discover that, not only is it a proper word, but that (as the author obviously knew), it makes *loads* more sense in the context to which it was applied than did your risible Church Lady insistence upon the word : "prescription".
Next we had her self-serving cries of victimization when she was attacked in Tahir square, easily targeted because she was obviously part of a well funded mainstream american media crew. The "Democracy Now" journalists, led by an egyptian national, far more skillfully and selflessly embedded themselves among the demonstrators and at far less cost.
She has at last, no credibility and no relevancy on issues of national importance. Meanwhile, where's Dan Rather?
The report was basically a right-wing dream. It implied that it was easy to get benefits and that there was widespread fraud. This is in spite of the fact that the approval rating is very low and that it often requires an attorney and at least one appeal to eventually get approved. And this is in spite of the fact that the average monthly benefit is around $1000.
So 60 Minutes recently has quite definitely fallen short of accurate and professional journalism. But it's amazing that, while the Benghazi story got all the attention, everyone seems to have forgotten the hatchet job piece on SSDI they ran about a month or so ago.
Her coochy-coo voice sickens me.
Whether he was there or not,... ultimately,... does it really matter?
Of course, what matters is "inventing the news and various phony crisises", which 60 Minutes is not usually known for;....that "news distortion" is usually done by Republicans . But, is this Dylan Davies guy - all there is - to the "Story of Bengazi?" What is the big deal? They didn't have enough security is what it boils down to. Republicans wouldn't "foot the bill". Shit happens.
60 Minutes made a terrible mistake, not vetting this guy & his story more (and perhaps even Lara Logan); especially since 60 Minutes was considered the "gold standard" so to speak, of reporting.
Bengazi to me, was a tragedy. Cutting off of people's hands in Sierra Leon was a tragedy. Sandy Hook was a tragedy. Wall Street's derivatives & the $700 Billion Dollar "no-regulations , no accountability" bank-give-away was a tragedy, 9/11 was a tragedy. And if we don't wake up, smell the coffee, and get personally involved in at least one issue, to help our country, our people, our planet and the world,.... then the dream of this country - will become the greatest "American Tragedy".
Yeah, it looks like we are at the tipping point and sliding toward despair.
So for me, CBS now has the credibility of Fox; as defined by their Benghazi coverage. I.e., lies presented as news reports.
I don't fault the reporter so much here as the CBS Management. The reporter is clearly only "reporting" what MANAGEMENT TOLD her to say!!!
CBS certainly knew what they were getting when they hired a Fox News guy to run their news programming.
The VERY LEAST response any RESPONSIBLE news source would make here would be to issue an entirely new program CONTAINING THE FACTS.
Apparently, that's not happening here.
So in essence, CBS is lying. And I can only assume they will continue to do so. It seems their policies now align with those of Fox News.
Walter Cronkite must be turning over in his grave to see CBS promulgating such OBVIOUS lies.
So basically, I expect the lies will get worse and more pervasive until they infect all of CBS' news programming.
Sad to see such a great news broadcaster turn to such a pitiful demise.
I saw the program. After 2-3 minutes I was sure it was a hoax not a mistake. CBS is the shadow of its past. I watched Walter Cronkite from day one until he passed away. It makes me sick to my stomach that CBS dishonored Walter Cronkite's memory. What can you expectfrom CBS/Fox News? As for Lara Logan she should be dumped in the waste bin. At least Ann Coulter is a "bimbo with a brain". Lara is neither a bimbo nor brainy. You wonder what "research" she carried with the "mercenary" whistleblower? Well, they must have tried a number of positions from the Kama Suthra and invented some new ones. Personally, I woulsn't touch her with a 10 foot pole.
Aygen,
Istanbul, Turkey
Wow ! Isn't perception an amazing thing ?
From my perspective, seeing Ann Coulter as being possessed of any more intelligence than it takes to be a bitchy, snarky, sniping Queen of the "Mean Girls" table in a seventh Grade lunchroom, is to vastly overestimating her intellect even more so than she herself is constantly doing.
Coulter knows how to sell attitude, that's all. So perhaps she, like Madonna, is a marketing genius. Blessed only with mediocre talent, both women have managed to build wildly undeserved financial fortunes. As does Paris Hilton on even less intelligence and talent.
Really, if Coulter wasn't promoted by Bill Maher and a few other acolytes, we would remain pleasantly unaware of her existence as long as we are not drawn to the "bomb thrower" section of bile-spewing logorrhea that passes in some circles for "books" these days.
Coulter angrily insists (at the drop of a hat) that she is a "best selling author". She herself is oblivious to the fact that peddling putrid bile does not place one in the same category as "authors", no mater how much people pay to hear her regurgitate her political porn.
If Ann Coulter is an example of a "bimbo with a brain" I would sorely grieve what that would say about human intelligence in general.
Can we now bury once and for all the myth of "liberal bias in the media"?