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| Cantor and other House and Senate leaders meeting with President Barack Obama in November 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
They'd like to make the shutdown hurt as much as possible, then sit back and laugh about how (they think) they have a big political advantage.
But whatever progress they thought they were making toward getting Boehner to cave may have been dealt a severe blow by a Wall Street Journal report that says, in part:
Said a senior administration official: “We are winning...It doesn't really matter to us” how long the shutdown lasts “because what matters is the end result.”To his credit, House Speaker Boehner responded with appropriate anger: “This is not some damn game!”
White House allies, however, say a long shutdown could make the White House's position less tenable. Mr. Obama is the most visible symbol of the U.S. government, they say, and will inevitably share in the blame as hardships mount and people weary of the infighting.
Reid was even getting so angry and personal about Senator Ted Cruz, he felt he had to apologize for his breach of Senate rules of decorum. I haven't heard anything from the GOP that resembles the Democrats' arrogant rudeness. [Reid story via Drudge Report]
President Obama, thus far has responded with the following:
- Rather than fulfilling his duty to mitigate the inconvenience
of the shutdown for the American people, he's trying to make it
worse, by instructing the Senate Democrats not to accept any of the
House funding bills, which would be helpful to people. Politics
trumps duty (and decency) for these people.
- The whining Obama is totally unwilling to negotiate. Instead
of leading, he is campaigning against the idea of talking to the
other party about very real and legitimate concerns they have, which
represent those of their constituents.
- As Rush Limbaugh pointed out, Obama has apparently become the
first president to deliberately talk down the stock market. He's
trying to put a scare into investors about the possibility of a
default, which he, I suppose, wouldn't mind seeing just so he could
blame it on Republicans.
Obama must either negotiate with Republicans or see the debt limit crisis define his legacy. My suspicion is that he doesn't care about his legacy as long as he can transform America into a socialist/fascist dictatorship.
The citizens of the United States, I believe, are recognizing Obama's stubbornness as the main problem. Reid and his rubber-stamp Senate are Obama's co-culprits in the little drama. The adults are the Republicans, and the victim is the United States of America. Yes, things can get a lot worse, thanks to the Democrats. Republicans should hold the line.
