Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): the republican hostage takers deal is a "sugar coated Satan sandwich"

01 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

Tags

5th Congressional District, Debt ceiling, Emanuel Cleaver, missouri, republican debt hostage crisis

Great, just great:

Debt Deal Emerging With Rightward Tilt

By Steven T. Dennis

Roll Call Staff

July 31, 2011, 6:07 p.m.

….Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said early reports of the new deal appeared to be “a sugar-coated Satan sandwich.” The Missouri Democrat said the CBC hadn’t yet made a formal declaration that the group would oppose it, “but this is a shady bill.”

“This deal trades people’s livelihoods for the votes of a few unappeasable right-wing radicals, and I will not support it,” ripped Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, before House Democrats had even been briefed. “The lesson today is that Republicans can hold their breath long enough to get what they want….”

Would anyone like to explain how touching the third rail so the republicans don’t have to is good public policy or smart politics?

4 thoughts on “Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): the republican hostage takers deal is a "sugar coated Satan sandwich"”

Michael Bersin said:

August 1, 2011 at 3:39 am

…with sarcasm:

@elonjames Elon James White
Boehner: “This isn’t the deal I wanted…” Yes–he would have preferred earmarks included for the construction of the Death Star… 10 minutes ago

@addiestan addiestan
Satan called. He wants his sandwich back. http://bit.ly/no7c2W #debt #satansandwich #debtdeal #cleaver 27 minutes ago

@daveweigel daveweigel
And On the Seventh Day, Moody’s Rested. 13 minutes ago

@emptywheel emptywheel
BREAKING! We’ve chosen the “embrace the Depression” route! 51 minutes ago

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Michael Bersin said:

August 1, 2011 at 3:42 am

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release July 31, 2011
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
8:40 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. There are still some very important votes to be taken by members of Congress, but I want to announce that the leaders of both parties, in both chambers, have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default — a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy.
The first part of this agreement will cut about $1 trillion in spending over the next 10 years — cuts that both parties had agreed to early on in this process. The result would be the lowest level of annual domestic spending since Dwight Eisenhower was President — but at a level that still allows us to make job-creating investments in things like education and research. We also made sure that these cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on a fragile economy.
Now, I’ve said from the beginning that the ultimate solution to our deficit problem must be balanced. Despite what some Republicans have argued, I believe that we have to ask the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share by giving up tax breaks and special deductions. Despite what some in my own party have argued, I believe that we need to make some modest adjustments to programs like Medicare to ensure that they’re still around for future generations.
That’s why the second part of this agreement is so important. It establishes a bipartisan committee of Congress to report back by November with a proposal to further reduce the deficit, which will then be put before the entire Congress for an up or down vote. In this stage, everything will be on the table. To hold us all accountable for making these reforms, tough cuts that both parties would find objectionable would automatically go into effect if we don’t act. And over the next few months, I’ll continue to make a detailed case to these lawmakers about why I believe a balanced approach is necessary to finish the job.
Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required — on entitlement reform and tax reform — right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year.
Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America. It ensures also that we will not face this same kind of crisis again in six months, or eight months, or 12 months. And it will begin to lift the cloud of debt and the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our economy.
Now, this process has been messy; it’s taken far too long. I’ve been concerned about the impact that it has had on business confidence and consumer confidence and the economy as a whole over the last month. Nevertheless, ultimately, the leaders of both parties have found their way toward compromise. And I want to thank them for that.
Most of all, I want to thank the American people. It’s been your voices — your letters, your emails, your tweets, your phone calls — that have compelled Washington to act in the final days. And the American people’s voice is a very, very powerful thing.
We’re not done yet. I want to urge members of both parties to do the right thing and support this deal with your votes over the next few days. It will allow us to avoid default. It will allow us to pay our bills. It will allow us to start reducing our deficit in a responsible way. And it will allow us to turn to the very important business of doing everything we can to create jobs, boost wages, and grow this economy faster than it’s currently growing.
That’s what the American people sent us here to do, and that’s what we should be devoting all of our time to accomplishing in the months ahead.
Thank you very much, everybody.
END 8:44 P.M. EDT

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Michael Bersin said:

August 1, 2011 at 3:43 am

@maxberger Max Berger
This isn’t a bipartisan compromise — this is a capitulation. #satansandwich 1 hour ago

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Michael Bersin said:

August 1, 2011 at 5:06 am

…that the republican debt hostage crisis would happen?
Via Paul Krugman:

President Obama on the Middle Class Tax Cuts and Unemployment Insurance Agreement: “A Good Deal For The American People”
Posted by Kori Schulman on December 07, 2010 at 04:54 PM EDT
….Marc Ambinder.
Q Mr. President, thank you. How do these negotiations affect negotiations or talks with Republicans about raising the debt limit? Because it would seem that they have a significant amount of leverage over the White House now, going in. Was there ever any attempt by the White House to include raising the debt limit as a part of this package?
THE PRESIDENT: When you say it would seem they’ll have a significant amount of leverage over the White House, what do you mean?
Q Just in the sense that they’ll say essentially we’re not going to raise the — we’re not going to agree to it unless the White House is able to or willing to agree to significant spending cuts across the board that probably go deeper and further than what you’re willing to do. I mean, what leverage would you have —
THE PRESIDENT: Look, here’s my expectation — and I’ll take John Boehner at his word — that nobody, Democrat or Republican, is willing to see the full faith and credit of the United States government collapse, that that would not be a good thing to happen. And so I think that there will be significant discussions about the debt limit vote. That’s something that nobody ever likes to vote on. But once John Boehner is sworn in as Speaker, then he’s going to have responsibilities to govern. You can’t just stand on the sidelines and be a bomb thrower.
And so my expectation is, is that we will have tough negotiations around the budget, but that ultimately we can arrive at a position that is keeping the government open, keeping Social Security checks going out, keeping veterans services being provided, but at the same time is prudent when it comes to taxpayer dollars….

Great. Just great.

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Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): the republican hostage takers deal is a "sugar coated Satan sandwich"

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