And by ‘we’ I mean ‘the Republican party,’ which is a identifier that may not resonate all that much with many of my readers. So it goes: but fair warning. I officially now have no sympathy for anybody who will end up getting upset if/when we end up with an even sh*ttier result than Plan B.
I’m trying to say this without heat, but neither am I going to pretend that watching Obama end up taking credit for ‘tax cuts’ next year is going to be anything like enjoyable. Sorry about that.
I’ve seen some reasoned arguments that defeating Plan B was the best thing to do, but I’m not buying it. I’d much rather have passed it, with all it flaws, then dare Reid and Obama to kill it, which I’m sure they would have. And then the onus would be on them.
If I thought there was a chance that that is how it would play out I’d probably be angry that it didn’t pass, but given that we all know that’s not how it would be reported in the press I find myself indifferent.
I was figuring that we’d be well and sufficiently buggered no matter which way it ended up. The saving grace here it’s >1.75 years until the next election, so this is just the first quarter of the 2014 game.
Eh. As far as blaming the Republicans goes, Plan B didn’t matter. It was apparent long ago that whatever happened in Congress, the Accomplice Media would heap praise upon the Mighty Obama for anything good that resulted and bitterly condemn the evil RethugliKKKans for everything bad.
You’re forgetting your own Rule #1: The media want all Republicans to die in a fire.
Agree completely, Plan B was a defense but a weak one at that
…If conservatives start using that list as an EXCUSE to not *care* about how they appear in public I will repudiate it as publicly as I can.
Its just the fustration with perceptions, anything short of full capitulation to Obama will be considered obstructional. Boehner has been trying to negotiate in good faith to the point of pissing off the base, yet Obama continues to “win” by just saying “no”.
It lokks like Erickson said the same thing just better as always:
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“No matter what the GOP is going to get the blame. The Democrats are going to construct a deal the GOP cannot accept because the Democrats know the GOP is going to get the blame. The only way for the GOP to not get the blame is to do exactly as the Democrats want, which the GOP will not do. Consequently, any proposal the GOP comes up with will be rejected after some theatrical consideration to look good for a press that wants to make the GOP the fall guy.”
The trouble with Ericksons’ position is, Boehner had Obama and the press in a box with his “sound bite and walk away” press conference.
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Heritage, Erickson, et al must accept some of the blame for letting Obama and the press out of the box.
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Plan B would have sucked. No argument. I’m not sure what Erickson et al think we can do with control of 1/2 of 1/3 of the government, and I’ll note Erickson doesn’t actually *explain* what he expects…
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That said, I’m fine with letting it burn. There’s tax increases no matter what, may as well kick everyone in the wallet. We’re goin’ over the cliff, and there’s no way in hell the media can spin it as not sucking.
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Let it all burn.
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Mew
If conservatives start using that list as an EXCUSE to not *care* about how they appear in public I will repudiate it as publicly as I can.
Well, yeah. The media want Republicans to die in a fire, and will do their best to make that happen. That doesn’t mean the Republicans ought to pour gasoline over themselves.
Let. It. Burn. Burn! BURRRRRRRN!! *laughs*
Eh, we were going to end up with something sh*ttier than plan B anyways, because the Senate wasn’t going to pass it, and then once the Clinton tax rates had returned, the negotiations were going to start again with it as a baseline.
There were no good options here, and I’m not convinced that status quo is worse than plan B.
“There aren’t any good Plan Bs…! If they were good, they’d be Plan A!”
The salient point here isn’t the substance of Plan B or any other proposal. It is that after weeks of fruitless negotiations and apparent good faith concessions and cries of “The White House isn’t serious about this but we are” the House leadership made an ultimatum and then couldn’t back that ultimatum up with action. They appear weak and silly.
Note, Aruges, that Boehner apparently couldn’t pick up a single Dem vote for Plan B, a.k.a. the Pelosi Plan.
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All of D.C. looks silly and non-serious… Boehner and Obama are just in a pissing match for the job of top clown.
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Mew
Hey, I’d be happy if I thought both parties would get equal blame, but life has taught me otherwise.
We’re in for some bad luck.
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“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as ‘bad luck.'” — RAH
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Like I said above, it’s gonna suck regardless, and there’s nothing the media can do to pretend otherwise.
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Let it all burn.
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Mew
YOU are my favorite guy, Moe. But we weren’t going to get plan B even if the vote had been unanimous in support of it. There just isn’t any way in hell that the Senate Dems and Barry would allow that to happen.
And, YES, we will get a MUCH sh*tt*er plan than Plan B. But it won’t pass without Republican support. We (and by that I refer, of course, to Republicans) are going to get blamed for going over the cliff even if we had video of Obama actually stating that was his intention from the outset.
The Media simply are NOT going to allow their Boy to get tarnished with any of that. He is going to be portrayed as the Great Mediator who has come to make peace and goodwill and save the Republic and, as your cohort Erick says, portray himself to the RIGHT of JB; as the greatest tax cutter in history.
We know it is all smoke, mirrors and unadulterated B.S. but that is what is going to happen.