Congressional Republicans are more than a little PO'd with our stellar "community agitator" of a president right now, who apparently thinks he can bully them into coming around to his progressive way of thinking. It all stems from Barry’s rather public scolding of them on Wednesday, when he essentially accused them of doing nothing more than sitting idly by while the issue of raising the debt limit becomes all the more crucial, to him, and the date that we will supposedly go into default gets closer. He even made a rather idiotic, and somewhat overly simplistic statement, saying they don’t measure up to his own daughters, who complete their homework early. And even some Democrats are questioning the intent, wisdom and potential political fallout of Barry's somewhat arrogant message.
Just a few of the responses that were forthcoming from the Republican camp:
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged Obama to drop the politics and head for Capitol Hill to negotiate a solution. “The president doesn’t seem to get it,” he said in a floor speech. What's more, Obama rejected McConnell's invitation to a lunch with Republicans to discuss the budget and debt ceiling morass.
- National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn said Obama should have put his own financial priorities in order by canceling a campaign fundraiser in Philadelphia Thursday night to instead focus on the government’s debt.
- Rookie Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, sent Obama a letter suggesting that he drop the grandstanding and submit a deficit reduction plan. “House Republicans acted, and now we await your spending reduction plan — perhaps not with open arms, but we do have open minds,” he wrote.
Like I said, some Democrats seem as perplexed as Republicans regarding the current tactic being employed by Barry. They say that by using a rather accusatory tone and terse demeanor that he essentially has provided Republicans with what could be a rather potent political opening. “The president might as well cancel every golf game, Martha’s Vineyard vacation, and fundraiser from here until doomsday because he’s living in a glass White House and Republicans are already throwing rocks,” a senior congressional Democratic source told Politico. Now I'm not sure I would characterize what's going on here as anyone throwing rocks, at least as it would pertain to Republicans. But that is pretty much all the Democrats have been doing since they lost control of the House last November. Throwing rocks, and more that a few tantrums has become the behavior of choice being exhibited by Democrats on a fairly regular basis.
But then some say that there may actually be a method to Barry’s very obvious madness here, or so The Hill is reporting. It seems that there are those who are of the opinion that his comments could actually serve as some much needed red meat for liberal Democrats who are none to thrilled with Barry right now, keeping them chewing quietly while the president works on reaching some sort of a budget agreement with Republicans. “If the president is in a veritable fight with the Republicans, the left will give him a lot more room to make a deal,” according to one Democrat speaking to The Hill. “To be sure, the left likes this President Obama a lot more than the post-partisan brand."
Still, angry and rather bellicose rhetoric, while it may make Barry feel better and pacify his base for a bit, may not be enough to placate your average knuckle-dragging, slope-headed, Neanderthal Democrats who note that Barry has far too frequently used this sort of "distraction" over the course of this past year, launching verbal assaults against conservatives while, in the end, essentially moving to the middle himself. “I think the problem is that Obama’s words have lost much of their credibility,” Lara Brown, a political science professor at Villanova University, again told The Hill. “He has talked many times about issues near and dear to progressives' hearts, but he has rarely delivered on his pledges.” Oh, I don't think I'd go that far there, Professor Bimbo.
So Barry’s strategy carries with it the risk of alienating his base more. “If they don't get taxes in this deal, then there won’t be taxes on the table for the next two years, and you don’t solve the problem and you p--- off all your allies,” so said an unnamed Democrat to The Hill. But any tax increase would appear to be dead on arrival at the House. “The president is sorely mistaken if he believes a bill to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes would pass the House,” House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday. “The votes simply aren’t there.” They had better remain "not there." The Republicans must remain resolute on this issue of tax hikes. We need to remain focused on what the real problem is here, spending.
Barry has now made crystal clear exactly what his priorities are and has been very clear in having done so, and thus is really in no position to make idiotic accusations against the Republicans. He’s proven that he is not going to be cutting back on fundraising anytime soon. His re-election team whipped out the collection plates Thursday to bring in every last dime. They want to show impressive numbers in their second-quarter contribution filings. Their goal for the quarter is $60 million. Campaign manager Jim Messina preached to the converted. “If you’re planning on donating to this campaign at any point in the next 16 months, . . . do it now,” he wrote in a note to supporters.
Barry hit two big-time fundraisers in Philadelphia Thursday, while first lady Mrs. Barry got into the act with a $500,000 event up in Vermont. Barry wants a strong early showing when it comes to dialing for dollars to energize his campaign while his approval rating remains very firmly stuck under 50 percent. If it can make the $60 million mark, the Obama campaign would break former President George W. Bush’s $50.1 million record — set in the third quarter of 2003 — for quarterly contributions in the year before an election. Ok, so what's the most important issue here, fundraising or the economy and our national debt. Sounds to me that what's most important to Barry is breaking Bush's fundraising record. Now there's an important priority.
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