Boehner Again Trying to Get Obama to Offer More Spending Cuts

     As I've said, I think much of this is theatrics-Boehner has to do a deal but needs to reassure the Tea Party that's he's fighting hard-so now he's again demanding the President offer more spending cuts.

     "Speaker John Boehner tried again to shift the fiscal cliff debate from tax rates to spending cuts, saying Tuesday that the White House has yet to “identify what spending cuts the president is willing to make as part of the ‘balanced approach’ he promised the American people.”

      “If the president doesn’t agree with our approach, he’s got an obligation to put forward a plan that can pass both chambers of Congress,” Boehner (R-Ohio) said on the House floor. “Because right now the American people have to be scratching their heads wondering, ‘When is the president going to get serious?’

        Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/john-boehner-spending-cuts-where-are-obamas-cuts-84906.html#ixzz2ElsWcAPf


         We've been through all this "get serious" talk before. Ultimately he needs to get serious and pass the Senate tax bill. As for cuts, it's not Obama's job to propose all kinds of unpopular spending cuts-which the GOP wishes he would do. They want him to negotiate with himself but he's not doing it this time. They've named their price-raising Medicare to 67 and a chained CPI from SS. What exactly do they think the President has to say?

         In truth, the fake Medicare "cuts" that Romney ran against may bring down costs quite a bit. Another thing would be to let the government negotiate with the drug companies.

         The President named $400 billion more in cuts. However it's important to remember that he's already done a lot of cuts back in 2011:

          "Pelosi defended the Democrats’ track record on cuts, pointing to the savings that Congress and the White House agreed to in the Budget Control Act and other bills during Boehner’s tenure as speaker."

           “Where are the cuts?” Pelosi said on the House floor. “They’re in bills that you, Mr. Speaker, have voted for.”

            Essentially I believe Boehner is just milking the clock. He has to do a deal but will wait to the last possible moment to defend against Tea Party attacks.

             http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-gopers-for-tax-hikes-on-rich.html

              However, he also wants to try to goad Obama into naming unpopular Medicare cuts he'd support. This strategy, I believe, is doomed to failure.