The Green Lantern media is at it again. In the GLM two things are always true:
1. It's all Obama's fault.
2. He's in big trouble now.
Now we hear that his legacy is imperiled due to Congressional opposition on the Syria vote. Yet what's wrong with this picture?
Similarly, Bloomberg’s Michael Tackett wrote the following on Sept. 9—just before the administration shifted to a diplomatic approach—under the headline, “Obama Shrinking Second-Term Hastened by Syria Opposition”:
1. It's all Obama's fault.
2. He's in big trouble now.
Now we hear that his legacy is imperiled due to Congressional opposition on the Syria vote. Yet what's wrong with this picture?
Similarly, Bloomberg’s Michael Tackett wrote the following on Sept. 9—just before the administration shifted to a diplomatic approach—under the headline, “Obama Shrinking Second-Term Hastened by Syria Opposition”:
If [Obama] loses the vote on Syria, the Republicans will be emboldened to challenge him on fiscal issues, immigration and on his nominee to be chairman of the Federal Reserve…
If Obama wins, his position on those issues, along with immigration, will be strengthened just as he also is starting enrollment for his health-care law.
Right up till now they've been reluctant to go after Obama too hard. There's certainly been nothing 'bruising' about the first 5 years. I mean Mitch McConnell did nothing but chant 'Kumbayah!'
Actually this is the problem with the whole GOP strategy-the whole scorched earth 'my way or the highway' blanket opposition means that Dems basically can discount criticism as they will oppose the Democrats no matter what. That's the trouble with being a bully: it means that there's no reason anyone shouldn't hall of and deck you. You can't possibly do anything worse than you were already doing.
The Wall Street Journal made this point recently regarding the defund Obamcare obesession.
""The defunders sketch out an alternative scenario in which Mr. Obama is blamed, and they say we can't know unless Republicans try. But even they admit privately that they really won't succeed in defunding ObamaCare. The best case seems to be that if all Republicans show resolve they'll win over the public in a shutdown, and Democrats will eventually surrender, well, something."
"If this works it would be the first time. The evidence going back to the Newt Gingrich Congress is that no party can govern from the House, and the Republican Party can't abide the outcry when flights are delayed, national parks close and direct deposits for military spouses stop. Sooner or later the GOP breaks."
"This all-or-nothing posture also usually results in worse policy. The most recent example was the failure of Mr. Boehner's fiscal cliff "Plan B" in December 2012, which was the best the GOP could do because Mr. Obama had the whip hand of automatic tax increases. The fallback deal that was sealed in the Senate raised taxes by more and is now complicating the prospects for tax reform."
This is the classic free good in economics-you take liberties as you know the Other will give you a hard time even if you don't.
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