I am in substantial agreement with Markos’s assessment of the battlefield over budget cuts. In particular, I agree that the Republican Party (writ large) can be described as psychopathically unconcerned with the welfare of our economy and our credit rating. Their avowed willingness to default on our debts if they don’t get their way has a credible smell. However, I think their unity and resolve has been shattered, and that it will be shattered further still by the president’s inauguration and State of the Union speeches.
It’s important that we judge things from a realistic perspective. The president has consistently and persistently called for shared sacrifice and a balanced approach to solving our budgetary challenges. He has never suggested that there could be no cuts in Medicare or Social Security benefits anymore than he has suggested that there could be no cuts to NASA or Head Start or the budget of the Commerce Department. What he has said is that he is not going to ask the vulnerable to pay before he asks the most affluent. He has said that he won’t let the middle class and the poor shoulder the whole burden on their own. He has said that any cuts must be matched in new revenues coming from people who can most afford to contribute. The principles are based on fairness and balance. Everyone should sacrifice something, but those with the most to give should give the most.
These principles are sound, but they are also a reflection of political reality. The Republicans retain a significant amount of power and they cannot simply be steamrolled. What they are asking for is so insane that they appear to be afraid of articulating it in clear legislative language, but that doesn’t mean that they can simply be ignored. That is why I do not fully agree with Markos that the Democrats will only agree to concessions if they want to agree to concessions.
As we go forward, it is important that the president stand firm in his complete refusal to discuss the debt ceiling. But, while he is doing that, he must also be working with the Republicans on redoing the Sequester in a way that helps the GOP get to ‘yes.’ And when I say ‘get to yes,’ I am referring to the same (or a similar) group of Republicans who just voted with the Democrats on the Fiscal Cliff. That group is our new governing coalition, and they must be nourished and tended to with care. We will need them if we are going to have any hope of passing comprehensive immigration reform or anything on climate change or anything on assault rifles and ammunition. The cleavage in the Republican Party has been created and it must be maintained and (if possible) strengthened. This is the only way that the country can be governed throughout the remainder of this decade.
It is going to require a lot of finesse and hand-holding. The temptation to let the country go to hell just to prove how bad the Republicans really are is quite strong. Markos knows this:
…to be clear, I don’t doubt Obama’s motivations. I don’t believe he wants people to suffer. What I doubt is his resolve in the face of economic terrorism. Because remember—if he does the right thing and stand (sic) up to Republicans, we’ll all feel better, and the long-term results will be far better, but the short-term pain could be brutal and hurt lots and lots of people.
Whether Republicans take the blame for that or not is immaterial to the fact that lots of people will suffer. Republicans don’t give a shit about that. We do, and Republicans know that and will use that against us.
Because they’re psychopaths.
I just humbly suggest that there is a third way between letting the Republicans destroy the economy and capitulating to their demands. The president just demonstrated the third way on the Fiscal Cliff, and he will do it again in two months. But it will involve the Democrats doing things that they would rather not do.
It will involve maintaining a split in the GOP, which means working with The Lesser Crazy.
It’s the best that we can do.
