Does this man just live in la-la-land or what?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday blasted House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for threatening not to raise the debt ceiling next year unless greater spending cuts are enacted.
“The brinksmanship we are seeing from Republicans today reminds us of days prior,” he told reporters. “Instead of meeting us in the middle on the problems facing the country, Republicans are already digging these trenches that they are in and saying they are not going to move.”
Reid said that Boehner risks turning the GOP into a rump party of extremists by making such statements.
“It’s pretty clear to me that the Tea Party direction of the Republican Party is driving them over a cliff. And I would suggest that Speaker Boehner look at the long term, which is what will the Republican Party look like in the future,” he said.
Please, allow me the honor of breaking this one down for you, Sen. Reid, real simple-like: We are more than fifteen trillion dollars in debt and still spending far and away beyond our means. Spending cuts, big ones, are in order, and your credibility on money matters is all but spent -- besides your compelling fiscal arguments for "cowboy poetry festivals" and the USPS because "seniors love to get junk mail" and whatnot, this is day 1,112 that the Senate has failed to pass a budget, I believe? Don't you worry about the Republican party going off a cliff in the long-term, sir: no Americans of any party are going to thank you when the country goes off of a financial cliff.
We all know that we're in for what is sure to be another nasty upcoming debt-ceiling fight, but Sen. Reid doesn't appear to attach much meaning to those goings-on, as if it really is just some political circus and fiscal apocalypse actually isn't creeping ever-closer. It looks like Speaker Boehner decided to just get the gauntlet thrown down early, to which Sen. Reid, despite his lofty lecturing sentiments, responded in kind:
Although Reid criticized Boehner for making ultimatums, he also reiterated the hard Democratic position that tax increases must be part of any deficit bargain and that social programs must be protected.
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So, wait... you're accusing Speaker Boehner of being too partisan and confrontational, playing with brinkmanship, and being unwilling to compromise, but then you're turning around and... oh, nevermind.
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