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http://thepage.time.com/2011/06/29/so-much-for-the-golf-outing/#take

So Much for the Golf Outing

Essential reading: Boehner statement bams Bam presser

"The President's remarks today... demonstrate remarkable irony. ... The President has been AWOL....

"A debt limit increase can only pass the House if it includes spending cuts larger than the debt limit increase; includes reforms to hold down spending in the future; and is free from tax hikes. The longer the President denies these realities, the more difficult he makes this process."


Speaker Boehner Statement in Response to Remarks by President Obama

WASHINGTON, DC - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement in response to comments made by President Obama at a press conference calling for higher taxes instead of larger spending cuts as part of his request for a debt limit increase.

"The President's remarks today ignore legislative and economic reality, and demonstrate remarkable irony. His administration has been burying our kids and grandkids in new debt and offered no plan to rein in spending. Republicans have been leading and offering solutions to put the brakes on this spending binge. The President has been AWOL from that debate.

"The President is sorely mistaken if he believes a bill to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes would pass the House. The votes simply aren't there - and they aren't going to be there, because the American people know tax hikes destroy jobs. They also know Washington has been on a spending binge for many years, and they will only tolerate a debt limit increase if we stop it.

"The new majority in the House is going to stand with the American people. A debt limit increase can only pass the House if it includes spending cuts larger than the debt limit increase; includes reforms to hold down spending in the future; and is free from tax hikes. The longer the President denies these realities, the more difficult he makes this process. If the president embraces a measure that meets these tests, he has my word that the House will act on it. Anything less cannot pass the House."

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Halperin's Take

Surely the White House knew that relations between Obama and the Speaker were fragile enough that POTUS' rough-on-Congress press conference might lead to a statement like this from Boehner. So, assuming the administration anticipated this possible response, what card do they plan to play now? There can only be a grand bargain if there is mutual trust and respect. Part of the two postures is posturing -- but part of the positions of both the president and Speaker is visceral -- and that's a problem.


Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com
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