Boehner Rejects Obama's Opening Bid on Fiscal Cliff
Posted at 8 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2012
After reports earlier this week that “fiscal cliff” negotiations were stalling, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) rejected President Obama’s opening bid that included $1.6 trillion in additional revenue, $400 billion in cuts to entitlements, $50 billion in increased infrastructure spending, and removing control of the debt ceiling from Congress.
Said Boehner, “No substantive progress has been made in the talks between the White House and the House over the last two weeks… The White House has to get serious.”
Wall Street Journal: ”Mr. Boehner’s tone was a change from earlier this week when he said he was optimistic a compromise could be reached. He said that while conversations with the president and Mr. Geithner were direct and frank, he called on Democrats to offer specific spending cuts and changes to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.”
Ezra Klein: “We’re seeing two things here. One is that the negotiations aren’t going well. When one side begins leaking the other side’s proposals, that’s typically a bad sign. The other is that Republicans are frustrated at the new Obama they’re facing… Previously, Obama’s pattern had been to offer plans that roughly tracked where he thought the compromise should end up… Perhaps the key lesson the White House took from the last couple of years is this: Don’t negotiate with yourself. If Republicans want to cut Medicare, let them propose the cuts.”
