December Surprise? From Rubin to Pelosi, Wall Street and DC Dems Push Post-Election Austerity

[HomerRamone]

According to Washington insiders, Rubin's telling the truth when he says that many of his fellow Dems are hoping to roll out their austerity surprise after the election - hopefully just in time for Christmas.

<...>

What's more, the long-term implications of this gambit are toxic. Nobody in Washington is telling people the truth: Focusing on deficits during a recession-cum-depression is wrongheaded, foolish, and destructive. If they keep on doing this they will kill the Roosevelt Democratic vision which made this country strong.

And that will kill their party.

For those few voters who will have forgotten by 2014, there will be billions of dollars in GOP SuperPAC money waiting to remind them. Anybody who wants to preserve our fiscal future - and anybody who's a partisan Democrat - should be telling Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, and the other misguided Democrats to stop backing Simpson/Bowles or any other austerity plan. The Democrats' brand as the middle-class party is already tattered, and that could destroy it completely.

MORE: http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/richard-eskow/43510/december-surprise-from-rubin-to-pelosi-wall-street-and-dc-dems-push-post-election-austerity

[peacebird]

1. Are they freaking crazy?

[bananas]

4. Crazy like a fox. nt

[PoliticAverse]

2. The link to the referred-to Rubin piece can be found here:

http://www.cfr.org/financial-crises/budget-grand-bargain-follow-election/p28374

[southernyankeebelle]

3. They will know when no one shows up to vote next time around. I have already written before

if they touch the safety net forget my vote for ever. I will stay home.

[HooptieWagon]

5. People have been living with austerity for 32 years...

...waiting for the "trickle down" to trickle down. If further austerity is necessary, its goddamn time the wealthiest started tightening their belts.