Gibbs confirms role of deficit commission in budget and State of the Union

[Hannah Bell]

The deficit commission that couldn't come to enough of a consensus to send an official report to Congress will apparently still play a role in the President's budget for next year and the State of the Union speech. That's straight from the Press Secretary's mouth, or fingers.

In a Twitter conference this morning, he was asked: "Will the President use SOTU to push recommendations of the Deficit Panel?" The reply:

"Yes, POTUS will use both SOTU & budget 2 talk about priorities & focus on our deficit/debt - team looking through deficit commission recommendations 2"

There have been plenty of other proposals the administration could consider. There's the proposal by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, one of the many catfood commission members to reject its findings. There's also the fiscal blueprint developed by Demos, Economic Policy Institute, and the Century Foundation, which has excellent recommendations for growing our economy. Likewise, the Citizens' Commission on Jobs, Deficits and America's Economic Future, featuring some of the smartest progressive economists and analysts around, created a solid proposal for growing our economy.

But the one Gibbs is talking about is the one in which the chairman calls Americans paying into and receiving Social Security benefits millions of tit-suckers. That's the one that seems to count. Even though it failed.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/23/931214/-Gibbs-confirms-role-of-deficit-commission-in-budget-and-State-of-the-Union

[Ken Burch]

1. Once again, proof that Gibbs is one of the corporate "enforcers" in the administration.

n/t.

[blindpig]

10. And who isn't? n/t

[Sherman A1]

2. Charming

just, charming. :banghead:

[Enthusiast]

3. This is one reason

I will not support President Obama in the next election. He had a choice and he made the wrong one.

[somone]

4. The war on the New Deal has Obama's name on it

He's been itching to attack Social Security for a long time.

[xchrom]

5. recommend -- sotu is going to be very interesting.

will he use the commission to reach out to boehner and mcconell?

[KharmaTrain]

6. The 2011 Mantra: Defecits...

This was one of the GOTB's winning talking points last year and one this administration is fearful of. The ugly truth is this country continues to borrow at massive amounts. Much of it going to two wars for profit and corporate bail outs and tax cuts for the rich. These are almost untouchable...Democrats on the whole are scared shit of being labeled "weak on defense" and that's driven this administration to puff up its military balls to show they're just as "tough on terror" as the rushpublicans and maintain the failed policies of the previous regime. They're also now afraid of the Chamber of Commerce and the sure-to-come commercial and talking point blitz as to how this administration isn't "business friendly" and "costing jobs" and other propaganda that evolve into the age-old Democratic tar-baby "tax and spend". Thus it's a race to the bottom to "cut" while still spending like crazy.

The ugly truth is the squeaky wheels get the grease...the least capable are left to fend for themselves. The elderly, the disabled, the handicapped and economically disadvantaged are the ones who take the hit as they don't have the "clout"...few lobbyists and no boatloads of cash and "think tanks" of talking heads to spread the talking points.

The spending has to be reduced...and it's going to be a battle of PR wills that, sadly, the defenders of the important social safety nets are at a distinct advantage. This will be a battle that is fought in the media and needs to be joined fast. The unions really need to step up now or watch what remains of their waning power become even more irrelevant. It means rebuilding a netroots that has fragmented into its own special interests. Pretty tall order...

[RickFromMN]

8. You meant to say, "the defenders of the important social safety nets are at a distinct disadvantage"

but I understand your point.

I fear Social Security will be attacked.
It can't be killed immediately, without a political blood-bath.

Social Security will be watered down, slowly. It will be the death of several little cuts.

The younger generation will lose more and more Social Security benefits.

Parts of Social Security will be privatized.
Politicians will say, it was those corporations who cut Social Security benefits, not us.
Corporations will take the political heat, willingly, as long as they get the financial reward.

The one, golden ray of hope, I see, is our country will be less important in the future world economy.
What happens in Europe and Asia will, increasing, impact us.
If Europe cuts its social safety net, we will happily cut ours.
If Europe and Japan and China stand firm on their safety nets, we will have some hope.

So far, our policies have not led to any kind of migration from the United States to other countries.
At least, my google searches don't find any evidence of an outward migration.
I wonder, how long do we have, before people start migrating to countries with a better social safety net?

[blindpig]

11. "weak on defense"

An excuse to toe the ruling class line.

[Still a Democrat]

7. Relax

"team looking through deficit commission recommendations 2"

It doesn't say he'll embrace every recommendation.

[Javaman]

16. Embracing even one if it effects SS will be bad enough.

the door will be open for the gop to go apeshit next time they are in power.

[Freddie Stubbs]

9. Gibbs is simply putting out the message which President Obama want to be communicated

[blindpig]

12. Yes, he is.

Get ready for a reaming.

[Ken Burch]

13. We know. That DOESN'T make it better.

BTW, why do you STILL have the Arne Duncan picture in your posts? Duncan has been the most Bush-like person in the whole administration. Nothing he's donw has served any non-Republican purpose.

[Starry Messenger]

14. Recommend.

[rucky]

15. I'm more worried about Boehner's recommendations.

which will be pretty much the worst ideas from the Catfood Commission

[gratuitous]

17. Oh, you bunch of nitpickers

So what if the Commission blew its deadlines, jettisoned its own rules, and never issued a final report? What's important here is that there was a commission - a bipartisan commission, featuring millionaires from the far right and the center right - that looked at a number of proposals. Now, we're going to gut and stuff that turkey, and use it as the vehicle to raise the retirement age, cut social security benefits for future retirees, all in the name of deficit reduction. And that's what's important: deficit reduction. Nothing else. And before you ask, no, raising tax rates on the wealthy won't reduce the deficit, nor will cutting the defense budget or ending two ruinously expensive wars.

Now that we're all on the same page, let the games begin!

[autorank]

18. Talk about flogging a dead horse k*r

This is getting so obvious, they want everybody else to pay the huge debt for Wall Street and the 800 overseas bases of the military. Simple as that. When the market falls out from under the US Treasury bond market, which it has pretty much already, then who pays? Us, that's who. The Deficit Commission and all those behind this insanity need to understand, you can't get blood from a stone. We're living in crazy times!