Bloomberg: Trump’s Surprise Deal With Democrats Sets Up Christmas Showdown
* Debt-limit move undercuts Mnuchin, Republicans in Congress
* GOP conservatives fuming over Trump’s alliance with Democrats
President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to spurn his Republican allies in Congress by striking a short-term debt-limit deal with Democrats leaves the GOP reeling and lawmakers bracing for a bruising battle in December.
Trump’s move undercut GOP leaders in the House and Senate, as well as his own Treasury secretary, who had been arguing for a longer-term extension. It also left Republicans, who were blindsided by the deal, angry and disappointed with their own leaders and, to a lesser degree, Trump.
Read more ....
Update: Trump sides with Democrats in debt limit, funding, Harvey deal (Politico).
WNU Editor: One of my fellow-bloggers that I am always debating with on U.S. politics wrote to me after Congress stopped President Trump's strategy to develop better ties with Moscow by imposing more sanctions on Russia coupled with the failure to repeal Obamacare that this was the "last straw" for President Trump .... as he told me .... it was a realization for him (Trump) that the Republican leadership would do everything in its power to undercut his agenda and policy priorities. My friend's prediction .... President Trump would work with Democrats on common policies. I was skeptical .... but no more now. Yesterday's agreement is a shocker for the Republican leadership .... there was no announcement on what the Oval Office was doing .... no hint of an agreement with the Democrats .... until the agreement was announced. Republicans like the Senate majority leader and the Speaker of the House were definitely set-up .... and the question that needs to be answered is .... have they lost their leverage with the President, and what will they do next? What's my prediction .... the Republican leadership is in trouble with their base .... and I do not think they are even aware of that (or care). They will continue to do what they have been doing for the past year .... but their base is going to turn against them .... starting with the primaries before next year's mid-terms. Case in point .... Is Jeff Flake's Re-election in Jeopardy? Analysis (RCP). As for President Trump and the Democrats .... expect more deals in the future.
12 comments:
Trump is proud of being unpredictable, but in this instance, good one if you lean left, the President undercuts his own party, and highlights their unwillingness to work with the Democrats. Thus, from a liberal position, nice; but overall more chaos in the making.
I think it was to clear Congress schedule for tax reform. Trump needs to pass something (anyting) from his agenda. Taxreform would be big. So I think we'll probably see a deal for taxreform & daca.
TRUMP WANTED TO DO AWAY WITH DEBT CEILING
The Tea Party was a good thing that got hijacked by radicals. Those radicals then got elected for no reason other than to be obstructionists (to then Pres. Obama). That people are surprised that those Republicans continue to be obstructionist is funny to me. Yes, the Dems started it all by ramming the ACA down our throats, but the Reps have turned the word "compromise" into profanity. It is only Republican Party Loyalty that keeps these people in office; that may be wearing thin as the GOP splinters between moderate and centrist Conservatives, and radicals. The GOP is slowly turning into the Republican, Libertarian, and Tea parties; only time will tell if the fracturing of the long-living American dichotomy is a good thing for the country. But what I see is that when radicals get elected on one side, more radicals get elected on the other as a counterweight...and that is a messy problem we created, not them.
A commentator on Fox News pretty much nailed it when he said the following: "Trump is a dealmaker. He is not a conservative."
Will this work out for him? Can he trust Democrats? Can he trust Republicans" Can he trust ANYONE in DC?
With that said Mr. Trump has been a democrat most of his life and his thinking is of the classic liberal mindset. Such people as he is will naturally find much of the so called "conservative" approach unpalatable. Many who are conservatives who voted for him understood this. We knew he would do some things we like and he would do some things we don't like.
At some point, we will have to get the debt under control. If he can get tax reform, this may be worth the compromise as big tax cuts to businesses will increase profits which will increase the gross income taxes paid in. Furthermore the increased profits mean more jobs which mean more payroll taxes being paid in. tax cuts = economic growth which = more income tax $ in the coffers of the federal government. Combined with regulatory reform we can grow our way out of the massive hole we are in with the national debt.
Additionally, with hurricane Harvey and now Irma extraordinary amounts of money are going to be needed. As such, keeping a debt ceiling is probably not advisable at this time. It would have been nice had the government been setting aside funds over the years to cover things like this. Then we would not need to borrow. Alas, we/the government did not do this. After all the US has very large coastal areas. As such, hurricanes of this type are inevitable and cannot be prevented. Extreme prudence it to prepare for them.
If there is a small silver lining to this, we will be getting new infrastructure in these areas. The infrastructure we have/had in the Houston area where I live was/is crumbling. If done properly, we can be better than we were before. Then, in time, due to a combination of tax cuts, regulatory reforms, and cuts in wasteful spending we grow our way out of the debt problem.
As stated, can POTUS trust any of these people? When deal making in the private sector, generally each side has every intention of keeping to their end of the deal. While circumstances sometimes mean one is unable to honor a commitment thy made, in the private sector, the parties involved will move heaven and earth to any extent possible to honor their end of any deal. When parties have no intention of following through on their commitments or are wishy washy in them, the process breaks down.
the editor points out the undercutting of team Trump on trying to improve relations with Russia. Upending a careful diplomatic process that took months if not years to meticulously put together is a decision we Americans are going to regret for a long time. The mothers of the men and women in Congress who did this will likely regret the day they gave birth to their children and it was done all because some petty individuals cannot accept the fact that they were beaten fairly and squarely in an election they should have easily won. To this end, they are perfectly willing to sponsor a de facto coup against a duly elected POTUS, further undermine the survival of America and its people, exacerbate Cold War 2, hasten the end of the dollar as world reserve currency, and I could go on.
Had we perused this track we had much to gain and almost nothing to lose. Had relations been improved with Russia they would have likely been able to provide us with valuable assistance with regards to North Korea and Iran and we would not be having the issues with them we are having today.
All this "partnership" and "working together" with Dems will evaporate as soon as Trump voices any expectation of reciprocity. Dems simply do not do that.
Ask Newr about gop
sorry. meant Newt, who closed down the govt, and since then the GOP has been the party of NO...sorry Russ, but blaming the Dems is simply wrong and very partisan when often either side does such things
As far as this American is concerned, the more gridlock the better, it's our only defense against the virus.
Trump is not a Republican.
He merely chose to be on that ticket.
Despite that fact he might be more Republican than many of the current elected officials.
"Bloomberg, a lifelong member of the Democratic Party, decided to run for mayor as a member of the Republican Party ticket"
Party affiliation is a bit of a joke. It is played fast & loose by some people.
Standards are not enforced.
If one looks at Roman politics, one learns that Roman politicians were equally promiscuous.
Politicians would change from Optimates to Populares or the other way depending on the wind.
Fred,
Crossing the aisle is a one way street. John McShame has crossed the aisle often. McShame should be considered a 'centrist' or a Leftist. Yet to hear the MSM (liberal press) talk about it, he is worse than Satan.
@ fred - Two things come to mind off the bat. The Reagan amnesty back in the '80's that was supposed to secure Dem cooperation on taxes. Nope. They fully reneged. The 2004 $400B Bush prescription drug bill. Dems voiced "bipartisanship", lauded Bush for "reaching across the aisle". And we all know where that went. Dems never give an inch. Ever. Obama ran his entire term that way: ZERO negotiation, ZERO cooperation, ZERO reciprocity.
It'll be no different this time.
Tell that to Houston and florida
Post a Comment