Republicans: Obama playing politics with budget

Congressional Republicans are accusing President  Obama of putting forward a purely political budget this year to win reelection instead of tackling the big fiscal problems facing the United States today.

Obama unveils budget with call for "fair" economy

"He has punted again," House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI, pictured) said about the president's fiscal blueprint for the next ten years. "He has failed to take any credible action to deal with this crisis that not only threatens our economy today, but threatens our kids with a diminished future."

Ryan panned "all the gimmicks and the tax increases to fuel more spending" in the president's budget and vowed that the House would propose a budget this year that would tackle long-term drivers of the deficit like entitlements though he offered no specifics on his plan.

House Speaker John Boehner agreed with Chairman Ryan's negative assessment.

"The president's budget is a gloomy reflection of his failed policies of the past, not a bold plan for America's future," Boehner said in a statement. "It is bad for job creation, our economy, and America's seniors."

Democrats, not surprisingly, welcomed the president's plan to increase spending for infrastructure projects, schools and worker training while increasing taxes on anyone making over $1 million per year, in part by allowing the Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 to expire for the wealthy.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in statement that the president's budget is "balanced, fair, and responsible and is an investment in our economic growth, in job creation, and in a stronger, thriving middle class." She also called it fiscally responsible, citing the White House estimate that the president's plan would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion.

But Senate Budget Chairman Jeff Sessions (R-AL) called the budget "exceedingly deceptive" and said the president reached that figure only by employing a number of accounting gimmicks to get there, including  counting savings that already gone into effect. Those savings include money from withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and from cuts that Congress already passed as part of the debt limit deal over the summer.

Sessions said if those gimmicks were removed, there would be "a total deficit of over $11 trillion, virtually identical to the path we were already on."

The president's budget is not expected to pass the Congress this year, but the issue won't go away either. House Republicans will introduce their budget as early as next month and all eyes will be on what Chairman Ryan proposes to preserve Medicare. The House GOP has already passed a politically-risky plan to privatize Medicare in the GOP budget last year, but Ryan has been promoting a new hybrid approach with Democratic Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) that would preserve government-run Medicare but allow private plans to compete as well.

A lot will be riding on that document, which Republicans in Congress (as well as the GOP presidential nominee) will seek to use to contrast the vision President Obama laid out in his budget.

Obama: 2013 budget reflects "tough choices"

[HarryOrielly]

The incredible Obama HOAX- the only president in history to hide his past history- he even surrendered his LAW license to avoid investigation of his past- and the only president with an alias name- "BARRY SOETORO" is NOT an honest man but a master swindler- because he has the backing of super-rich power moguls who control the newsmedia and spent millions in covering up his secretive (criminal) past- Obama is a FRAUD who has deceived America-

[AngryBob86]

What a hoot! Talk about the pot calling the kettle "African American". Ryan is the number one obstructionist in the House. He's been "playing politics" with the budget since he arrived. Well, I've got news for Paul Ryan, that's what politics is, fool.

[rightontarget]

"Congressional Republicans are accusing President Obama of putting forward a purely political budget this year to win reelection instead of tackling the big fiscal problems facing the United States today."
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What, so the lame Congress is afraid that the people's voice might actually be heard and they might finally get some action on things they really want, like raising taxes on the wealthy???? Well, imagine that!!!!!!!

[A_Canadian_Opinion]

Ah yes, the old "threatens our kids" card. Of course Ryan must be right, surely Obama hates kids. Kids and Catholics, let's screw'em. What a bunch of loosers in the old GOP!

[RobAla]

Canadian: You must be into the mushrooms. Where did Ryan say anything about hating kids. Sessions pretty much summed up President Obama's "budget".

But Senate Budget Chairman Jeff Sessions (R-AL) called the budget "exceedingly deceptive" and said the president reached that figure only by employing a number of accounting gimmicks to get there, including counting savings that already gone into effect. Those savings include money from withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and from cuts that Congress already passed as part of the debt limit deal over the summer.

Sessions said if those gimmicks were removed, there would be "a total deficit of over $11 trillion, virtually identical to the path we were already on.

[rayward73446]

Ryan, Bohner and the rest of the "Do Nothing" republicans are the bad guys here. They did not contribute one single thing to help average Americans. Spending all their time pandering to the wealthy and corporations while blocking any and all legislation to get us out of this recession. Obama has been fairly successful in getting the economy jump started inspite of the GOP standing against him and his policies. The GOP will again play football with the budget trying to get their hands on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaide. Their goal is to gut the system and put the greedy insurance companies and wall street banks in charge of our money. That will end these programs, which is what they have been trying to do for decades. What a disgrace and useless bunch of blow hards they have become. They complain about everything that the Obama administration does or tries to do for the past three years, all the while the GOP is doing absolutely nothing constructive. It's time we Americans take back our government by voting these slackers out of office, every one of them. They are supposed to work for us but their actions show us that they are too busy paying back favors to the rich and corporate scoundrels who want to control everything in this country. The GOP holds no credibility with me and millions more like me.

[RobAla]

So, I guess "Americans" are behind a Democrat party that crams a horrible health care law down the throats of a majority of Americans who do not want it. Polls show that less than 38% of Americans favor that stinking law, 27 states are suing the federal government over it, and now President Obama is using health care nonsense to needlessly make war on Catholics. I think you underestimate the millions of Americans who have had enough of President Obama's failed extremist left wing policies.

Want to talk about credibility? How about President Obama stating 8 times that health care discussions would be aired on CSPAN - and then not making good on it? How about in February 2009 President Obama promising to cut the deficit spending in half, but instead ramped up deficit spending to historic levels? Over and over, President Obama slung out bull crap like nobodies business. He has ZERO credibility - none. I am ready for a new President - big time.

[js2212]

by NoProgress_Democrats February 13, 2012 6:10 PM EST
Ha! Ha!
Sounds like extremist and radical commie Fleabagger propaganda.
Your post sounds like something out of Karl Marx's Das Kapital or from Mao.
________________________________________________________________

Good point. You know, for some time I've wondered, if Socialism/Communism/Marxismm were really on my agenda, it would make a lot of sense to hit these comment forums spouting all kinds of this BS. Against the background of a sympathetic Administration (or just plain inept, but I lean toward the former) and amongst the fertile ground of a lot of financially strapped, out of work people, I would find some kind of fertile ground for my message, wouldn't I?

[retm-w]

I guess corporate socialism/communism/marxism is ok with the right. Seems anything that benefits them is off limits for cuts.

[RobAla]

retm-w: Now wait, it was President Obama that went nuts with corporate bailouts of the public's money. That was corporate socialism. Socialism states that everyone gets a share, whether they earn it or not. That is exactly what those $100 of billions in public finds given out to corporations of President Obama's choosing was all about.

[waterram]

I do not understand how the President can include the savings from downsizing the postal service as part of the savings in his new budget when the postal service does not received taxpayer money to function. This was a practice in the past. Even though the service received no taxpayer help they would be included in the budget to help balance the budget, but when the service accrued a loss they were excluded from the budget. Business as usual at Washington.

[nic1234567-2009]

Where technically true there is however, one small exception: because postal workers are federal employees, taxpayers automatically provide a backstop to certain Postal Service-paid obligations — like pensions and retiree health benefits. It pays the Treasury to cover these costs.

[Topkitty27]

No pun intended, but man is that the pot calling the kettle black or what? The GOP are the terrorist we have been fighting since 2001. They have used politics to wage war on American workers and President Obama since the day he took office. The Tea Party constitents (formally known as the KKK) heads exploded when a person of color was elected to office. The MOST important thing to a Republican is money and the entire party has been purchased by corporations. They want your money no mater what color your skin is. Conservatives live in constant fear of having to work a real job where they can't leach off Americans, that aren't as obsessed with material wealth as they are. Greed, selfishness, power over those less fortunate so that workers are forced to do more for less, are all trademarks of the current version of the wealthy. At this point in history in America, it just happens to be primarily represented by the Republican Party. Anyone that thinks that their party freed the slaves because it was the "right thing" is dreaming. A captive workforce can accept only jobs that are available and without the "kind benevolence" of their Southern Masters, people must find a way to feed and house their family.