Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is secretly channeling the Grinch with his plans to spoil Christmas and wreak havoc on the economy during the pivotal holiday buying season, White House officials warned Thursday.
Democrats’ attempts to plaster Republicans with the Grinch label is nothing new, especially when it comes to cutting the deficits and slashing entitlement spending. But this time, the label is particularly apt. Boehner’s two-step bill could very well blow-up the legislative process in December as Congress wraps up works and tries to leave town for a two-week holiday break. And, well, Boehner does have a certainty affinity for bright lime green ties…
“Happy Holidays America: Boehner plan would have the debt ceiling all over again during the holiday season, which is critical for the economy,” White House deputy spokesman Dan Pfeiffer tweeted this morning.
If you’re sick of Washington gridlock in July, get ready for a debtageddon redux in late December, warned White House senior political adviser David Plouffe during a tete-a-tete Thursday with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd.
The Boehner bill would cut the deficit $917 billion over ten years, while raising the debt limit $900 billion, a net cost savings of $17 billion. But that $900 billion is expected to run out by December, prompting the second-step of the plan, another round of entrenched down-to-the-wire negotiations to wrangle another debt-ceiling hike in exchange for cuts — and this time the talks could be even more explosive because politically charged entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid will be at stake.
If the July round of debt talks are any indication, Congress could be headed for another “three-ring circus” — as Plouffe put it — at a time of year most sane Americans setting aside for peace and harmony.
