To: combjelly who wrote (707498 ) 4/5/2013 4:24:04 PM From: tejek Read Replies (1) | Respond to Boehner rejects Obama budget, sight unseen Steve Benen ready to trade entitlement "reforms" for tax revenue from closed loopholes and deductions.already rejecting it out of hand.House Speaker John Boehner immediately dismissed President Barack Obama's package of significant new entitlement cuts tied to new tax revenues, calling them "no way to lead and move the country forward." [...] And the Speaker got his $1.5 trillion in spending cut with no corresponding revenue in August 2011. I wonder why Boehner continues to struggle with the basics of the fiscal debate, as if he just weren't paying attention to the details. Presumably, the nation's most powerful Republican lawmaker would have an easier time keeping up on current events.explained :The curious thing about this is that Republicans previously said they wanted these things as proof that Obama is “serious” about cutting spending. In late December, a Boehner aide told Bloomberg News that the Speaker wanted Chained CPI more than other entitlement cuts, such as raising the Medicare eligibility age, as the two were negotiation over a possible cuts-for-revenues swap to avert the fiscal cliff.explicitly told the Wall Street Journal that if Obama offered entitlement changes such as Chained CPI and Medicare means testing, Republicans would consider new revenue. He actually said this: “those are the kinds of things that would get Republicans interested in new revenue.” And wouldn't you know it, the moment the president accepted this rhetoric at face value is the moment Republicans decided they have a new series of demands.
