Congress ditches Obama on debt talks

◼ link - Politico (image source)

First came the Biden talks. When those blew up, the Obama-Boehner talks took center stage. And when that failed, the McConnell-Reid talks looked promising. And after they faltered, the Obama-Boehner talks tried to find a new life.

Now it’s all come down to the Boehner-Reid-Pelosi-McConnell talks to solve the debt crisis. Notably absent? The president.

◼ No debt deal in sight, parties go separate ways - Politico

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told his colleagues in a Sunday afternoon conference call that a debt deal with Obama is not the way forward. He said on the call that a plan that “reflects the principles” of the conservative “Cut, Cap and Balance” proposal that the Senate rejected will serve as the model for any legislation coming out of the House. The speaker, though, did acknowledge that the plan itself is a non-starter.

“So the question becomes – if it’s not the Cut, Cap and Balance Act itself – what can we pass that will protect our country from what the president is trying to orchestrate,” Boehner said, according to a source familiar with the call.

Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), according to several sources on the call, implored his colleagues to “stick together” to enact a budget deal that they can support. Boehner said an agreement “will require some of you to make sacrifices.” He told his colleagues that they shouldn’t worry about winning the battles, but rather the war, according to a source on the call.

◼ Still No Deal, GOP Will Move Own Plan - National Review Online

As Andy notes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) looks like he’ll be bringing his own plan forward in the Senate, which would allow for a single increase that would ensure that Congress doesn’t have to vote on one again until after the 2012 election.

◼ Dollar Drops As Asia Opens; Debt Talks Weigh On Market - Wall Street Journal
◼ Tim Geithner Refuses To Tell Chris Wallace What Happens If Debt Ceiling Isn’t Raised - Mediaite

Despite persistent questioning from Chris Wallace, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner refused to acknowledge what his plans were just in case the debt ceiling is not raised before August 2nd. Insisting that his plan was only to get Congress to raise the debt ceiling, Geithner seemed to demonstrate just how fearful he is of what might happen by hesitating to even discuss the possibility of any contingency plan.

◼ Boehner's office: Two-step process to raise debt ceiling now 'inevitable' - The Hill