◼ Obama and company try to scam Republicans into violating their pledge - Emily Miller/The Washington Times
President Obama sent his Treasury Secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, to Capitol Hill on Thursday to make Republicans an offer they could only refuse. The administration’s proposed deal consisted of $1.6 trillion in new taxes, no spending cuts, a limitless debt ceiling and a multiyear stimulus plan that opened with a $50 billion binge just for 2013.
Mr. Geithner’s only concession in the closed-door meeting was a vague promise to work toward $400 billion in Medicare savings in the future — but nothing up front. The proposition was so pathetic that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell laughed out loud, and House Speaker John A. Boehner declared “a stalemate.”
...Senate Democrats are trying to sow discord in Republican ranks. The No. 3 Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, told reporters Thursday that the GOP was waffling on the terms of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge in order to give themselves political cover to raise taxes....
“The Democrats aren’t interested in more money; they’re interested in Republican fingerprints on tax increases so they can crush the modern Republican Party,” the founder of Americans for Tax Reform told us. “Schumer’s not trying to help Republicans not raise taxes, he’s trying to convince Republicans to raise taxes.”
The GOP shouldn’t let its guard down for a moment in negotiations with Democrats, who will say anything to win.
