After watching President Obama's inaugural speech on Monday many of his political opponents were surprised, and even irritated. He didn't spend any time on the economy, or the fiscal cliff negotiations. Instead he outlined a vision of America that put equity, opportunity and science at the top of his administrations priority list.
From embracing the cause of gay and lesbian Americans, to acknowledging the importance of immigrants to our national cause, to speaking forcefully about the need to pursue climate change and infrastructure projects as policy priorities, President Obama made one thing clear. The GOP will not set the narrative over the next four years.
There is no doubt that the GOP wants to drag President Obama into a political hall of mirrors, where debt ceiling extensions and sequestration time tables dominate his day. The Republican leadership also want to try and push the paranoia and fear narrative that Fox, and many, many commentators from Fox News, are committed to establishing about President Obama.
The GOP needs to do all of this if they want to paint President Obama as a crisis president. But President Obama understands the trap.
If nothing else, Monday's inauguration speech made it clear that President Obama is going to use the bully pulpit to force the Republican Party and others to quit obsessing about the GOP-ginned up debt ceiling and sequestration drama.
And, yes, the debt and sequestration issues are unnecessary. They are little more than political props for the GOP, to try and paint President Obama as an irresponsible spender. Don't believe me? Consider this.
Senate Republicans had absolutely no problem increasing the debt ceiling when President Bush was in office. They voted over 200 times to raise the debt limit from 2002 through 2008 (actual congressional votes here).
Now, all of a sudden (actually since 2009), they've found Fiscal Jesus under President Obama, and want to impose restrictions. Is this coincidental? Hardly. And President Obama understands this.
On Monday President Obama made it clear that he's not going to work around this debt drenched narrative any longer. He's going to embrace his inner Teddy Roosevelt, and use the bully pulpit to push another story line. To be sure, he will have address the issues surrounding the debt and sequestration drama the GOP wants to push.
But President Obama understands that equity, opportunity, and science matter to America's future. He also understands that the last election made it clear that the GOP is on shaky ground with a our increasingly diversified electorate on these issues. If he wants these issues to be part of his legacy - and he does - he knows that he can't try and play nice and negotiate with the GOP on their political terms any longer.
This explains why he brought up gay rights, immigration, and climate change during his inauguration. Recent polling shows that America is more than happy to talk about these issues too.
At the end of the day, President Obama is preparing to establish his legacy. After four frustrating years he knows the GOP doesn't want to talk about making America better. It's not part of their game plan. They only want to make sure President Obama fails, which means keeping him surrounded with a ginned up crisis.
President Obama saw the GOPs Kabuki-like theater during his first four years, and is watching them stumble through the same script today.
Think about it. Political games prevented the GOP in the 112th Congress from voting on aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Speaker John Boehner then proved to be particularly inept when it came time to getting his own party to vote on the GOPs fiscal cliff averting Plan "B" in December. This bumbling helps explain why House Republican leaders were essentially ignored by Senate Republicans immediately after New Year's as they discussed other options with President Obama.
Now the GOP wants President Obama to sign off on raising the debt ceiling for three months (with pay gimmicks), so we can do this all again in April?
President Obama sees the games in all of this, which is why he focused on his "liberal agenda" during the inauguration. Apart from speaking to America's future, it also beats the hell out of being drawn into the GOPs Kabuki-like political theater.
- Mark
From embracing the cause of gay and lesbian Americans, to acknowledging the importance of immigrants to our national cause, to speaking forcefully about the need to pursue climate change and infrastructure projects as policy priorities, President Obama made one thing clear. The GOP will not set the narrative over the next four years.
There is no doubt that the GOP wants to drag President Obama into a political hall of mirrors, where debt ceiling extensions and sequestration time tables dominate his day. The Republican leadership also want to try and push the paranoia and fear narrative that Fox, and many, many commentators from Fox News, are committed to establishing about President Obama.
The GOP needs to do all of this if they want to paint President Obama as a crisis president. But President Obama understands the trap.
If nothing else, Monday's inauguration speech made it clear that President Obama is going to use the bully pulpit to force the Republican Party and others to quit obsessing about the GOP-ginned up debt ceiling and sequestration drama.
And, yes, the debt and sequestration issues are unnecessary. They are little more than political props for the GOP, to try and paint President Obama as an irresponsible spender. Don't believe me? Consider this.
Senate Republicans had absolutely no problem increasing the debt ceiling when President Bush was in office. They voted over 200 times to raise the debt limit from 2002 through 2008 (actual congressional votes here).
On Monday President Obama made it clear that he's not going to work around this debt drenched narrative any longer. He's going to embrace his inner Teddy Roosevelt, and use the bully pulpit to push another story line. To be sure, he will have address the issues surrounding the debt and sequestration drama the GOP wants to push.
But President Obama understands that equity, opportunity, and science matter to America's future. He also understands that the last election made it clear that the GOP is on shaky ground with a our increasingly diversified electorate on these issues. If he wants these issues to be part of his legacy - and he does - he knows that he can't try and play nice and negotiate with the GOP on their political terms any longer.
This explains why he brought up gay rights, immigration, and climate change during his inauguration. Recent polling shows that America is more than happy to talk about these issues too.
President Obama saw the GOPs Kabuki-like theater during his first four years, and is watching them stumble through the same script today.
Think about it. Political games prevented the GOP in the 112th Congress from voting on aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Speaker John Boehner then proved to be particularly inept when it came time to getting his own party to vote on the GOPs fiscal cliff averting Plan "B" in December. This bumbling helps explain why House Republican leaders were essentially ignored by Senate Republicans immediately after New Year's as they discussed other options with President Obama.
Now the GOP wants President Obama to sign off on raising the debt ceiling for three months (with pay gimmicks), so we can do this all again in April?
President Obama sees the games in all of this, which is why he focused on his "liberal agenda" during the inauguration. Apart from speaking to America's future, it also beats the hell out of being drawn into the GOPs Kabuki-like political theater.
- Mark
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