Obama’s Inexplicable Failure to Explain and Clarify What the Sequester IS–and What the Respective Sides Want to Replace It WITH.
The poll’s failure to inform respondents of the option of replacing the sequester cuts in part with eliminating tax breaks enjoyed by the rich and corporations, and asking only about the Republicans’ replacement proposals, and doing so entirely generically, is … dismaying.
But it would be so very, very easy for Obama to explain, in specifics, what that pollster couldn’t trouble itself to do, even slightly. After all, Boehner keeps proudly advertising the fact that the House twice passed a replacement bill late last year–although, of course, he doesn’t advertise the specifics; i.e., that the bill replaces all of the defense cuts with a gutting of virtually every other “discretionary spending” program and operation. I.e., the bill replaces the sequester’s spending cuts with … much deeper spending cuts to almost everything except defense. All Obama has to do is tell the public this.
Does the public really want to replace the sequester’s cuts with “more cuts”? Probably not, but when the sequester is incessantly billed as very bad, and the argument is that it should be replaced, and the only replacement option seemingly offered–at least by this pollster–is “more cuts,” generically speaking, of course, well, then, why yes! They want “more cuts”! Who wouldn’t?! (A majority of the people who actually understand what this is about, and what the respective options are, probably.)
This is truly nonsense. NBC and the WSJ might consider hiring a different polling organization next time. But Obama might consider actually explaining the situation to the public. The entire public–not just the public at a Virginia military base, to people who are among the few who already know.
Good grace. I know that explaining anything complicated to the general public is not Obama’s thing. But, I mean, really ….
video i got in the mail an hour ago from someone who should know better: 5 Sequester Facts to Know Before Committing Suicide
of course, i had to counterpoint the BS therein, but the fact that such a thing could be circulated confirms that there’s been a failure of messaging..
At this point screw any of it; cut or revenue.
This sequester is not real. It is not a law of nature. It is not problem of physics.
It is, in the words of Bush 2, just a god damn piece of paper. It is a delusion of gigantic proportions. It is only a problem in our minds. It has no substance other than that which we immaginarily give it. IT IS VIRTUAL REALITY!
Pass a bill that repeals the whole thing is move on.
Hi rjs,
Would you expound on the points you made regarding the video. I have a video of Dr. Wolf that will be posted at the blog later tonight in which he notes the cuts do not all happen at once.
dan, i pointed out that the cuts were not 1 to 2 percent as alleged, but rather 5 to 8 percent of the various discretionary programs, & cited macroadvisor’s estimates that it will cost .6% of GDP & 700,000 jobs by 2014…also cited the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimate that the WIC nutrition program will have to turn away 600,000 to 775,000 women & children by the end of the fiscal year (Oct 1) & that more than 100,000 low-income families will likely lose housing assistance…
then opined that it’s goddamn stupid to cut programs willy nilly without even naming them, much less deciding if theyre needed..
also that there’s been several articles calling woodward’s claim that it was obama’s idea…ie, the House had taken the debt ceiling hostage, & according to the resulting deal, (the budget control act), the congressional supercommittee was supposed to come up with specific cuts under threat of the sequester…that’s the only deal the administration could get the House to agree to, & neither party expected the supercommittee to fail…
i can dig out cites for any of that if you need it
Thanks rjs,
Just figured it would help for posterity to have a complete reference as I linked my coming post to this post of Bev. You know, incase the reader decides to follow the links to get the complete story of what has turned into a real pile of nonsense if it were not for the players intentions.
this year’s defense cuts are $45.2 billion out of a $633 budget; you can already see the effect in January’s durable goods orders out today; defense capital goods orders plunged -69.5%…here’s some earlier figures on the entire package from CBPP
& here’s Macroadvisors on the economic impact…
remember, the continuing resolution expires March 27th, and the suspended debt ceiling law comes back in mid-May, so even if this is resolved, it aint over…