Republicans Want Off The Hook For Voting For Defense Sequester [View all]

[ProSense]

Republicans Want Off The Hook For Voting For Defense Sequester

Brian Beutler

Republicans have been been clear that they do not regard deep, looming cuts to defense and domestic programs — the enforcement mechanism at the heart of last year’s debt limit agreement — as a reason to compromise with Democrats and put real tax revenues into the mix of cuts and reforms required to reduce deficits over time.

But in recent weeks they’ve taken things a step further. They’ve disavowed the so-called “sequester” altogether and handed full responsibility for its existence to President Obama — despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of them voted to implement it last August.

“It was the president who came up with the sequester because he didn’t want the debt limit to get in the way of his campaign,” said House Speaker John Boehner at his weekly press availability last week. “Now these cuts are looming and he’s nowhere to be found.”

In a private meeting with his conference, Boehner said the sequester exists, “for one reason: because the President of the United States didn’t want to deal with the debt limit again before the presidential election. Because the president didn’t want to be inconvenienced, he came up with the sequester.”

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http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/republicans-want-off-the-hook-for-voting-for-defense-sequester.php

Mr. Tears, you got 98 percent of what you wanted, remember?