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It's All Politics
Quick Debt-Ceiling Fix Impeded By Congress' Tricky Rules
July 25, 2011 The deadline is eight days away now, and there's real concern there may not be enough time for either proposal — or a compromise version of the two — to get enacted by Congress.
It's All Politics
Debt-Ceiling Fight Comes Down Whether Or Not To Have Election Year Redo
July 25, 2011 Setting aside all the details, important as they are, about raising revenues and cutting spending, the crux of the fight is now clearly more about when to have the next debt-ceiling battle after the one now playing out before our eyes than anything else.
It's All Politics
Stalled Debt Talks: Many Questions, Fewer Answers
July 23, 2011 Now that the one-on-one debt ceiling talks between President Obama and Speaker John Boehner have broken down, there are obviously more questions than answers about what exactly happened and where matters go from here.
It's All Politics
Senate Kills 'Cut, Cap, Balance'; House GOP Puts Onus On Democrats
July 22, 2011 While the sides were fighting in public, it was understood that Obama and Boehner were still meeting privately as they tried to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and achieve significant spending cuts and deficit reductions, a pact that could get enough support from lawmakers in both parties to get past the objections of their hardest hard liners.
It's All Politics
Democrats Irked At Course Of Debt Talks
July 22, 2011 The angry reaction of congressional Democrats to reports that President Obama and Speaker Boehner showed it's not just House Republicans who must be appeased. It's going to take enough congressional Democrats signing on to a final deal for a default by the U.S. to be averted.
It's All Politics
Faith and Fear Paralyze Debt Ceiling Talks
July 15, 2011 It goes without saying that any Republican deviating from the party line on taxes risks a primary in 2012. Democrats who would cut entitlements also chance an intraparty challenge (although in their case the White House move to compromise might offer some cover).
It's All Politics
Boehner, Pelosi To Obama On Camp David Debt Talks: Don't Bother
July 14, 2011 Camp David worked for the Israeli and Egyptian peace negotiators back in 1978 who reached an historic accord there. But that was then.President Obama was considering inviting congressional debt-ceiling negotiators to the presidential retreat in Maryland's Cacoctin Mountain Park this weekend to work on reaching a final deal, according to reports.
It's All Politics
Speaker Boehner: Debt Limit Is Obama's Problem
July 12, 2011 Speaker John Boehner appears to be trying to distance himself and fellow congressional Republicans from the onrushing train that is a potential federal government default if policymakers fail to agree on a debt-ceiling increase.
The Two-Way
Boehner Presses Obama To Comply With War Powers Resolution
June 14, 2011 "I remain deeply concerned the Congress has not been provided answers from the executive branch to fundamental questions regarding the Libya mission," the speaker writes.
It's All Politics
Obama Team, Boehner See Vindication In Worsening Medicare, SS Forecasts
May 13, 2011 Friday's news that the outlook for both the Social Security and Medicare trust funds had worsened since last year, let the Obama Administration and House Republicans declare the rightness of their approaches to shoring up the programs.
It's All Politics
Report: Boehner's Economic View Diverges From Data, History
May 11, 2011 Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, gave us one of American politics's killer lines: "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts." It's in that spirit that Bloomberg News reports that some of Speaker Boehner's big economic policy speech falls into "his own facts" category.
It's All Politics
Wall Street Takes Boehner Debt-Limit Speech In Stride
May 10, 2011 Judging by the reported reaction and the bond market Tuesday, Speaker John Boehner's speech to the Economic Club of New York the night before apparently did little to shake Wall Street's confidence that Washington policymakers will, in the end, agree in time to raise the federal debt ceiling.
It's All Politics
Boehner Says A U.S. Default Isn't Worst Fiscal Woe; Democrats Beg To Differ
May 9, 2011 Posturing between Republicans and Democrats over the debt ceiling continued apace Monday. Speaker John Boehner was to say in a New York speech that any debt ceiling increase would require big spending cuts and he suggested a boost might not happen. Democrats charged he was playing with fire.
It's All Politics
Obama Still Searching For Significantly Lower Jobless Rate
May 6, 2011 If President Obama could send Navy SEAL commandos into action to find, say, a six percent jobless rate the way they cornered Osama bin Laden, Democrats might feel a lot more confidence about the 2012 election landscape than they do.
It's All Politics
Deal Proves Compromise Is Alive, If Not Well
April 9, 2011 Both sides had to give in Friday to last-minute budget talks. But Democrats and Republicans also showed they can bridge fierce differences, if only when they are staring into the abyss.
