CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – BUDGET
June 2, 2011 – 10:27 p.m.
Liberals to Obama: ‘Hold the Line’ in Deficit Talks
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
Liberals sharply cautioned President Obama on Thursday to resist compromising away Democratic priorities as part of any deficit reduction deal with Republicans to clear the way for raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit.
During a White House meeting between House Democrats and Obama, some of the caucus’ top liberals pushed the president to ensure that tax hikes for wealthy Americans and major oil companies are part of any pact and urged him to avoid reducing Medicare benefits or fundamentally reordering that program.
Allies close to Minority Leader
DeLauro said she urged Obama to press for higher taxes on the wealthy and oil companies and to defend low-income families. “I don’t want to see the safety net cut,” she said, adding that Medicare and Medicaid benefits must be protected.
Waxman said he expressed concerns shared by other Democrats about the possibility that Obama will “cave in” to Republican demands for a deficit reduction package focused primarily on deep cuts in domestic programs.
“The Republicans — from everybody I’ve talked to on the Republican side — think he’s going to cave,” Waxman said after the meeting. “And that’s a mistake. . . . He needs to lay the predicate that he’s not only resolved to hold the line, but that the public supports what he’s doing.”
Waxman said he and many Democrats are uneasy about the level of confidence among Republicans that the administration will embrace a deficit reduction deal acceptable to many Republicans and centrist Democrats, but offensive to liberals.
Waxman, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said he urged Obama to draw a stronger line in negotiations with the Republicans and to “get the public more on our side and let them in on some of these issues.”
But other prominent liberal voices, such as
Compromises behind closed doors to reduce the deficit are almost certain to be opposed by liberal Democrats, lawmakers said.
Ellison said Obama “does what he wants to do. . . . I’ve come to the conclusion that nothing I say matters to him.” Liberals are increasingly being sidelined, he said, adding, “He talks to us to check a box. I don’t think he’s listening.”
But, Ellison added, he reminds himself that Obama is a Democrat, and “therefore he’s better than any Republican.”
Liberals to Obama: ‘Hold the Line’ in Deficit Talks
Grijalva said he too is prepared to oppose any deficit reduction deal that cuts too deeply programs that he considers vital and fails to provide revenue-raising measures.
Still, Grijalva and Ellison acknowledged that as even as Obama does not fight for their causes, they are likely to fight for his re-election next year.
“I don’t think we’re in a position to make threats,” Grijalva said. “He has a great advantage. He knows, ‘If it’s not me, look at your alternatives,’” Grijalva said.
Indeed, there are no signs that Democrats are headed for a replay of the bitter split in the party that occurred when liberal Democrats accused President Bill Clinton of pursuing a centrist strategy to cut deals with Republicans on high-profile policy areas such as the 1996 welfare overhaul (PL 104-193).
“These are different times. It’s never the same,” DeLauro said.