We can't give in to the Republican list of demands
by Thom Hartmann
April 24, 2013
After years of complaining that Democrats haven't passed a budget, now Republicans are refusing to negotiate at all on the Senate's recently passed spending plan. Under regular order, the two chambers should come together to find a compromise between the Democratic budget in the Senate and the Republican austerity plan in the House.
However, in typical GOP fashion, Republicans won't come to the negotiating table unless they get a so-called "framework," that they say would make a compromise more likely. But, that "framework" is just a demand that all new tax revenues are off the table. That is not compromise. That is not negotiation. That is not how Congress is supposed to operate. That is Republican economic terrorism.
In an attempt to secure a budget, President Obama and Democratic leaders offered cuts to some of our most sacred social programs - angering many on the left. And a total $2.5 trillion in spending cuts have already been imposed on our nation. But that's not enough for Republicans. Their idea of compromise is getting everything they want... and they'll continue to act like petulant children until they do.
We can't let President Obama and the Democrats be held hostage any more. This is our nation. If anyone gets to have a list of demands - we do. We can demand that President Obama takes Medicare and Social Security off the table. We can demand that Republicans stop their economic terrorism. And we must demand that this broken Congress starts serving the people who put them in office.
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