When you look at this final agreement that we came to with the White House, I got 98 percent of what I wanted. I’m pretty happy.
I’ve seen more than a few DC pundits and beltway thinkers grumble today that the president shouldn’t expect Republicans to come to the table if he (rightfully) calls them out as he did this morning, and I would like to remind them that John Boehner proudly claimed that he received 98 percent of what he wanted in the Budget Control Act (sequestration).
Furthermore, this strategy has worked quite well for the president. He shamed them into raising the debt ceiling, and he shamed them into preserving tax-cuts for a majority of Americans while raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires. Why can’t he shame them into not taking a “meat cleaver” to the economy?