Let Them Eat Bootstraps

Hey, you remember the president's bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, right? The very white, very male, and very terrifying collection of geniuses otherwise known as the Catfood Commission, for their hot recommendations to "to get people to pay more for their health care and retirement with money they don't have," co-chaired by Alan "Milk Cow With 310 Million Tits" Simpson...?

Sure you do.

And no doubt you'll be thrilled to hear that President Obama "will not blaze a fresh path when he delivers a much-anticipated speech Wednesday afternoon at George Washington University. Instead, he is expected to offer support for the commission's work and a related effort underway in the Senate to develop a strategy for curbing borrowing. Obama will frame the approach as a responsible alternative to the 2012 plan unveiled last week by House Republicans, according to people briefed by the White House."

So: Extreme right-wing plan vs. center-right bipartisan plan. Peachy!

Susie doesn't mince words: "All the hoo-hah over the Ryan plan was only to soften us up for what Obama wanted all along: The plan from his handpicked members of the Catfood Commission. Just like he did with the healthcare plan, he sat down with the players and worked out his own back-door 'bipartisan' deal to sidestep that messy democracy thing he finds so distasteful."

Also see [TW for ablist language]: David Dayen, who notes, quite rightly, that this is "a pre-emptive surrender, and a needless one at that."

Well. Only if you support progressive policies.

If you fancy yourself the next coming of Ronald Reagan, I guess everything is turning out just fucking right.

UPDATE: House Democrats have sent a letter to Obama warning him that, if he wants to retain their support, he will not include cuts to Social Security in the deficit reduction program to be outlined Wednesday night: "[W]e remain concerned that the Bowles-Simpson proposal may serve as a starting point for budget negotiations. We consider this plan to be flawed in several key areas, especially with respect to its proposed cuts to Social Security Benefits. We believe that any proposal that includes cuts to a popular, fiscally sound program lacks credibility and does not reflect the political center."