GOP Vows To Crush Obama's Deficit Reduction Plan! Oppose Tax Increases!

Obama deficit plan going nowhere with Republicans

Republicans on Capitol Hill pounced on President Barack Obama’s deficit-reduction plan on Monday, swiftly dismissing the president’s proposal as an unserious attempt at taming the nation’s finances.

House Speaker John Boehner, whom Obama singled out in his Rose Garden address for what he called a “my-way-or-the-highway” approach on new taxes, quickly struck back and accused the president of fostering a divisive political environment.

“Pitting one group of Americans against another is not leadership,” Boehner said.

In a statement, the Ohio Republican also said Obama’s plan wasn’t a “serious contribution” to the work of the deficit-slashing supercommittee that’s charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts by Thanksgiving.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also scoffed at Obama’s plan.

“Veto threats, a massive tax hike, phantom savings, and punting on entitlement reform is not a recipe for economic or job growth — or even meaningful deficit reduction,” the Kentucky Republican said. “The good news is that the Joint Committee is taking this issue far more seriously than the White House.”

One of the members of the supercommittee itself, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), sounded a more measured and receptive tone to Obama’s ideas. Toomey, a freshman senator, said the panel would consider the president’s proposals, among the many others being floated to the powerful 12-member panel.

But Toomey had his problems with Obama’s speech, too.

“I am concerned that his deficit reduction strategy sometimes seems more defined by political posturing, such as recycling tax hikes that even lawmakers in his own party have publicly opposed,” Toomey said in a statement. “With the Select Committee’s deadline looming, we do not have time to waste on political games and pushing big tax increases that will only make our economy weaker for all Americans.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate’s messaging chief, insisted to reporters on a conference call Monday that the public would ultimately go with Democrats in that fight.

“Chances are slim if we had a vote today,” Schumer said. “But many of us believe that if the president takes this to the people … the poll numbers show the American people [are] on his side.”

Though Schumer acknowledged that there would be disagreements over some specifics in Obama’s plan, such as raising $410 billion by limiting tax deductions for families earning more than $250,000 a year, he said there would be “broad agreement” on the overall proposal.

Sources: CNN, Daily Beast, NY Times, Politico