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Super Committee Goes Bust: Now What?

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    Hopes for bipartisan agreement dented

  • Duration 6:16
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Although congress has not come to an agreement yet.

Nothing prevents them from coming up with -- an agreement in the days ahead as I have from the beginning I stand ready and willing to work with anybody.

That's ready to engage in that effort to create a balance plan.

Four deficit reduction.

Welcome to The Journal Editorial Report on -- ago that was President Obama this week reacting to the failure.

Of the bipartisan deficit reduction committee to reach an agreement and calling on members of congress to.

Forge ahead with a compromise before one point two trillion dollars in automatic spending cuts take effect in a little over a year.

But just how likely is any bipartisan agreement before the 2012 elections let's ask Wall Street Journal columnist and deputy editor Dan and anger.

Editorial board member Jason Riley and Washington columnist chemistry council so.

Kim this week a Barney Frank.

I know your favorite congressman.

Absolutely said that.

The failure this super committee is good for Democrats will make it easier for them to retake the house is he right.

We'll look at this was what this was really about is the election okay what we have realized not just with this exercise on the super committee.

But with the debt limit negotiations that preceded them this summer at -- something about eight different fundamental difference in the philosophy of government Democrats and believe that.

All the spending it's fabulous and all you need to do is raise taxes.

The Republicans have come to understand that this government growth is unsustainable.

And they want to do spending cuts and entitlement reform.

Those differences there's no middle ground and so what you're gonna have to have an election and that is what they're they're fighting over the Republicans actually think that.

Having if that they had agreed to taxes as part of that's it would have.

Fundamentally hurt them in the election have a better shot having stuck to their principal but Kim why didn't -- why do Democrats think this is good for them why did Barney Frank wanted to fail.

Because they can come out and say look.

We want to preserve meant that they're gonna run this year on Medicare reform scaring suggesting that Republicans are trying to.

Entitlements they were never going to agree to a deal that -- oftentimes because this is their election strategy and so they have now come out of this saying that they preserve these programs and they'll be able to claimed.

Republicans for the ones -- wanted to cut them okay -- and President Obama had.

No real stake in the -- committee succeeding I mean -- it would interfere with this.

Reelection campaign thing which is gonna be to run against the sort of do nothing congress of congress had succeeded in this -- The super committee had succeeded would have upset that how do you run against a do nothing senate that's a democratic senate.

And -- -- happened also how do you do that went for the first two years of your presidency your party -- control wheel house.

And the senate.

He's hoping Americans have short amendments as square this circle formally Dan politically -- -- did did did Democrats want this to fail that Obama really want this to him.

Well I think so they wanted to run against the Republican Party as obstructionists that basically as far as I can tell is the party's entire.

Campaign platform.

Run against obstructionist Republican.

But -- it.

Doesn't need independents and wouldn't it help if they got some -- if he she showed -- look we're making some progress.

On this this problem.

You know you're asking me to explain -- Barack Obama's political apparatus -- That's been pretty hard to do going all the way back to obamacare which is -- -- most unpopular pieces of legislation that it's ever been passed.

So I can't quite explain Barack Obama.

He had what I've said many times he has his principles he wanted those taxes raised on the rich that was his line in the sand.

He wasn't going to get it and now he's going to run on that.

He promised to -- in October of any deal that didn't include a trillion dollars of new tax revenue increases he must've known Jason.

That Republicans couldn't possibly.

Raise taxes by that much a year after they ran.

And one of the house saying we won't raise tax remember the fallback position here's a sequester which would -- across the board automatic sad ending but not until after.

The election.

And we know politicians can't think past the next election for the most part so -- a more immediate -- -- I think that the super committee was really a sideshow as far as the White House was concerned.

-- -- immediate concern here the extension of unemployment benefits extension payroll tax cuts.

Those things are coming down the pike right now it's much more concerned.

Kim what about this concern though lot of Republicans have or defense cuts because about half of the sequester the automatic spending reductions would would hit defense and Homeland Security.

And pretty severely so so much so that even a present Obama's own Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called -- called calling it cuts devastating.

It can Republicans put together a coalition that can stop these cuts.

I think they will and that's what they're going to try to do -- look when you.

And -- then there's two things here when you look at the big issue at that big numbers over ten years those defense cuts do seem quite large.

If you look at like a one -- thing what it would take you before they can get in office for instance that they were to win in the White House that that number is -- -- But what they're gonna try to do -- put together legislation bringing Democrats along and say do you really want these defense cuts that even Leon Panetta says now.

The president is already threatening to veto that but the Republican view is go ahead and do that let's have a debate about the need to fund our military.

Would those cuts ever happen.

With strong presidential leadership they will let me say I'm very much for this sequester.

-- I don't really.

If -- supported in the past it is the only way Washington is going to cut that budget look -- handle it on my little -- guys now have the automatic slice and then he went through this in 1990 with president George H.

W.

Bush led by his budget chief Richard dark.

The majority leader was democratic senator George Mitchell.

They went off to Andrews Air Force Base remember the great somewhat out of Andrews Air Force Base ground through the question -- a five and a half percent sequester they ultimately.

Punted President Bush pulled back.

They pass some cats and dogs test -- excise taxes and there was no sequester.

You need a strong president -- Barack Obama as president in January when -- thirteen not gonna happen.

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