4 reasons President Obama isn't negotiating with Republicans
The GOP has blasted the president for refusing to compromise
![Obama and Biden are sitting pat.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hGj5QfVNp8B5V3THmVf7dU-415-80.jpg)
As the government shutdown enters its second week and Congress hurtles toward a deadline to raise the debt ceiling, Republicans are coalescing around a message that they appear to believe will sway public opinion in their favor: President Obama refuses to negotiate.
Never mind that earlier this year House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made a big deal about foregoing any budget negotiations with the president. This week, he accused Obama and the Democrats of "risking default by not having a conversation" about a variety of Republican demands, including defunding or delaying ObamaCare and broader cuts to the budget.
The stakes in this fight are high. Not only are 800,000 federal employees out of work, but the U.S. government is expected to hit its borrowing limit in less than 10 days. If the the United States defaults on its debts, economists say the country would likely be plunged into another recession — one that the Treasury Department warned could be even worse than the last one.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Democrats show few signs of compromising, even as Republicans fight among themselves over whether or not to strike a potential deal. Here are four reasons Obama and the Democratic Party are standing firm.
1. They feel they have already compromised
Remember the sequester? The Democrats do. They weren't too happy about it back in March, when they were forced to swallow $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts because the two parties couldn't agree on a long-term budget.
Still, on September 27, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a continuing resolution that kept those spending cuts in place, funding the government at $988 billion — lower than the $1.058 trillion they initially wanted.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Daily Beast's Michael Tomasky explains:
[T]his whole thing started with a significant Democratic compromise. But once the Republicans decided that they were going to use both the shutdown and the debt ceiling to try to defund and/or delay ObamaCare, they couldn't even vote for a bill that gave them a major fiscal victory. [The Daily Beast]
Yes, some Republicans don't like the sequester's defense cuts. But many Tea Partiers "learned to love" the sequester, writes The New York Times's Annie Lowrey, while pretty much every Democrat views it as a disaster, since it bites into aid programs that are already strapped. That explains why Democrats view the GOP's current demands as gratuitous: They come on top of concessions that have already been made.
2. It would set a bad precedent
As Obama himself has argued, if he gives in to the GOP's demands, then it would set a precedent for any minority party to use the debt limit as a very dangerous weapon to extract concessions.
Even Republicans might not like that, warns The Washington Post's Dana Milbank:
Under that standard, a small band of future Democrats could shut down the government if a future Republican president didn't agree to, say, strict gun controls, abortion on demand, a carbon tax, a higher minimum wage, expanded Social Security and Medicare benefits, or open borders.
Had this been the standard before, Democrats might have shut down the government to try to force George W. Bush to end the Iraq War, or to make Ronald Reagan end his arms race with the Soviets. [Washington Post]
The fact that the shutdown was carefully planned and funded, as reported by The New York Times, by conservative activists means that Democrats have every reason to think that Republicans will try this again in the future — unless Obama draws a line in the sand.
3. Republicans are asking for way too much
Obama obviously isn't going to repeal or delay ObamaCare, which duly passed Congress in 2010, was upheld by the Supreme Court, and survived a presidential election. And in terms of what Republicans have in mind for the budget, their reported offer skews heavily toward Republican priorities, while barely acknowledging Democratic preferences.
Indeed, previous, torturous negotiations between Obama and Boehner have shown that there is very little Republicans are prepared to accept, particularly when it comes to new government revenue.
While advocating for Obama to offer an olive branch, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat acknowledges that the president has every reason "to avoid making any kind of concessions to an opposition party that's locked into essentially unreasonable demands."
4. The public blames the Republicans for the shutdown
To be clear, nobody is coming out of this smelling like roses. Still, the GOP is hurting far worse than the Democratic Party.
The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that a whopping 70 percent of Americans disapprove of how Republicans have handled the government shutdown, compared with the 51 percent who disapprove of Obama's performance. Even 59 percent of self-described conservatives don't like what Republicans are doing.
Those numbers are consistent with the theory that "the executive benefits and the legislature is punished" during government shutdowns, writes The Washington Post's Ezra Klein. In political terms, that "would suggest that a shutdown would be bad for everyone serving in Congress, but good for Obama."
That might not turn out to be true. But it certainly gives the president more of an incentive to stand firm while Republicans flounder.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published