The Republican response to this barrage was, well, incoherent. But in most cases the need to demonize Obama trumped the party’s ideological beliefs. The budget commission — to take one flagrant example — was blocked by a group of Republican Senators who had supported or sponsored it. These included the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, and the formerly virtuous John McCain, a sore loser who has reversed his position on practically everything lately. The Senate Republicans then proceeded to vote unanimously against a provision, attached to a necessary increase in the debt limit, that would force Congress to pay for every new initiative it enacts. This “paygo” provision was the law of the land when Bill Clinton was building budget surpluses (in fairness, he inherited it from the equally responsible George H.W. Bush) — and was abandoned when George W. Bush started building the alpine deficits that plague us today. The hypocrisy of all this was staggering, even for politicians. In Baltimore, the House Republicans seemed hurt that the President wasn’t listening to their “new” ideas. Unfortunately, most of these have the sophistication of policy seminars run by high school Libertarian clubs.

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Joe Klein

Obama Calls Out Republicans, But Nobody’s Home - TIME

(reblogged via apsies)