GOP Invites Obama to Boston

It was nice to see the Republicans House members invite President Obama to their gathering in Baltimore Friday, Jan. 29. Considering that the Republicans on the Hill have had a near "line item veto" of their own, blocking almost every issue Obama has tried to work through, the idea of Obama being invited to the gathering seemed like there could be a bit of cooperation in the air. The Republicans even allowed cameras inside the gathering.

Many Americans were hopeful that there could be a break in the partisan nonsense and maybe...just maybe...we could actually start to move forward on getting our affairs in order. What at first seemed like a possible easing of partisanship ended up looking more like an ambush in many ways. It was not meant to be a "meeting of the minds", it appeared to be an "in your face" confrontation.

One of the biggest problems that many of us have with President Obama has been that he has not stood up to those who seem to want to bully their way through legislation. Democrats and Republican alike have shown excessive arrogance on Capitol Hill, yet Obama never seemed to want to upset anyone, in effect, allowing himself, and us, to be run over. "No Drama Obama" did not wilt or sidestep in front of the Republican House members this time. He stood his ground and faced them head on.

Obama and the GOP House members took turns questioning, and even lecturing, each other for more than an hour, at times sounding more like a presidential debate rather than a friendly gathering. Voters' anger over the extreme partisan politics has given both sides good reason to demonstrate that they can work together and put an end to legislative "logjams", leading to the invitation and Obama's acceptance. The gathering might have begun with polite introductions but it soon became clear that the chasm between the Republicans and Obama is still remarkably distant on key issues, making the effort to find common ground as likely as CEO salaries being cut in half in 2010.

Watching the video stream from C-SPAN, it sounded like the Republicans were again trying to cast blame for everything on Obama, from taxes to health care to the deficit, without taking any responsibility for anything.

Obama scolded the Republicans for opposing him on taxes, health care and the economic stimulus and the Republicans not only blamed Obama for the country's woes but seemed to be whining while accusing Obama of brushing off their ideas. Both sides challenged and scolded each other at times but it appeared that at least Obama took some responsibility and even gave points to House members who had made a sincere effort to come up with plausible ideas.

Obama claimed that Republican lawmakers have attacked his health care overhaul so fiercely, "you'd think that this thing was some Bolshevik plot". He said that his proposals are mainstream, widely supported ideas and they deserve some GOP votes in Congress. He added, "I'm not an ideologue".

Rep. Tom Price of Georgia fired back, "What should we tell our constituents who know that Republicans have offered positive solutions for health care and yet continue to hear out of the administration that we've offered nothing?".

Obama disputed Price's claim that a Republican plan would insure nearly all Americans without raising taxes, showing little sympathy for his audience.. "That's just not true," Obama stated, calling such claims "boilerplate" meant to score political points.

Mike Pence of Indiana defended Price's views on health care, mentioning a GOP agenda booklet that had been given to Obama at the beginning of the session. Pence insisted that the GOP healthcare claims are "backed up by precisely the kind of detailed legislation that Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and your administration have been busy ignoring for 12 months".

Obama retorted that he had read the Republican proposals and that they promise unrealistic solutions that can't be realized.

That was just one of the many barbed exchanges between Obama and the GOP.

A few of the GOP questions had been structured specifically as talking points for the Republican party instead of actual questions and Obama had no problem reminding them of it, stating, "I know there's a question somewhere".

"Both sides can take some blame for a sour climate on Capitol Hill," Obama said, adding that Democrats and Republicans need to be careful in choosing their rhetoric. "A ton of civility instead of slash and burn would be helpful."

In his opening remarks, Obama criticized what he said was a Washington culture driven by opinion polls and nonstop political campaigns. He stated, "I don't believe that the American people want us to focus on our job security, they want us to focus on their job security".

Republicans pushed Obama for a line item veto for spending bills and to endorse across the board tax cuts.

Obama said that he is willing to talk about the budget proposal but disputed that his administration was to blame for big increases in deficit spending.

When it came to tax cuts across the board, Obama smiled and told the GOP members that "billionaires don't need tax cuts'.

Obama did recognize that Republicans had joined Democrats in efforts such as sending more troops to Afghanistan but he was disappointed that there had been virtually unanimous GOP opposition to other programs.

The Republicans at the gathering sat attentively for the most part. They traded barbs with Obama and grumbled a bit.

When it was over, John Boehner of Ohio, House Minority Leader, issued a statement claiming that Obama "acknowledged the fact that House Republicans had offered better solutions over the past year".

Neither Obama nor his allies saw Boehner's statement as accurate.