White House: GOP Offer 'Unbalanced'

The White House on Monday issued an attack on the counter-offer from House Republicans on debt talks, saying it failed to “meet the test of balance.” 

Whoa. Obama wants to increase taxes $1.6 trillion, will not countenance any suggestion of one whit of entitlement reform, and wants unchecked power to raise the debt limit–and the White House says the Republican offer is “out of balance”?

Now that’s funny.

The White House said the Republican offer of $2.2 trillion in spending cuts, entitlement reforms, and $800 billion in new tax revenue “included nothing new” and was not serious. Oh, and of course, the White House stuck to their mantra of blaming the Republicans for not raising taxes on the “wealthy.”

White House communications Director Dan Pfeiffer huffed:

While the president is willing to compromise to get a significant, balanced deal and believes that compromise is readily available to Congress, he is not willing to compromise on the principles of fairness and balance that include asking the wealthiest to pay higher rates. President Obama believes – and the American people agree – that the economy works best when it is grown from the middle out, not from the top down.

The president is willing to compromise? Obama won’t cut entitlements and is asking for an unlimited debt ceiling so he can run the economy entirely into the ground.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) minced no words:

While the president hasn’t moved an inch away from his efforts to please his radical left-wing base, the speaker has consistently shown a good-faith effort to find common ground and a realistic approach to solving the very real economic problems facing our country. If the president is serious about joining us in an effort to reduce the deficit and protect the economy, he’ll get off the campaign trail, drop the left-wing talking points, and instruct his staff to negotiate a solution in good faith based on actual written proposals. In short, he’ll begin doing what leaders do: Lead.

Notice McConnell said if Obama is serious about reducing the deficit and protecting the economy.