A Note to the President

President Obama,

Yesterday, Speaker of the House John Boehner’s cynical “Plan B” attempt to shift the momentum of the “fiscal cliff” negotiations to the Republicans by passing a law that would raise taxes on the middle class and poor folk failed to pass when opposed by more conservative Republicans. This was a huge stroke of good fortune for all Americans and especially those who don’t want the social safety net shredded and the recovery imperiled. This failure puts you back into a strong position after your unnecessary compromise of last week when you put social security reductions on the negotiating table.

Now that the Republicans have choked, there is no reason to compromise. The public agrees with the positions you were taking as recently as two weeks ago. Please stick to the positions you ran on, an increase in taxes on those making more than $250k a year and no cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It is actually possible to win this one without giving up anything.

Sincerely,

Ipecac