Boehner: Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) took a hard line on debt limit negotiations with the White House last night, telling the Economic Club of New York, “It’s true that allowing America to default would be irresponsible. But it would be more irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without simultaneously taking dramatic steps to reduce spending and reform the budget process.” “We’re not talking about billions here. We should be talking about cuts in trillions if we’re serious about addressing America’s fiscal problems,” Boehner said, before demanding $2 trillion in cuts in exchange for a $2 trillion increase in the debt limit.
Even though Boehner did not specify a time frame for those cuts, and his aides left the question open after the speech, last night was an ambitious step for the Speaker. Already, according to Gallup, support for a third party is at an all time high among Republicans. Boehner will have to walk a fine line between strong public negotiations with the White House, and over-promising results to the Tea Party rank and file. Boehner cannot afford to under-perform on a scale like he did during the CR debate.
