To be honest, I am not surprised. And neither should any one reading on this site. This is what Barack Obama wants to do and this time he will work hard to get it done.
We saw this show before. After the Democrats lost a landmark reversal to the House of Representatives, President Obama offered an olive branch to work on debt reduction with the Republicans. President Obama offered a deal to Speaker John Boehner, his view of the "Grand Bargain".
Obama had proposed to Republicans a "grand bargain" that accomplished a host of individual things that are unpopular on their own, but that just might pass as a huge package jammed through Congress with default looming. Obama offered to put Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid cuts on the table in exchange for a tax hike of roughly $100 billion per year over 10 years. Meanwhile, government spending would be cut by roughly three times that amount. It's no small irony that the party's dogmatic opposition to tax increases is costing the GOP its best opportunity to roll back social programs it has long targeted.Of course, Boehner was incredibly STUPID not to take it, but we must remember and understand the minds of those roaming through the House of Representatives (his caucus), since they won the 2010 midterm election these individuals really don't think their roses stink, but it was the public which indicated to them in 2012 that it does smell and quite bad.