A word from Mike Walker, Col USMC (retired)
All,
Sequestration is the new “boogey man” in “drama central,” AKA Washington D.C. (I actually like Sequestration, but today that is a very unpopular position in D.C.).
Yet, Sequestration starts at home, Barak Obama’s home, to be specific.
Given a fawning Washington press corps that allows the President to dissemble about the facts without challenge, no one can blame him for disowning his own bad idea.
As Washington often resembles a circus that never leaves town then the President can be seen as the lion tamer while the press can be seen as the clowns who flit around the big top while broom brigade sweeps up the mess.
Here is the truth: The White House created the Sequestration. The problem is that Barak no longer loves his creation, as it seems the White House wonks were too clever by half when they created it.
The President demanded Sequestration as part of the negotiations that led to the Budget Control Act of 2011. The poor Republicans had never seen anything like it and it took them several days to even figure out what the heck President Obama was putting forward.
The President remained adamant that Sequestration be part of any final deal, however (and we all know how inflexible he gets when really wants something). So in the end, the Republicans gave in and agreed to President Obama’s demand.
The rest, as they say is history. The Budget Control Act of 2011 became a major bipartisan agreement:
It passed the House with 95 Democratic and 174 Republican votes.
It passed the Senate with 45 Democratic and 28 Republican votes.
The President signed it onto law on 3 August 2011.
Now, amongst all the smart people in the Beltway, it has turned out to be an ugly and unwanted monster created in the White House.
No wonder Barak Obama is desperately seeking to blame anyone but himself for a highly unpopular policy he created.
