Super Committee Fails and Obama Threatens to Veto Attempts to Unwind Cuts

The so-called Super Committee in the Senate has admitted defeat in reaching a budget compromise to address the nation's deficits. All sides have a share of the blame for the failure, but ultimately, the most blame not surprisingly falls on the GOP which sought to protect wealthiest Americans over the rest of us. Now, beginning January 1, 2013, automatic spending cuts will kick in and one of the biggest casualties will be the GOP's sacred cow - defense spending. Not surprisingly, some in the GOP are talking about undoing some of the automatic cuts. Enter Barack Obama who in a stunning example of a suddenly found backbone has said that he will veto any such legislation. This threat, if followed through upon, will put the GOP in the bind of either sacrificing defense or making the wealthiest Americans pay more in taxes. It's truly a fun situation to contemplate. The Washington Post looks at the unfolding saga. Here are highlights:

A special congressional committee created to try to curb the national debt abandoned its work and conceded failure Monday, the latest setback in a long effort by Washington to overcome ideological differences and stem the rising tide of red ink.

In a joint statement issued hours before a midnight deadline, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the panel said that they were “deeply disappointed” by their inability to reach an agreement and that they hope for progress in the months ahead.

The breakdown left the nation facing the prospect of automatic reductions to government agency budgets in January 2013 — an outcome that both parties agree could damage the military and government services such as law enforcement, food inspection and transportation safety.

Some GOP lawmakers immediately issued statements vowing to stop the Pentagon cuts. But President Obama sought to block that effort, threatening Monday to veto any legislation aimed at softening the impact of the cuts unless Congress approves a broader debt-reduction plan. Obama urged lawmakers to revisit that task as soon as they return from the Thanksgiving break.

“Already, some in Congress are trying to undo these automatic spending cuts. My message to them is simple: No,” the president said in a televised statement that marked his reentry into the debt debate after weeks of keeping his distance as Congress flailed.

Although the supercommittee’s failure will not result in an immediate calamity, analysts said it probably will further erode public confidence in Washington — particularly in Congress, which already is held in historically low regard.

At a scathing news conference, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) blamed Obama and lawmakers in both parties for the stalemate, calling the supercommittee collapse a “damning indictment of Washington’s inability to govern this country.”

Although Republicans offered to raise taxes by $300 billion over the next decade, they insisted on conditions that all but guaranteed that the wealthy would not be hit hard. And Democrats refused to agree to deep cuts in spending on health care for the poor and the elderly unless the rich were forced to make greater sacrifices.