As Budget Fight Looms, Obama Sees Defiance in His Own Party
By PETER BAKER and JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: September 17, 2013
WASHINGTON — For four years, President Obama counted on fellow Democrats to rally to his side in a series of epic battles with Republicans over the direction of the country. But now, deep in his fifth year in office, Mr. Obama finds himself frustrated by members of his own party weary of his leadership and increasingly willing to defy him.
In recent weeks, disgruntled Democrats, particularly liberals, have bolted from the White House on issues like National Security Agency surveillance policies, a planned military strike on Syria and the potential choice of Lawrence H. Summers to lead the Federal Reserve. In private, they often sound exasperated describing Mr. Obama’s operation; in public, they are sometimes only a little more restrained.
The Republican party is polarized. They can’t get their act together and they are going to shut down the government. They are actually proud of this. No one listens to Bohhner. I am embarrassed for him.
If the Congress shuts down the government again, the GOP will lose control of the House in 2014.