Boehner spokesman takes flak for calling House Dems ‘hostage takers’

{mosads}Brendan Buck, Boehner’s press secretary, initially tweeted a link to a blog post on the Speaker’s website listing quotes from House Democrats who said they support spending cuts. Buck called them “hostage takers” in his tweet.

Jon Lovett, who previously wrote Obama’s White House speeches for three years, tweeted back.

.@Brendan_Buck Only some of those are real hostage takers, refusing to raise debt limit without concessions. And it was wrong then and now.

— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) October 9, 2013

“How about 2010 when Dems extracted concessions from the president for a debt limit increase? Wrong then?” Buck replied.

There’s nothing wrong, Lovett said, with negotiating a deal as part of a limit increase. It’s wrong, however, to use “limit and default threat as leverage.”

@jonlovett your old boss has refused to negotiate any “deal as part of limit increase.”

— Brendan Buck (@Brendan_Buck) October 9, 2013

.@Brendan_Buck Yes, because House Republicans have taken this brinksmanship to its logical extreme. It’s irresponsible and wrong.

— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) October 9, 2013

House and Senate lawmakers are about a week away from the debt ceiling deadline — when the federal government could no longer borrow money. If Congress doesn’t raise the ceiling, the nation would default.

President Obama has reiterated the debt limit must be increased, and he won’t cave to GOP demands. He has invited various congressional caucuses of both parties to the White House to discuss how to avert a crisis.

If Obama compromised with Republicans like he did three years ago, there’d be no issue, Buck said.

@jonlovett dude – dude – he’s been saying for months he won’t engage. If he’d just worked w us like he did Dems in 2010 there’d be no issue.

— Brendan Buck (@Brendan_Buck) October 9, 2013

.@Brendan_Buck This isn’t 2010. For all your examples of hypocrisy (and it is hypocrisy!) none compares to the recklessness of this moment.

— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) October 9, 2013

@jonlovett Hypocrisy on the part of the president, that’s our point. He needs to stop acting like no one’s ever demanded debt limit add-ons.

— Brendan Buck (@Brendan_Buck) October 9, 2013