Tea-Fueled Republican Resistance Compels Barack Obama To Keep
Running  In 2012, Paul Ryan declared that the election would
“determine” American policy. But in 2013, Republicans aren’t
accepting the result, writes, Robert Shrum.  As President Obama
is discovering, election, or more particularly reelection, can
be a waning mandate. Yes, he won his top rate tax increases in
January—but less because Republicans accepted the verdict of
last November than that they feared the blame in November 2014
if they conspicuously shattered the credit-worthiness and
economic stability of the United States. And now we are at a
point where Obama himself suggests that the differences are just
"too wide" to achieve a "grand bargain" on America's fiscal
future. The president says he won't yield if the GOP position is
"we can only do revenue if we gut Medicare ... Social Security
... or education."  Well, although they wouldn't put it in those
words, that is exactly the Republican position:
voucherize Medicare, mow down Medicaid, a