Barack Obama met with a group of freshman Democrats and warned them over the costs of some of their more extreme proposals.
According to those attending the meeting, Obama is presumed to have been referring to a radical wishlist championed by New York socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
While encouraging the whimsical and ideological new lawmakers to think big, Obama hit them with the harsh reality that nothing in life is free, a concept he abandoned many times throughout his eight years in office.
“He said we [as Democrats] shouldn’t be afraid of big, bold ideas – but also need to think in the nitty-gritty about how those big, bold ideas will work and how you pay for them,” one person told the Washington Post.
Obama warns Democrat freshmen on the (political) cost of their (extreme) proposals.
Make no mistake, Obama loves their Socialist agenda, he just believes they are trying to force too much too soon…exactly like he admitted he did. https://t.co/QaGM9krsnO
— ?? The ❌ Frank ?? (@TheFrankinn) March 26, 2019
The report asserts that Obama was directing his comments toward policies specifically pushed by Ocasio-Cortez.
“Some people in the room took his words as a cautionary note about Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal,” Rachael Bade says in her column, “two liberal ideas popularized by a few of the more famous House freshmen, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”
If her recent history of being unable to take advice holds, Ocasio-Cortez will no doubt accuse Obama of being misogynist, anti-Latina, or even cat-calling her.
The Price Tag
We’re not so sure what Obama’s concern is – this is a man who spent wantonly in various manners throughout his presidency (see Obamacare and/or pallets of cash).
Ocasio-Cortez programs are simply his on steroids and with the intellectual backing of a former bartender.
Freshmen House Democrats departed the Capitol on buses moments ago for a meeting in Washington with President Obama
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 25, 2019
The Green New Deal, for example, has a staggering projected cost of $93 trillion.
“For the comparatively cheap price of just $66 trillion I’m told the government could buy every American a Ferrari,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor earlier this month.
Medicare for All, meanwhile, has seen similar proposals cost anywhere between $28 and $32 trillion according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
“Democrats should be ready to answer questions about how they will pay for an idea while making big promises to constituents,” Obama warned.
Was Ilhan in the Room?
To be a fly on the wall if this meeting included Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
Here you have Obama ‘cautioning’ freshman Democrats for not thinking their policies through, and Omar who was recently quite critical of the former President.
An interview with Politico revealed Omar had some choice words for him, shredding his border apprehension policies, denouncing his droning of other countries, and noting that he was little more than a “pretty face” allowed to “get away with murder.”
Ilhan Omar on Barack Obama. Wow:https://t.co/qzeccRujOs pic.twitter.com/dQuXleRwMS
— Blake News (@blakehounshell) March 8, 2019
Omar also suggested the “hope and change” offered by Obama was little more than a mirage.
No more a mirage than the money available to pay for their ridiculous promises to the American people. How bad is it that even Obama realizes this?
