Harry "Not A Porn Star" Reid has come up with a plan that saves $2.7B over the next two years by winding down the wars (Yay!), saving money on interest and some discretionary flensing. It has no new tax revenues.
In short, he has met Boehner's bottom line: enough savings to balance the increase in the debt limit and no new revenues.
Watch how fast Boehner runs away from it. As Obama said, "What can they say yes to?"
Someone, maybe at Daily Kos, maybe Matt Yglesias, said that what they've been trying to do all along is in fact get the Democrats to cut entitlements.
That's the whole reason we're flush up against default. They want to cut entitlements.
Because there are long term structural problems?
No, don't be silly.
Because they want the Democrats to be on the hook for cutting Medicare.
After the Paul Ryan budget PR fiasco, they have seen the polls and realize they have touched the third rail. But if they can get the Democrats to cut entitlements, then they can blunt the Death Panel 2012 ads that the Democrats are sure to run against them.
The GOP understands politics and elections just fine. But they couldn't govern a garden club.
No comments:
Post a Comment