There is something else that Reid gave up. There is a chess game going on that may not be obvious. Reid agreed to hold votes on defunding obamacare and planned parenthood.
So big deal, you might say; they won't pass in the senate. Correct, but McCaskill, Tester, and Manchin (all in increasingly red states) will have to vote or find an excuse to be out of town. And odds are (if they want reelection) their opponents will use their votes on these issues in campaign ads. These are not votes Reid wanted to hold.
That’s a good point.
The Dems will vote for contnuing to fund Obamacare and Planned Parenthood. We have already heard their arguments. They want to provide health care for everyone, especially women and children. And we already have them on record for voting for them.
I see Brett Biar on FNC Panel calling this a huge win for Boehner. One said "Democrats got rolled by Boehner" not only on the spending cuts but forcing the Senate to vote on those House passed items you mention (like Obama-care repeal )that will kill the Blue Dog democrats there.
The endless continuing resolutions were wasting billions of dollars themselves in endless new contracts and paperwork that those outside of this DC area have no way of knowing about.
Not a bad deal by Boehner considering the big battles are ahead.