Posted on 04/09/2011 3:11:37 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
One week ago, John Boehner was dead meat. Facing a rebellion among his freshman members and with a government shutdown looming, Washington was preparing a professional obituary for the speaker of the House.
If he agreed to any compromise on the plan to fund the government for the remainder of the federal fiscal year, Boehner would lose the confidence of his caucus and be a lame duck. If he dug in and joined the fiscal hard-liners in shutting down the government, Boehner would lose his ability to negotiate with Democrats in future fights. His options were to either lose face or to lose his most important bargaining tool. Checkmate.
Yet today, Boehner’s clout in his caucus and as a negotiator have been enhanced.
He is the primary author of a compromise to keep the government operating for the rest of the year with the largest spending reduction in history – 63 percent of the original GOP request of $61 billion. Republicans also got a potpourri of sweeteners, like up-or-down votes on politically painful subjects like President Obama’s health care law and federal subsidies for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Not too shabby for a guy who held only one of three seats at the negotiating table.
How did he do it?
Managed Expectations
Boehner’s greatest asset in the process was the low expectations of the skeptics and Democrats.
The press has been waiting for the Tea Party revolt since before the November elections. Reporters have been flogging this story so long that tend to see its shadow over everything that happens in Republican politics. If all you have is a hammer…
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Lot's more battles to be fought to rein in this wildly spending Government.
1.5 trillion deficit and we cut only 70 some billion? A victory?
Other victories mentioned in the article: the British at Concord, Custer at the Little Bighorn, Nazi Germany at Normandy and the Bulge, Japan at Saipan and Iwo Jima....
Yep, Boehner really handed the Democrats a shellacking; he shellacked their butts with his lips.
If this is a victory we are doomed.
2. Grab Ankles
3. Enjoy!
1.5 trillion deficit and we cut only 70 some billion? A victory?
Well said.
Hahaha! Very well said.
Big victory??? Trillions of deficit dollars and they cut 39billion for the rest of the year that’s less than pennies to the dollar. At least the Pubbies tried. But we’re still funding abortions thru planned parenthood and NPR.The RAT/MSM would have killed the PUBs if the gov’t. closed. Bottom line, we need a new pres.and a pubbie senate.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we get close to a shutdown on the issue of raising the debt limit.Obama was holding them as Hostages...which is pure Machiavellian...
This was a tactical victory, a relatively minor one. But it does set a pretty good tone for future budget showdowns.
The Dems blinked. And much as I dislike the GOP, credit where credit is due.
You don't care about them?
That is ridiculous!
I thought it was 38 billion that was cut.
It was only 39 billion..... a pittance...and the dems will take credit for it as if they wanted to reduce the deficit....and the media will buy into hook, line, and sinker.
Those would have been held up by the Democrats desired little shutdown....
23 Dem Senate seats up for grabs in 2012 -- and now all of them must vote for the public to see on 1) Planned Abortion and 2) Deathcare. How many of them do you think are happy about that fact?
I completely understand the frustration of not getting a "pure" victory for conservatism, but all things considered, I think the Communists may have been outplayed here. Time will tell, of course....the votes still must actually be HELD, and all we have so far on that is Dingy's "promise."
At least it’s a great opening salvo.
I think the republicans still won the battle by a freaking mile.
HR1 was originally to seek spending cuts of $32 billion until Tea Party conservatives insisted on more than $ 60 billion. House Speaker John Boehner won more cuts than he originally sought and got the Senate to agree to votes to defund the health care reform law (BOOOYAHHH!!!!! Down goes ObamaCare!) and groups like the nation’s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood - once votes Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said he’d never allow to come to the floor.Back on February 3, Reid called $32 billion in cuts “extreme” and “draconian.”
Over the next decade the cuts are expected to save hundreds of billions of dollars.
The deal mandates a host of studies and audits of Obama administration policies. It also blocks additional funds for the IRS sought by the Obama administration and bans federal funding of abortion in Washington, D.C.
The history of offers on this bill goes something like this. Democrats first offered no cuts, then $4 billion, then $6.5 billion, then $33 billion, then settled at $38.5 billion.
Boehner made numerous adjustments to his offer in recent days too, but started at $32 billion, then with a Tea Party push went to $62 billion, then dropped to $40 billion, then $38.5 billion.
Boehner came in $8.5 billion higher than the halfway point between his high offer of $61 billion in cuts and the Democrats opening bid of zero cuts.
And again, I dont understand all the hatred being spewed by some Freepers about this deal. It’s a solid win by the GOP on meeting a promise to reduce spending. If we hadn’t won the house and reduced the dem majority in the senate last year, there would of been no spending cuts this year, hell Obama would of probably increased spending.
It’s also a good battle win because House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget resolution proposes cuts of $5 TRILLION in the next 10 yrs. That’s the big one and if this years budget deal is a measuring stick, I’d say we are still on course and getting solid work done to reduce spending.
GMTA. I posted last night that obama played with our troops in two wars - that he held them HOSTAGE [a favorite democrat word].
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