Posted by
Always To The Right on Monday, March 14, 2011 7:21:15 PM
. . . as the defections pile up, the chances for future extensions crumble.
Which, politically may give Democrats an opening: If they sense a
critical mass of Republicans forming against short-term extensions, then
all they have to do is keep voting “yes” and let GOP opposition build.
Eventually there’ll be a majority in the Republican caucus that prefers
a shutdown to a new two- or three-week deal; when that happens,
Democrats will crow that they tried to compromise by agreeing to the
House’s short-term deals, but those darned tea partiers are too fanatic.
In fact, Chuck Schumer’s already pushing that talking point
Doesn’t the stance taken by Rubio et al. further reduce the GOP’s
leverage in striking a long-term deal on the budget for the rest of the
year? All Reid and Schumer have to do now is continue to push
short-term extensions every few weeks and watch Republicans peel off.
Sure, they’ll have to agree to a few billion in new cuts each time, but
those cuts are chump change and worth accepting if it means driving a
deep wedge in the GOP caucus.