Link: http://spectator.org/archives/2011/04/01/go-ahead-make-their-day

From yesterday’s Washington Post web page:

After weeks of arguing, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill began negotiations Wednesday on a possible budget agreement that would slash federal spending by as much as $33 billion and avert a government shutdown.

“We’re all working off the same number now,” Vice President Biden told reporters after meeting with Senate Democratic leaders at the Capitol on Wednesday evening. “Obviously, there’s a difference in the composition of that number — what’s included, what’s not included. It’s going to be a thorough negotiation.”

On Thursday, Speaker of the House John Boehner pushed back against the Democrats’ (including the Post) attempt to force a fait accompli down the GOP’s throat: “There’s no agreement on numbers and nothing has been agreed to until everything has been agreed to.”

There is some logic to the Democrats’ claim that by agreeing to $33 billion in cuts for the rest of this fiscal year, they are “meeting the Republicans half-way,” and part of the electorate will certainly be inclined to find such an outcome an example of politicians of both parties “working together to get something done.”

Please read the entirety of my article discussing the pros (few) and cons (many) of the GOP going along with a $33B budget cut “compromise":

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/04/01/go-ahead-make-their-day