Budget ping pong continues today, with the Senate expected to simply ignore the latest House bill and send back a clean Continuing Resolution that funds the government. The Washington Post reports that Republicans continue to object:
House Republicans are weighing several options for what to do when the Senate rejects their latest bill, senior GOP aides said Sunday. The possibilities include: Trying again to repeal the medical-device tax….Attacking a different part of the health-care law, such as a special board created to keep Medicare costs low….Proposing to eliminate health-insurance subsidies for lawmakers and their staff members.
Republicans repeatedly refer to these options as compromises, just like their past offers. “On Sunday,” reports the Post, “Republicans tended to argue that they were trying to compromise with Obama and the Democrats to avoid a shutdown while pursuing conservative principles.”
So I need to ask again: what exactly do they think is the compromise here? Obviously they’re trying to get something they want, but what exactly are Democrats getting in return? I don’t get it. If my neighbor threatens to steal my car, and then comes back and says he’ll settle for just stealing my TV set, what kind of compromise is that? What am I getting out of the deal?
And just as a reminder, keep in mind that all of this compromising is for a CR that lasts only six weeks. Six weeks! Then we get to play this game all over again with fresh new demands compromises.
