It tells you a lot that in announcing the compromise averting a government shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner spoke for like ten seconds and ran home to go to his fundraiser and catch The Masters. They didn't want to do this, but they really
April 8, 2011

It tells you a lot that in announcing the compromise averting a government shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner spoke for like ten seconds and ran home to go to his fundraiser and catch The Masters. They didn't want to do this, but they really didn't want to go down this road either.

I don't know who got hurt by the additional cuts that were agreed upon until we get more information. The number I'm hearing is $38.5 billion. I get that the President is going to put a smiley face on this to the public, but in a bad economy this just looks weird.

The only people celebrating this deal are the Villagers.

Gloria Borger gives us the inside-Village rundown on why we are where we are:

I'm getting that everbody understands, at least the leaders, understand that they need to get a deal. That the American people want a deal. What's interesting though, Wolf, is that when you talk to people, the Republican base, as we were just talking about, is ok with no compromise. It's the Democrats who who really want to compromise.

What we are seeing is two parties who can't even agree on what they disagree on. And that's because the politics are kind of interesting. Republicans agree that it's all about spending, that's what it is all about in the Republican Party. The Democrats are saying, "we're ok on the spending" but it's about the social issues. I was talking to a Democratic pollster who said to me, "look, these social issues work for us." They were just out in the field with a poll and he said to me, "on these social issues like Planned Parenthood, for example, we win with young voters, we win with suburban women and by a 2-1 margin independent voters do not want to defund Planned Parenthood. That is why you are hearing so much about the social issues, because that's their political sweet spot.

Looks like we've got us another one of those great bipartisan win-wins the Village loves so much. Well, win-win for the governing elites who get exactly what they want. The country, not so much.

Expect the Sunday Talk Shows to say things like "I'm glad they came to their senses and got a deal done."
I'm seeing twitter action that says Rand Paul doesn't like the deal. Now that's something we both can believe in, but for different reasons.

HuffPo: Boehner may need Dem votes:

Rep. Jim Jordan, who leads the conservative Republican Study Committee, told The Huffington Post that he does not think Boehner, a fellow Ohioan, will be able to pass the funding deal through the House without votes from Democrats.

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