The GOPes are crowing that they beat the (D)onks on the Sequester. I have gotten two blast-mails from GOP-HQ already saying "we done good, give us mo' money!"
I don't think so, Festus. Any time you're on the battlefield, and the enemy makes a strong move, and you don't counter that move, but instead, roll with it, the best you can said to have done is survived the enemy's move. You can never be said to have won.
Re: this "sequester": Obama is applying a simple "poison-pill" strategy here, one that's very hard to beat. If the GOPes are going to beat it, they have to beat it by standing their ground, and making it look like HE is the one deliberately applying the hurt with the Sequester, which is true. They didn't stand their ground on the Air Traffic Controllers, they caved by modifying the Sequester so it's not an across-the-board system anymore, but has line-item control by the FAA (read: White House). That's not only NOT a win for the GOP, it's just handed some sort of line-item veto capability to the President which he did not have before, so it's really a major defeat.
The House just gave up their Article 1, Section 8 spending authority to some degree. Of course, once (and if) a budget deal is reached between Congress and the White House, you can count on Obama to start line-item vetoing whatever he wants, claiming that Congress gave him the authority to do so with this FAA sequester variance.
You NEVER give a bully what he wants, NEVER. He'll just take your offer, and punch you out anyway.
The GOP are my Maroons of the Month for this idiocy. They stood their ground on gun control, then decided it was okay to grab their ankles on a budget issue.
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