SUPPORT THE BOEHNER PLAN
It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. Republicans in the House should pass the Speaker’s plan. It meets the essential criterion Boehner laid out at the start of the debt debate: That the debt limit increase be less than the spending cuts. While conservatives are right to push for their cut cap and balance plan, there is no chance that it will pass the Senate and it is foolish to squander the chance for truly big savings while waiting for the impossible.
The fact that Boehner’s plan doesn’t carry Obama through the election without his having to come back and beg for more borrowing all over again is an asset not a detriment. The President’s ratings have been dropping ever since the debt fight started. He looks weak and irrelevant. The process is not good for him and it would be great to force him to go through it again before the election.
In the narrow match-up of the President vs. the House Republicans, poll show that Obama has persuaded the independent and swing voters that his approach of some tax increases and some spending cuts is the way to go. By 53-35, in my poll, they would rather see this combination than an all spending cut approach. The fact that Reid has agreed to a spending cut only plan is truly a gift and Republicans should accept it thankfully. His willingness to concede the point shows how the battle is hurting everybody in Washington and he is right to want to bring it to an end.
If Republicans can get out of town with more in spending cuts than in additional debt authority, it’s a good deal and we should take it.
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