From The Give Em An Inch File
by digby
Here’s the latest on the government shutdown:
On Monday, the Obama administration finally entered the debate over a short-term continuing resolution, alerting lawmakers that while the administration appreciated a two-week measure that would include $4 billion in spending cuts, a month-long extension would be preferable.
[…]
And yet, a 30-day stopgap, which Senate Democrats have long argued is the ideal length of a short-term CR, remains skeptically regarded among House Republicans. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), speaking to reporters at a press conference at the Republican National Committee scoffed at the idea, though did not reject it outright.
[…]
The House is set to vote on the two-week CR and there is no indication that those plans have changed. Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met on Monday night to discuss switching to a 30-day variation, which would simply extend the $4 billion in cuts to $8 billion. By Tuesday morning, neither office was showing its hand, though a House GOP aide, privy to the talks, relayed that if Republicans were to agree to a longer stopgap, they would demand even more cuts in return.
I can’t tell you how shocking I find this. Who would have ever thought the Republicans would be good at playing chicken?
I have heard that one of the big Democratic ideas is to just keep issuing continuing resolutions up until the 2012 election. If this is going to be the way they do it, the Republicans must be thrilled. By then, they will have dismantled everything but faith based programs, the border patrol and the Pentagon.
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