The Handler
by digby
This post at Swampland about Boehner handing the reins to the hapless Cantor is fascinating, but unconvincing. She claims that when Cantor walked off the talks, Boehner stepped in and negotiated the Grand Bargain. Cantor balked, making Boehner throw the hot potato back in his hands.
Isn’t it more likely that Cantor is the ambassador to the Tea Party, the guy who walked out, who balked at any tax hikes of any kind, who stood up to Boehner and Obama — and who then goes to them with the deal,says that he fought like hell to the end and this is something they can vote for?
One of the things that sells any deal to stakeholders is the belief that their negotiators did everything in their power to get what they wanted. If Cantor is the one who has the trust of the right flank in this one it stands to reason he’d be the one holding out at the end.
Remember, Cantor has been the freshman handler on the debt ceiling since January.
*I should note that the other way to do this is to tell the stakeholders that they will be responsible for the end of the world/letting people die/destroying their leadership if they don’t agree. Republicans laugh at such threats but it works well with Democrats.
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