Let's think this through for a minute. We all know the Dems just caved, and caved big time on the CRomnibus bill. Gutting provisions from the already watered-down Dodd Frank finacial reforms? Virtually no funding increases for Democratic priorities? Higher limits on political contributions? Defunding an initiative that passed with 70% approval in DC?
Everybody's so angry about this cave. But really, what choice did Democrats have? Really? Let's say Senator Elizabeth Warren decided to filibuster at every stage possible, and got some backup from colleagues and gummed up the works on the bill. Government shutdown, right?
What would the GOP leaders say in response to that? Fine, if you Dems don't help pass the CRomnibus, we will blame the Dems for the shutdown every single day in a unified voice until the newly elected GOP-controlled Congress takes their seats in January. And then we will reopen the government, take credit for it, and blame the Dems all over again. And we won't need to negotiate one iota with Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid to do what we want.
I can practically hear Mitch McConnell saying it....
So here's the deal we're offering. Let's get this deadline out of the way, and you're going to have to take a hit on several key issues that we want. In exchange for us not pummelling you and your party for shutting down the government.
What would the GOP do with such a strong negotiating hand? They would keep adding more and more of their pet priorities and poison pills to the bill until the Dems and President really squawked, and then they would pass it with the slimmest sliver of Dems in safe districts that they needed.
Warren and anyone like her that wanted to stop this would know the reality of the situation just as well. The only thing a filibuster would gain them is getting the party blamed for the shutdown by a much more effective GOP communications messaging onslaught.
What option did they have? Obama is the only one who had any leverage with the veto pen, so he's probably the one who got to define the line in the sand on the cave. Why else would Nancy Pelosi not even bothering whipping against the bill she spoke out against? Why else would Dems vote for it to assure it passed, but switch their vote against it when it became clear it had enough votes?
Just saying. Not excusing. Given the current cast of characters holding office, I wouldn't expect anything such as taking this to the people and using the bully pulpit. And after November, I don't think the people were much in the mood for the pulpit again anyway.
Well, that's one theory at least. What's your theory for the cave?