The indomitable Charles Krauthammer laid it all out a few weeks ago as to how the GOP should respond: by doing nothing. The debt ceiling was raised a year-and-a-half ago without Republicans getting the desired spending cuts in return. Hence, the deal for sequestration (an idea which originated from the White House). Then with the "fiscal cliff" looming on January 1, the Republicans had no leverage since as the expiring Bush tax cuts would have resulted in increased taxes on the middle class. So the GOP alternatively agreed to hike tax rates on just the "wealthy" to avoid dinging the middle class (whose taxes were already raised due the expiring Payroll tax holiday) but, again, got no corresponding cuts out of the deal.
While $1.2 trillion in spending cuts spread out over 10 years is barely a start, it's more than we can hope for under an administration that labors under the delusion that "the private sector is fine" and that a bloated public sector is the only road to true prosperity.
So, do House Republicans have the intestinal fortitude to enact a maneuver similar to what Krauthammer suggests? While I'm ripe for a surprise, House Speaker John Boehner and Co. hardly have a track record for standing firm. And if indeed the House Republicans cave once more, it has already been suggested that Boehner will not survive as House Speaker.
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