How Washington Works

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Politico:

Trying to project strength, House Republicans risk sowing only more confusion now with a resolution reaffirming the GOP’s campaign pledge to roll back domestic spending to the 2008 appropriations levels set in the last year of the Bush administration.

The leadership candidly admits it wants only to manufacture a floor debate on spending cuts next Tuesday, just hours before President Barack Obama will come to the Capitol to deliver his State of the Union address. But the lack of specifics could work to Obama’s advantage, giving him a chance to set forward more concrete alternatives of his own that same evening.

At some point the GOP will need to stop manufacturing debate and start manufacturing real budget cuts. The House Republicans are looking like college students (or, um, journalists) who simply can’t tackle a tough project until deadline panic kicks in.

P.S. And speaking of candor, how about this great quote from John Boehner?

“You’re asking me?” Boehner laughed, when asked by POLITICO how he thought the cuts would be first implemented in a stopgap spending bill next month. “I know how to delegate.”

[Cartoon by Clay Bennett]