This isn't the kind of broken record of which you should be proud
With a funding for the federal government set to expire on March 18, the White House and Senate Democrats are making it clear they want to strike a deal with Republicans, even though that will mean substantial spending cuts. Before meetings between Senate Democrats and President Obama, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the meeting were:
...aimed at the purpose of finding the common ground that we need so that we can fund the government for the rest of the year, with substantial spending cuts.
And now today, Majority Leader Harry Reid is sending a similar message:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday he’s ready to compromise on spending after a GOP spending-cut bill won more votes in the Senate than the Democratic alternative.
“We accept the lessons of yesterday's vote,” Reid said in floor comments. “We know we’ll have to make a sacrifice to reach consensus, and we are willing to do that.”
These signals contradict Majority Whip Dick Durbin's tough statement on Sunday that Democrats had drawn a line on negotiations. (Or maybe he just forgot to mention that the line had been provisionally drawn using erasable ink.) It also suggests Charles Schumer's comments yesterday on the budget debate have fallen (or had already fallen) on deaf ears.
Presumably, Democrats will at least demand that the GOP strip its provisions that would repeal health care reform and block family planning funding, but will otherwise move much more closely to the GOP's spending cut number than anybody would have originally thought. Moreover, they will probably avoid having a fight over oil company subsidies or military spending. (Democrats generally don't like fights they can win.) Hopefully, they'll get some sort of guarantee on the debt-limit vote. Other than that, given that it seems like they aren't going to put up much of a fight, they might as well get it over with quickly.