At some point soon, the sane faction of the Republican House will have to flee from the right flank. Democrats can turn that into a budget and policy win.
It’s inevitable that a number of Republicans will have to retreat from their own shutdown stunt. As each day goes by, their attempts to spin it as a result of a negotiating stalemate or Democratic recalcitrance are losing credibility with all but the most credulous. There will come a point when a fraction of the Republican House members must break away from their right flank’s extremism, and Democrats can turn that break into something more than just the end of the stalemate. They can turn it into a win.
The Senate’s budget bill already reflects an enormous amount of concessions to those who would cut spending during a recession. Democrats should take that deal off the table and come back with one that eliminates some of those concessions. They should come back with a spending bill that better addresses the needs and investments that reflect Democratic policy goals. And they should say “take it or leave it.” Republicans wishing to distance themselves from the shutdown would have little choice.
Americans love a winner and hate a whiner. They love to see a brat get his comeuppance. They respond well to the narrative of, “If you’re going to be a jerk, then I’ll stop playing nice.”
In contrast, the current Democratic line that "we already gave them the number they asked for" conveys weakness and capitulation. It lends legitimacy to the Republican budget number, and by extension lends authority to Republicans.
If Democrats come back to this situation with a stronger position, the Republican leadership and right flank will be placed in the role of the whiner, the brat, the jerk. Because of their majority in the Senate, Democrats can then take leadership of the legislative process. They can also set public perception ahead of the 2014 election.
[Brief update -- U.S. stock indices fell through some important supports this morning, suggesting that bearish sentiment is increasing. This is nothing to celebrate, of course, but it puts more pressure on congress and the administration to resolve the shutdown.]