House Speaker John Boehner's ongoing reality is that, in order to overcome the extremists in his conference and avoid things like government shutdowns, he has to have Democratic votes. Which gives Democrats power, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is
telling them to use it.
In a closed Democratic whip meeting Thursday morning, the House minority leader warned Democrats not to rush to support the Republican efforts to fund the government until they see what’s in the bill.
"If we stay together, we have leverage," Pelosi said in the small session. She also told her colleagues that if the GOP goes "further to the right" to garner Republican support, Democrats will drop off.
"If you think it's a good idea to tell them, 'Oh, I'll be with you no matter what,' then you destroy our leverage," Pelosi said, according to sources in the room. "And if they have the votes, then it's a non-situation. If they have 218, if it isn't too brutal, the president will have to make a decision. But we don't have to vote against our interest if they have the 218. We're willing to compromise if they want to do that to one of us."
There is no reason in the world for Democrats to make Boehner's life one bit easier. He wants to avoid a showdown at all costs, make him work to get his own caucus together to do it. And if the government
does shut down, it's all on his head.