Politico might be a bit premature in its obituary of the catfood commission, but the story makes some critical points about the folly of believing negotiation with Republicans is feasible.
The story begins with the premise that the commission was doomed from the start, constructed to fail. But the statements included therein tell the story. First there's Democrat Bruce Reed, the DLCer and executive director as patsy:
Bruce Reed, the commission’s executive director, professes to be upbeat. “The members are still working very hard to get a substantial package,” he said recently. “I really believe we’ve got a chance.”
And then there's the Republicans on the panel.
“Given [Obama’s] record, it is hard to believe it was a sincere effort,” said commission member Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) in October. “I don’t know if that was an effort to sweep it under the carpet before a national election. It is kind of hard to take the whole effort seriously at this point,” he said.
The most critical part of the story--and the very real danger the commission poses, even if it's unlikely to reach agreement within the commission--is planted at the end.
In a breakfast with reporters before Thanksgiving, Simpson took a longer view, noting that it takes six to eight years to enact major legislation, and he dusted off his simile of a horse race: “First you get the horse out on the track,” he said. “Then the next year the saddle and the silks. Then next you get a jockey,” and eventually a grandstand full of spectators, cheering wildly at the finish.
[Former GAO head David] Walker believes that major progress can be made on a budget plan next year, even if the co-chairmen’s report doesn’t attract broad bipartisan support.
“Everything depends on the president,” he said. “He can lead, by incorporating some of these ideas in his budget. I think we’re going to know when we see that budget.”
Obama demonstrated today that he is in the thrall of those who have preached that the "massive deficits we inherited and the unsustainable fiscal course that we are on," so it seems likely that Walker will get what he's wishing for: a federal budget big on austerity.