House Speaker Paul Ryan is treading ground his predecessor failed on too many times to count: appeasing the nihilists in the House Republican caucus in promising the world (in the form of more punishment for the poors and the olds) while knowing there's no way in hell they'll actually get through the Senate or be signed by President Obama. John Boehner set himself up for failure on that time and time again, and now Ryan is doing the same thing, all in the hopes that he can somehow salvage a budget.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to win over conservatives, House Republicans are sweetening their budget proposal by putting several programs on the chopping block, including President Barack Obama's health care law and tax credits for children of immigrants living in the country illegally. […]
Still, it may not be enough. And if the party's broader budget plan sinks, the effort may fade.
The strategy behind the work is to increase support for the budget, a nonbinding measure that sets a more than $1.1 trillion overall cap next fiscal year for the operating budgets of federal agencies. Beyond the appropriations cap, the measure calls for sweeping spending cuts to benefit programs like Medicaid, the health care law, and food stamps.
All of this is being offered as “sidecar" spending cuts—not included in the broader budget outline that the maniacs are refusing to consider. It's a sweetener, trying to buy votes for the budget and everyone knows it. Including the maniacs, who will consider it just show votes. They have actually learned a thing or two about leadership promises.
But Ryan seemingly hasn't learned anything about trying to lead the maniacs. He seems to be operating under the same guiding principle that he used for his budgeting—that magic will make it all work.