Friday :: Jan 18, 2013
Backing Down
by Steve
It’s amazing what an 81% disapproval rating will do for the GOP congressional leadership.
Republicans in the House of Representatives backed away on Friday from a fiscal clash with President Barack Obama next month that could have risked a government default and chaos in financial markets, shifting to a new, less aggressive stance.
Top Republican leaders, meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia, said they were prepared to allow the U.S. government to borrow enough money to keep it fully operating for the next three months without demanding immediate spending cuts from Obama.
Instead, the Republicans, who control the House, will require as part of the legislation raising the debt ceiling that the Democratic-led Senate pass a budget plan by April 15.
Since the sequester happens at the end of February, and since the House GOP now wants to once again punt to the Senate, let's see how the GOP "strategy" plays out over the next several weeks.