A CBO analysis of the spending cut compromise Democrats and Republicans reached last week that may have avoided a government shutdown has turned into a public relations nightmare for House Speaker John Boehner.
As advertised, when the House and Senate pass the spending bill this afternoon, domestic discretionary appropriations will fall $38 billion from levels set at the beginning of the year. But because some of the cuts will be realized over years, and because some of the savings are culled from left-over money in existing accounts, the bill will only reduce direct spending by about $350 million.
Oops. Seems like Boehner et al got punked by the Democrats. The budget bill passed earlier today but only with the help of some Democrats. I think it isn't wise to misunderestimate Obama at this point. A variety of recent polls has shown that the Republicans might be keeping their base relatively happy but they are not winning many friends outside their base.
Even more encouraging is polling from some of the states that are dealing with the insanity of newly minted GOP governors. They key states are Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, all critical swing states in a Presidential election. In each case polls say the the current Governor show at least a 10 point swing against the GOP if the election were held today. All have approval ratings that are tanking to well below 50% in just the first few months of taking office. That is going to be a major problem for the GOP in 2012.
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