Who's The Big Winner?
by digby
Please, please spare me the gloating about how Boehner is the big loser in this budget stand off because the "Tea Party" freshmen all defected and he had to count on
Democrats to pass the bill. It's pleasant spin, and Dems are enjoying using it, but it isn't a likely scenario. Johnathan Bernstein spells it out:
Yes, 59 Republicans deserted him on the final vote, meaning that Democratic votes were used to put the measure over the top. However, it’s not at all clear that he didn’t have the votes, if needed; after all, with a final vote of 260-167, Boehner could have lost over forty more votes and still managed to pass the thing. Boehner may very well have released many of the 59 dissenters, allowing them to vote No in the knowledge that he could get the bill passed without them. We’ll never know how many of them would have been available if push came to shove — so their defections don’t mean that Boehner is losing control.
Pelosi used to get crap from the right about how she couldn't keep her Democrats in line when she was often cutting them loose to save themselves. Unfortunately for us, it was usually to let them vote with the Republicans, but the concept is the same.
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