Thursday, December 12, 2013

If the Ryan-Murray budget deal...

...passes as expected, it could mean that the fever in Washington may finally -- at long last -- be breaking. From an article in today's Times (my emphasis):

“We know that this budget agreement doesn’t come close to achieving what we want to achieve on our ultimate fiscal goals,” Mr. Ryan said Wednesday. “But again, if we can get a step in the right direction, we’re going to take that step, and that’s why we’re doing this.”

With Ms. Murray by his side to announce the deal on Tuesday, Mr. Ryan explained his thinking: “As a conservative, I deal with the situation as it exists. I deal with the way things are, not necessarily the way I want them to be. I’ve passed three budgets in a row that reflect my priorities and my principles and everything I wanted to accomplish. We’re in divided government. I realize I’m not going to get that.” 

"I deal with the way things are, not necessarily the way I want them to be."

That's a huge concession for Mr. Ryan to make and a departure from Republican thinking since at least 2009. It may also be a sign that the GOP is ready to return to responsible governing.

1 comment:

Ed Crotty said...

It may also be a sign that the GOP is ready to return to responsible governing.

The shutdown was bad for the GOP, and the sensible ones are on board, but the far right ( Heritage Action, etc ) is dead set against it. http://heritageaction.com/2013/12/top-policy-reasons-oppose-ryan-murray - it remains to be seen if the tail ( wacko base ) still wags the dog.