Thanks, Greg, for your indispensable contribution--full of useful information, as always.


As far as "huge majorities" are concerned, what EBarnacle says is of course quite correct.

Remember what Will Rogers said about being a Democrat.


Problem is, that for the country at large that excuse for not passing any department's budget in the whole time the Democrats officially had the majority in both houses--anbd the presidency-- would be seen as just that:   a flimsy excuse.

The Republicans could--and would--have ridden that horse quite a distance.

Therefore they were in a stronger position last night than the Democrats.   And from the standpoint of the firebrands in the "tea party"   they got very little of what they wanted from this deal.   In the few past weeks I read in the free conservative rag you can get on the DC subway quite a few columns by "tea party" supporters urging the Republican leadership to let the government be shut down if they did not get at least $60 billion in cuts this fiscal year. In fact some "tea party" people campaigned on exactly that promise.

So there will be bitter disappointment by the "tea party" at the the result. And they will take it out on Boehner.    Just watch.