Steven SparkmanThis could be the end of government shutdowns threat at least until a new president is elected.
Thursday evening, the House passed the Ryan-Murray budget deal. That vote was seen as the main obstacle for the bill to be signed into law. It will now go to the Senate, which is expected to pass it. (Via C-SPAN)
The deal, put together by Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray, would be the first bipartisan budget passed in 15 years. (Via MSNBC)
Like most compromises, the bill has things both parties aren't too happy about. For conservatives, it's the increased spending, with the budget now reaching just over $1 trillion. For liberals, it's the end of benefits for the long-term unemployed. (Via FreedomWorks, Slate)
But publicly, Republicans are acting a bit more conflicted by the compromise than Democrats.
"The good news is, it takes off the table the threat of a government shutdown and all that bad stuff for maybe two years. The bad news is it does nothing basically to reduce the deficit, very little." (Via Fox Business)
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: "It would be mindless to actually reject a deal like this, which in fact, on the merits, isn't a bad one."
ANDREW NAPOLITANO: "This is an absolute fraud. They're afraid of reality." (Via Fox News)
The infighting culminated with House Speaker John Boehner openly attacking conservative groups for the second day in a row.
"They pushed us into this fight to defund Obamacare and to shut down the government. ... One of these groups stood up and said 'Well, we never really thought it would work.' Are you kidding me?" (Via Al Jazeera)
No wonder Democrats seemed happier to go along with the deal. As The New York Times puts it:
"Democratic leaders took heart in what they saw as a turning point in their battle with uncompromising conservatives and as a moment when a cooperative attitude might return in Washington."
The Senate is expected to vote on the budget next week.
