John Harwood: “Having failed to repeal Obamacare, President Trump and his party now plan to surrender their own achievement: budget caps Republicans once forced on President Barack Obama.”
“Neither their retreat nor the customary conservative protests surprise anyone. Republicans have backed away from those caps repeatedly in recent years because, when translated from numbers on a page to actual reductions in government services, they repel decision-makers of both parties.”
“But this latest concession tells the same story that Obamacare’s resilience does: of a 21st century GOP publicly-wedded to ideological commitments it lacks the political support to fulfill. Democratic leaders keep prevailing in budget negotiations by defending things that Americans want.”
