Trading one hostage for another

By Greg Sargent, WashPost, Updated: August 14, 2013

Various reports are telling us that House Republicans are mulling a new anti-Obamacare strategy: Rather than push for a government shutdown to force the defunding of Obamacare, they will use the coming debt limit fight to force the administration to delay implementation of the law.

Meanwhile, back here on Planet Earth, Obama and Congressional Democrats continue going about their day jobs.

House GOP aides confide to the Washington Examiner’s Conn Carroll and National Review’s Robert Costa that they are less and less inclined towards a shutdown fight, and are looking towards the debt limit as their point of leverage over the Affordable Care Act. As Costa puts it:

Sources tell me the House GOP will probably avoid using a shutdown as leverage and instead use the debt limit and sequester fights as areas for potential legislative trades. Negotiations over increasing the debt limit have frequently been used to wring concessions out of the administration, so there may be movement in that direction: Delay Obamacare in exchange for an increased debt limit.

(More here.)