The G.O.P. Definition of ‘Negotiation’

By DAVID FIRESTONE, NYT

There were outbursts of disbelieving laughter from Democrats on Capitol Hill last night when the final demand from House Republicans arrived shortly before the midnight shutdown: a conference to negotiate their differences.

Of all the things Republicans could have asked, a conference was the most ludicrous, because they have never wanted a serious negotiation. In most cases, they have outright refused to bargain with Democrats, or have done so, as in 2011, only when economic disaster was imminent.

President Obama’s hopes for a grand bargain in 2011 quickly disintegrated when Speaker John Boehner left the table, unable to make any concession on taxes. The sequester was supposed to be a temporary solution to the Republican threat of default that year, one that would be undone when the “super-committee” — a kind of grand conference committee — came up with a better plan. But Republicans refused to compromise in that group, too, and the sequester continues.

Earlier this year, Mr. Obama tried to entice Republicans back to the table with a budget offer to reduce the cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients, precisely the kind of entitlement cut Republicans like to demand in front of the cameras. (Democrats hated the idea.) But almost immediately, Republicans began trashing the concept, saying it was a “shocking attack on seniors.” The House budget chairman, Paul Ryan, said there could be no grand bargain if Mr. Obama insisted on tax increases for the rich. Again, no negotiation.

(More here.)