Is GOP Overplaying Shutdown Card?
Threatening to shut down the government over spending is certainly an effective, if drastic, measure. In principle, its good--even admirable--that Speaker Boehner and House Republicans are refusing to play the Democrats game and accept a budget deal with modest rather than drastic cuts even though the issue of principle (real spending reductions) has already been won.
That said, there's a real risk that a shutdown now--over non-mandatory spending--will play the GOP's highest card too early. The country's real fiscal problems don't stem from the 15 percent of the budget devoted to domestic discretionary spending but, rather, from entitlement and defense spending. The best bet: declare victory on domestic discretionary spending now and save the shutdown card for the real battle over entitlements.