[Lost Highway]

$1 Billion? Sigh. We’re doomed.

[Average Al]

$1 billion would hardly cover the travel perks for
our “esteemed” Congressmen and Senators.

[Tennessean4Bush]

We are not doomed. Boehner's staff responded well to the feedback from the base and the CBO. They are rewriting as we speak. Let's withold final judgement including despair until they get done revising. Boehner is fully aware his speakership is on the line here, but he has to be perceived as trying to be a problem solver to not just his base but also to the middle.

He absolutely must cut something significant in 2012 budget. Every easy top line item is a political landline. So, he needs to cut around the edges in hundreds of sub line items, if not thousands, in order to protect himself and the pubs politically. I think it is the wrong approach, but is an approach. Let's see how they do now.