They've Got the Whole Wide World in their Hands, and they are Beginning to Sweat

John Boehner's Future Daughter
(Image Credit http://www.takemoto.com.br)

From the Cook Report:

"Somehow, though, Obama and congressional Democrats have to give Republicans, at least the ones who want to resolve this—and I would put Boehner in that category, regardless of what he has said in recent days—a place to land, some way to get to yes."

But how do the democrats give something to the GOP, without giving them something? How do you avoid setting a precedent for paying ransom money without paying any money? How can modifying the very law that the GOP was hopelessly gunning for this entire time be anything *but* paying ransom money?

McGregor mentions the often-referred to 'face saving' measure. But this is the whole crux of the problem; Republicans need more than just a window dressing to take home. The activist base threatening to primary these politicians want blood - actual blood. I think that they want to defeat, or more accurately politically destroy Obama even more than they want to remove Obamacare. You point out that Americans want Obamacare fixed. Of course they do. Now what part? What measure is significant enough to appease the horde of Tea Partiers? Contrary to popular belief, the ACA doesn't actually institute death panels. And as you certainly know most people like most of the things that are in Obamacare. Any fair estimation of the GOP's preference for a healthcare plan is that they don't have one; they will champion whichever weekly (and ever-increasingly laissez faire) idea the Heritage Foundation prints. And then when Obama says okay, the GOP will have to abandon it.

Because the Tea Party's priority isn't governing. They're often not very concerned with winning. They just want the other side to lose.

How do you negotiate with a kidnapper whose family is held hostage by fanatics?