Paul Ryan on pins and needles: How Obamacare could help kill his budget

[DonViejo]

Once upon a time, GOP could push his repeal-happy budget and not worry about it passing. Those days are gone now

BRIAN BEUTLER

Every spring for three years running, House Republicans have passed similar versions of the same budget, without ever arousing much doubt as to its viability within the GOP conference. Republican leaders have had to pull several key bills from the floor since 2011, but after a bit of wrangling the budget has always been a pretty sure thing.

That’s not the case this year.

Republicans unveiled the latest iteration of their budget on Tuesday. It’s not radically different from previous versions, but this time a cloud of uncertainty hangs over it. That’s not to say that it’s going to fail on the House floor or will be denied a vote. But this time party leaders are moving with haste to prevent the coalition that passed it just last year from falling apart.

To some extent, this is just a symptom of biennial election-year anxiety. Republicans in marginal districts don’t want to complicate things with a risky vote, particularly given that Congress has already set budget top lines for the coming fiscal year. Conservatives also won’t like it because it preserves the near-term spending agreement Paul Ryan struck with Senate Democrats late last year. But I don’t think that entirely explains the budget’s possible reversal of fortune.

more
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/02/paul_ryan_on_pins_and_needles_how_obamacare_could_help_kill_his_budget/