POLITICO: …Leading Republicans are betting — perhaps badly — that the $85 billion in sequester cuts set to take effect on Friday won’t tank markets and the public won’t immediately feel the impact.
And, for once, the GOP is buffeted by its unpopularity: House Republicans kept their majority with mid-teen approval ratings after two years of political warfare. They aren’t spooked that their numbers will move any lower.
So Boehner’s posture is a calculated risk. The speaker hopes Obama will be seen as constantly campaigning, exaggerating the sequester’s impact — and that eventually the president will be forced back to the bargaining table when the Republicans prove they won’t budge. It’s a message Boehner will take to the “CBS Evening News” on Tuesday, when he is interviewed by Scott Pelley… (more)
EDITOR: Perhaps the writer meant “buttressed” rather than “buffeted” above.
