Pass the Popcorn, people.
The Freedom Caucus is all fighty flighty again. NPR:
House Speaker Paul Ryan called on Republicans Wednesday to unify and stop fighting angrily among themselves as he tried steering his fractious party into an election year devoid of the heated showdowns between conservatives and pragmatists that transformed parts of 2015 into a GOP nightmare.
“We have to be straight with each other, and more importantly, we have to be straight with the American people,” Ryan, R-Wis., said at a Heritage Action for America policy meeting. “We can’t promise that we can repeal Obamacare when a guy with the last name Obama is president. All that does is set us up for failure and disappointment and recriminations.”
...It took many Democratic votes to pass last fall’s budget deal, but any GOP budget effort this spring has to be a Republican-only exercise since it will call for sharp spending cuts opposed by Democrats. The Freedom Caucus is balking at supporting any budget that endorses that year’s spending increases.
Failing to pass a budget could be a significant embarrassment for Ryan....
“We can’t fall into the progressives’ trap of acting like angry reactionaries,” Ryan said. “The left would love nothing more than for a fragmented conservative movement to stand in a circular firing squad, so the progressives can win by default.”
...Instead of falling into that trap, Ryan said, “Don’t take the bait. Don’t fight over tactics. And don’t impugn people’s motives.”
Dude! You're speaking at a Heritage Action meeting (heh) about a group of extremist over-gerrymandered nutjobs, who, by the way, get their news from Drudge because Fox News isn't conservative enough. Impugning motives? You're soaking in it! But nice try on offering them some sugar. Huffpo reports that "Ryan, trying to find a way to work with Freedom Caucus members, floated the idea of future entitlement savings to make up for ballooning future deficits."
Nevermind he said future deficits, as if past Republicans didn't charge two wars and a Medicare drug plan to the National Credit Card.
He said "future entitlement savings." Because magic!
