Boehner wants to pass spending cuts with GOP alone

WASHINGTON – Sometimes in politics and legislation, whether you win is
less important than how you win.

That's the dilemma facing House Speaker John Boehner as he tries to
round up the votes to pass a fast-approaching spending compromise and
avert a partial government shutdown by week's end.

Boehner, R-Ohio, wants the overwhelming majority of those votes to
come from his fellow Republicans, even if dozens of easily attainable
Democratic votes could help carry the budget bill to victory.

The goal complicates Boehner's task, and possibly could push the bill
farther to the right. It motivates him to battle for the votes of
conservative Republicans who are demanding deeper spending cuts, and
greater changes to social issues such as abortion access, than the
Democratic-controlled Senate and President Barack Obama say they can
accept.

If Boehner can argue convincingly that it's the only route to House
passage, Democrats conceivably could yield on some points they might
otherwise win. At the same time, however, Boehner is trying to
persuade Republicans that some compromise is inevitable.

"We control one-half of one-third of the government," he said last
week. "We can't impose our will on the Senate."

Eventually, both parties must decide where to draw the line in
negotiations and whether to risk a government shutdown that could
trigger unpredictable political fallout.

Some congressional veterans say Boehner is taking the only realistic
approach for a speaker who wants to stay in power. If he cuts a deal
that relies heavily on Democrats' votes, he could alienate scores of
House Republicans, who might in turn start seeking a new leader.

Members of both parties say Boehner probably could assemble 218 votes
easily, if he didn't care who cast them.

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