The Tiny, Tiny Budget Deal | National Catholic Reporter

The Tiny, Tiny Budget Deal | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: The leadership wants the deal, so it will get done - period.  As you stated, getting rid of the sequester helps Republican interests more than Democratic interests, so having a bipartisan committee do this is not shock.  Extended UI will get done under another bill, as will the debt limit extension.

This budget "crisis" - or more accurately circus - came about due to the unchallenged bravado by Republicans who stated that the Senate had not passed a budget in X number of months.  This is entirely untrue, as the Budget Control Act functions as a budget for 302 allocation purposes, although the price was the sequester.  Now that we have precident for undoing the sequester it likely will never come again.

As for the history of bipartisanship leading to balanced budgets in the 90s, that only occurred because Gingrich allowed himself to be outvoted by the Democrats and moderate Republicans - which basically ignored his fiscal priorities for his entire speakership.  THAT is why we have the Hastert rule.  It was a natural evolution of parties which became ideologically homogenous.  Of course, that homogeneity may be the doom of the GOP - especially if Pope Francis pulls the bishops out of their pro-life Amen corner.