In what is probably a big break for progressives and anyone who wants to protect the Big 3, Boehner will no longer negotiate with Obama one on one and will instead only do things through regular order(i.e. through committees):
During both 2011 and 2012, the Speaker spent weeks shuttling between the Capitol and the White House for meetings with the president in the hopes of striking a grand bargain on the deficit.
Those efforts ended in failure, leaving Boehner feeling burned by Obama and, at times, isolated within his conference.
In closed-door meetings since leaving the “fiscal cliff” talks two weeks ago, lawmakers and aides say the Speaker has indicated he is abandoning that approach for good and will return fully to the normal legislative process in 2013 — seeking to pass bills through the House that can then be adopted, amended or reconciled by the Senate.
"He is recommitting himself and the House to what we've done, which is working through regular order and letting the House work its will,” an aide to the Speaker told The Hill.
http://thehill.com/...
This does 2 things:
a)It forces the Republicans to put their cuts to SS, Medicare, and Medicaid on the table an allows us to know what to target and how to do it
b)It allows there to be time to build backlash if/when the cuts to the Big 3 are proposed.
Having the time to know whats being done in the name of a "grand bargain" is HUGE. What was always deadly about the Boehner-Obama talks was we would never have time to fight back. They would come up with a deal and BAMM it would need to be voted on.
If they follow through on this and we respond with the proper force and organization, think of what the GOP did to the ACA on "death panels" except on steroids. Now, it will be much tougher because democrats had zero beltway support for healthcare and were left to defend this stuff on their own. Cutting benefits to seniors is not only mainstream in the beltway, its their litmus test for whether you're "serious" about the deficit. So, the backlash needs to override the echo-chamber that has been the biggest cheerleader for a grand-bargain, and has convinced Obama it would be good for his legacy.
But with this Boehner move, the playing field has changed maybe not to where we have the advantage, but definitely to where there is a game plan to draw that can get us a W. Lets remember, an open process ALWAYS favors the people who have the more popular position. Once again, our greatest allies are the nihilists in the house GOP caucus.