Republican Speaker John Boehner had been remarkably consistent about whether the House would pass a so-called "clean" continuing resolution, or CR—a bill to pay for the federal government's ongoing operations that doesn't include a GOP poison pill to defund Obamacare. Every day,
he'd offer some version of "that's not going to happen."
But with the Republican shutdown of the federal government now in full effect, Boehner's stance seems to have cracked just the tiniest bit. In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Boehner was again asked about a clean CR. His response: "We are hoping that the Senate will take our offer to go to conference and let us resolve our differences."
That hope is in vain. Senate Democrats had already rejected the GOP's most recent attempt to force a conference with the House. Permitting a conference, as Laura Clawson explained, would send the message that Democrats are interested in compromising between a clean CR and the House's "dirty" version. They're not.
But the shift in Boehner's rhetoric is notable nonetheless. Even if a conference between the two chambers is a fantasy, he's dropped his hardball insistence that a House vote on a clean CR "won't happen." Democrats have not given an any ground in this tense standoff, but it appears that, however subtly, Boehner has. And other Republicans are more explicitly saying they're ready to give up, like Virginia Rep. Scott Rigell and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
For now, though, the Republican shutdown continues, while Boehner continues to squirm. And it'll only end when he finally tires of squirming and gives in to reality. Until then, this embarrassing episode in American governance rests squarely on the speaker and his party.