Will Republicans revolt over Boehner's budget deal?

The CBO says the last-minute compromise that prevented a government shutdown will only cut the deficit by a mere $352 million. Will that provoke a Tea Party rebellion?

House Speaker John Boehner's budget deal will hardly make a dent in the nation's deficit, says the Congressional Budget Office, which may cause some Republicans to vote against it.
(Image credit: Getty)

The House will vote today on the $38 billion budget deal agreed to late last Friday by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and President Obama. The agreement was the result of weeks of wrangling, and came mere hours before the government was due to shut down. But now, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has calculated that the deal will do almost nothing to repair the nation's long-term finances. Despite the touted $38 billion in cuts, total federal outlays will still rise by $177 billion, says the CBO, and the deficit will be reduced by a paltry $352 million. Tea Party-backed freshmen in Congress are already talking about voting against the deal, and presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty is amongst those demanding a leaner budget. Will Republicans turn on Boehner?

Yes. Freshman Republicans must vote against this disgrace: We already knew that the $38 billion in cuts was actually around $14 billion of real cuts and "a bunch of accounting gimmicks," says Erick Erickson at RedState. Now we hear that the deficit will only shrink by $352 million. Yes, "that's million with an 'm.'" Unbelievable. "If House Republicans vote for this bipartisan compromise, they should be driven into the street by the Tea Party movement and horsewhipped."

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