Will the Boehner Bill Pass, and What Happens if it Does?

Never before have I seen a party employ a strategy of doing nothing while the opposition debates itself. That's basically what's going on right now with Republicans arguing among themselves (and basically negotiating the fine point of the debt ceiling bill with themselves) while Democrats sit on their hands and watch. Harry Reid says he has a plan, but even members of his own party admit they haven't seen it. There's no bill - absolutely nothing for the Senate to vote on. And yet Harry blathers on about how he's ready to kill anything the House sends him.

A NY Times pollster has some thoughts:

Nate Silver wonders if the Democrats are winning a short-term game at the expense of the long: "Brilliant tactics by the Democrats. Not so sure about the strategy. Now you have an embarrassed Speaker whose help you very much need."

Yeah, Harry Reid spends 48 hours insisting with great glee that he'll kill Boehner's eponymous proposal, and right after he does so, he's going to say to Boehner, "Hey, go whip for my proposal so that I can say the Reid Plan saved America"?

I tweeted this yesterday:

Prediction: Boehner bill passes, goes to Senate where Reid fills it with Dem amendments and passes back to House where Dems vote yes.

Mark Levin was wondering on this radio show how Harry Reid would ever get his bill through the House if Boehner is having so much trouble with his. Easy. As I mentioned in the tweet, Harry takes Boehner's bill to use as the "Christmas tree" upon which he'll hang an assortment of Dem amendments designed to kill all the good things in the bill and replace them with Dem priorities, like killing the requirement for a second debt ceiling vote in the middle of next year's election.

Harry then gets his bill passed in the Senate with the help of RINO Republicans like John McCain (Dementor-AZ) and when the bill gets back to the House, all those Democrats who voted against it the first time suddenly see the light and combined with establishment Republicans who see more value in compromise than protecting America's financial future, the bill sails on to Obama who quickly signs it and claims credit for the whole thing.  Some suspect this whole deal has already been worked out between Boehner and Reid.

We'll see.  But if the Boehner bill is the best we can do, it's not good enough.  If it passes, the House should adjourn and leave no room for Harry Reid's shenanigans.  Pass it as is or you get nothing, and right now nothing is looking better than what's being offered.

UPDATE:  Just after I posted this word came that there's a new bill in the works that's likely to pass because it contains a Balanced Budget Amendment.  It may pass the House, but it won't go anywhere after that.  Democrats will never agree to balance the budget - that takes away too much of their spending power and buying votes is expensive.