KUDLOW NAILS IT: RYAN DEAL IS BAD BUDGETING, BUT GREAT POLITICS

Did Paul Ryan’s budget deal save the Republican party from itself? I think it did. Everyone acknowledges that Ryan-Murray is not a great deal. The fact is, its passage will avoid a government shutdown. That’s crucial. 

If the GOP wants to retake the Senate and hold the House in 2014, the key issues must be the catastrophic pitfalls of Obamacare and better economic growth. A shutdown would be a distraction. It would take the heat off President Obama, off Obamacare, and off all the Democrats who falsely promised that if you like your insurance and doctor, you can keep them. Mr. Obama’s “like it, keep it” promise was just named the lie of the year in the annual PolitiFact survey. Reminding voters of that lie is much more important than a government shutdown — which would be blamed on Republicans anyway. ...  

... It’s a political solution, not a fiscal one. 

... for Republicans, the Obamacare disaster erased the political downside of the shutdown. Paul Ryan understands this. And the really strong Ryan budget — which he put forth in recent years, and includes entitlement and pro-growth tax reform — would have a lot better chance if Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and then claimed the White House in 2016. A small watering down of budget caps seems like a small price to pay on the road to controlling Washington.

EXACTLY.

TO SAVE THE USA WE MUST RETAKE THE SENATE AND HOLD THE HOUSE.

ANYTHING WHICH MAKES THAT MORE LIKELY IS GOOD.

AND ANYTHING THAT MAKES THAT LESS LIKELY IS BAD.