What? People who care might impact budget?

Nate Silver, the bright statistical analyst over at FiveThirtyEight, points out that left-leaning Democrats in the House may have more influence on the debt ceiling/budget cutting wars than it seems: Mr. Boehner may not be able to pass a bill without their help.

Any what might that look like?

The payroll tax cut could be a winner all-around. It’s something most liberal Democrats would like, particularly if it comes on the employee side rather than the employer side or if it is specifically tied to job creation. It is one of the few vehicles available to Mr. Obama to provide for economic stimulus. And, given that the accounting in any deal is likely to be fuzzy, it might give Republicans some cover to say they had voted for tax reform rather than a net tax increase.

Maybe it’s a way to bring a tiny grain of “the least, first” priority to negotiations that appear to bode ill for America’s poor and middle class.

It’s worth reading, here.

Related articles

• FiveThirtyEight: Republicans Take Risk in Debt-Ceiling Brinkmanship (fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com)
• FiveThirtyEight: The Ryan Budget Tipping Point (fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Behind the Republican Resistance to Compromise – NYTimes.com (wpvins.wordpress.com)