Honestly, I think that Reid has spent way too much time being too accommodating to Republicans. He’s given them repeated opportunities to support phony withdrawal bills.
I don’t know why he is now saying that the negociations are off. This is without warning.
One wonders why the abrupt change in position:
Some possibilities:
- He doies not want any phony solution to get tied up in the Democratic Presidential Primaries (Translation, he doesn’t want to put Biden and Clinton in a bad place).
- Some Democrats have come to him and announced their intent to filibuster any spending measure that is not definitive.
- He has gotten definitive word on an attack on Iran, and he’s trying to stop it.
- He’s sick to death of Mitch “Got thrown out of the army after 12 days in 1967, nothing gay here” McConnel, and he’s seen his poll numbers, and he wants to prevent any half measures that might benefit him.
- He realizes that half measures mean nothing, that they will save no lives, but that they will neutralize a majro Democratic party advantage, and he does not want to stop the Republicans from stepping on their own dicks (Cheney, that is).
- That he realizes that the Republicans will break if he keeps up the pressure.
My guess is the last one.