E.J. Dionne Jr.
3/7/2011

John Boehner has adopted Richard Nixon’s “madman strategy” in his approach to budget negotiations with Democrats in Congress and the executive branch. By proposing such a large and diverse group of budget cuts–ostensibly to placate the more vociferous members of his own party–Boehner places the onus on Democrats to compete among and between themselves for favored programs’ survival. By positing the threat of a government shutdown as a real possibility, Republicans rachet up the pressure on their Democratic counterparts to make real and costly concessions.

Dionne is a twice-weekly columnist for The Post, writing on national policy and politics.

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