Afternoon Must Read: Sahil Kapur: How Tea Party Absolutism Cost The GOP A Huge Win On Entitlements

Sahil Kapur: How Tea Party Absolutism Cost The GOP A Huge Win On Entitlements: “Back in the summer of 2011, Republicans had it within their grasp.

A dejected President Barack Obama placed the crown jewels of liberalism on the chopping block, offering Republicans hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits. House Speaker John Boehner wanted to seal the so-called grand bargain, and was willing to reciprocate with the $800 billion in new tax revenues that the president sought in return. Democratic leaders were grudgingly willing to support Obama on… a lopsided deal for conservatives. But the Ohio Republican, facing a tea party mutiny… walk[ed] away….

And so the deal was dead…. Republicans had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to capture their Great White Whale if they just acquiesced to $800 billion in taxes. It turns out they were forced to soak up $650 billion in taxes anyway in the end-of-2012 fiscal cliff deal. Only they got nothing in return on entitlements. As of this week, Obama has rescinded his proposals to chop Medicare and Social Security benefits. The political landscape has changed, and the dream is over.