Shutdown Countdown, Part 14

Republicans aren't going to shut the government down on Friday.  The wall street titans that own them will not allow them to do so.  The only question is what form the last minute deal will take.  The GOP has a plan on the table for a one week measure that will cost $12 billion in cuts.  Expect it to happen.

Brian Beutler:

The purpose is simple. If negotiations over a six-month spending package don't yield an agreement in the next day or two, the Congress will be armed with the proper protocols for operating during shutdown. But the House of Representatives will also pass a politically tough temporary funding package -- with cuts too deep for many Democrats to accept -- and leave the question of a shutdown in their hand. If the Senate can pass it, and the President signs it, it buys congressional leaders and the White House another week to hash out a longer plan -- but at the cost of steep, steep cuts. On an annualized basis, it would amount to well over half a trillion dollars.

Both the White House and the Senate Democrats have indicated that their patience with short term measures has run out. Indeed, Republicans have publicly insisted they oppose further stopgaps, suggesting this is a strong-arm negotiating tactic. If they stick to their guns and let this measure fail, House Republicans will lay the shutdown at their feet. Democratic leaders have yet to respond to this development.

Why should Republicans shut down the government when all they have to do is make a "give us this or else" demand that the Democrats agree to, every time?