Tea party, Bachmann attack federal budget compromise

Leaders on Capitol Hill have given indications that they are close to reaching a compromise that would prevent a shutdown of the federal government. The speculative compromise would include $33 billion in cuts, well below the $61 billion the Republicans in the House have proposed. Rep. Michele Bachmann criticized the deal saying that the Democrats want the government to shut down and that they would not compromise. Bachmann said she and the tea party would not compromise either.

The Blue Dog Democrats have been a target of negotiations with Republicans seeking to woo them to their side as a compromise takes shape.

Rep. Collin Peterson of the Blue Dogs said the talks of compromise weren’t “all that effective” in an interview with Talking Points Memo. He cited House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who Peterson said “talked down to” conservative and moderate Democrats.

And on the other side of the aisle, talks looked ready to break down on Thursday as House Speaker John Boehner balked at the $33 billion figure after pressure from tea party members. To make matters worse, Bachmann made several media appearances on behalf of the Tea Party Caucus to demand that any compromise include the defunding of health care reform, a provision that President Obama and the Democratic Senate are likely to reject.

In an interview with conservative website NewsMax, Bachmann said that Democrats want a government shutdown and would not compromise.

“That is that the Democrats’ political plan is to shut down government because they think they will benefit from doing that,” said Bachmann. “Now we know that if the government shuts down it’s not the tea party’s fault, it’s the Democrats’ fault, because they’ve made a decision they’re not interested in compromise. They just want to see the government shut down.”

“They aren’t interested in a practical solution, and I think people all across the United States are tired of political games.”

But while she criticized Democrats for allegedly being unwilling to compromise, she stated she wouldn’t budge either.

“What I’m going along with is to be able to have defunding of ‘Obamacare.’ I cannot vote for a budget bill unless it has the defunding of ‘Obamacare.’ We’re talking about well over $1 trillion over a number of years and this will break the bank in the United States.”

Bachmann repeated that at a tea party rally in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Here’s Bachmann speaking with CNS News:

On Wednesday, the Twin Cities Tea Party Patriots sent out an action alert demanding that House Speaker John Boehner ask for $100 billion in cuts.

Stand Up To Insure We Get Cuts. Call your Congressmen and Senators. 33 Billion is not enough. As of this writing the Drudge Report is reporting a deal between the House and Senate for 33 Billion in Cuts. What happened to the 100 Billion in cuts!!!!!!! We need to burn the phone lines in Washington. Please Call on 3/31 and Melt The Phone Lines… Call!!! Call!!! Call!!! Call!!! Melt the Lines!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips took Boehner to task for even suggesting a $33 billion cut.

Charlie Sheen is now making more sense than John Boehner. Early on, the GOP promised to cut $100 billion from the budget. The Republicans in the House quickly went squishy on that and had to be cajoled into cutting only $61 billion. Now, John Boehner is saying when the Senate comes back and they start negotiating…the $61 billion figure is not safe.

Rick Unger of Forbes quipped, “Charlie Sheen may be making more sense than Speaker Boehner, but unlike Sheen, the Speaker is clearly not winning.”

Bachmann has already started her push for adding a provision to defund health care reform to the mix. On Wednesday, she introduced a bill to defund the $105 billion she insists was “hidden” in the Affordable Care Act.