The Republicans apparently realized that they would get the blame for shutting down the government over Planned Parenthood, so they agreed to a deal with President Obama and the Democratic leadership to keep the federal government funded for one more week. In a very one-sided deal, the Democrats agreed to $38 Billion in spending cuts in exchange for Republican concessions on abortion and the EPA. Republicans had sought, not just to defund Planned Parenthood, but also to prohibit DC from spending its tax dollars on helping poor women obtain abortions, and take away all federal money from domestic and international family planning organizations. These provisions were pushed hard by the freshmen Tea Party members who seem to have made abortion their number one issue, in sharp contrast to the American people. In recent New York Times/CBS News polls, fewer than 1 of Americans cited abortion as the most important problem facing this country. We'll see what happens next week.
