My must read of the day is "House GOP finalizes debt-limit playbook," in the Washington Post:
Several House members told The Washington Post on Monday that Republican leaders have narrowed their list of possible debt-limit strategies to two options: trading a one-year extension for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, or trading a one-year extension for repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s risk corridors. […]
Growing tension, however, is already apparent between the two strategies and their supporters. Some conservatives have said they would urge Boehner to link repeal of the risk corridors to any debt-limit demand, believing the federal health-care law must be part of the negotiations. Other Republicans have said tying the pipeline to the debt limit is a better play in an election year.
Tying the debt ceiling to the pipeline seems like an easier deal, or at least politically safe one.
The majority of Americans, indeed over two-thirds of them, and more than 50 percent of each political group, support the pipeline. And now, after the State Department’s study showing it would not really impact on climate change, this is a winnable fight.
Linking the Affordable Care Act to the debt ceiling, on the other hand, remains tricky. People are frustrated and increasingly disapprove of Obamacare, but Democrats are often successful at making GOP opposition to it seem like an irrational vendetta. The Republican Party already shut down the government ovr the law. It did not poll well.
It’s an election year; going with a sure thing might not be the worst idea. From a strategic standpoint, Democrats and the president seem to have the most to lose if a increase in the debt ceiling is tied to the pipeline.