One of the weird ideas of 90s-era politics, and the people who came up during that time, is that there are all these nasty contentious issues that people disagree about and if only we can come to some compromise then we can put these issues behind us and never speak about them again. Also, too, tip and ronnie can go out for a drink and not argue.
But it doesn't work that way. People who want to destroy the safety net really want to destroy the safety net. People who want to ban abortion really want to ban abortion...and contraception! (Not all anti-choice people, but the movement people.) As long as Social Security exists, the Washington Post will be writing about the need for "entitlement reform." They. Will. Never. Stop.
Give them an inch, and they'll come for the next one, and the next one, and the next one.
And, yes, I get that a big part of the problem is that the compromisers actually support the supposed compromises on the merits, but no one should fool themselves into thinking that the latest Grand Bargain is the end. It's just the beginning.
