I'm busy working on another assignment so I haven't had the time to explore the Republican budget "compromise" in detail, but I'm a bit less sanguine than Eli on what this means for Democrats and their constituents. In fact, while I hate to portray the GOPers as more clever than they actually are, I can't help but wonder if this whole budget coup was cooked up in order to secure concessions that will have far greater impact in the longterm than the immediate consequences of this spending deal?

Yeah, sure, Republicans appear to have caved on higher education and basic K-12 funding, but only in return for provisions authorizing charter schools and defunding family planning. The "compromise" budget also eliminates Disability Lifeline, a program Republicans have been attempting to kill for years, while cementing austerity measures like lower debt limits, four-year budgeting, and the permanent repeal of the popular class size initiative.

Hardly the "Big Senate Democratic victory" Senator Ed Murray proclaimed.

So no, I'm not particularly heartened by this Republican proposal. These are exactly the tactics California Republicans used for years to gradually dismantle state services and undermine that state's public K-12 and university systems. Demand something outrageous, and then give a little back and call it a "compromise." It's kinda obvious.

So my advice to Olympia Dems is to hold firm and keep winging hardballs. You can't trust a blackmailer. Allow the Republicans to extort you into slipping things like charter schools into a supplemental budget today, and a few years from now you'll be facing a Faustian choice between so-called "right to work" and a total government shutdown.