Common ground

LATimes

"""The possibility of defense cuts — what budget insiders call a trigger mechanism — was intended to spur Republicans and Democrats to agree on a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Instead, Congress increasingly seems likely to scuttle the cuts even without a deficit deal.


"It feeds into the notion that everyone is having, but not saying, which is that the trigger is a complete phony thing," said Jim Kessler, a vice president at Third Way, the moderate Democratic think tank. "Congress has built up a reputation for avoiding any real decision."


To be sure, the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, otherwise known as the "super committee," has been working behind closed doors for two months trying to find common ground.


And the effort to undo the automatic cuts is at odds with the public stance of congressional leaders, including House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). The speaker orchestrated the summer debt accord with President Obama, and has pressed the committee to reach as big a deficit deal as possible.


The 12-member super committee — six Republicans and six Democrats — will hold a public hearing Wednesday as it works toward its Nov. 23 deadline to produce a bipartisan package. Indications are the committee has tentatively identified cuts but is short of the $1.5-trillion goal."""

Demopublicans agree at least on one thing: drones are good for bidness.