Why the Ryan deal is better than the alternative

Larry Kudlow:

Did Paul Ryan's budget deal save the Republican party from itself? I think it did.

Everyone acknowledges that Ryan-Murray is not a great deal. But the fact is, its passage will avoid a government shutdown. That's crucial.

If the GOP wants to retake the Senate and hold the House in 2014, the key issues must be the catastrophic pitfalls of Obamacare and better economic growth. A shutdown would be a distraction. It would take the heat off Obama and Obamacare, and all the Democrats who falsely promised that if you like your insurance and doctor, you can keep them.

Obama's "like it, keep it" promise was just named the lie of the year in the annual PolitiFact survey. Reminding voters of that lie is much more important than a government shutdown -- which would be blamed on Republicans anyway.

Millions more people will be uninsured over the next year than those who are newly insured. At the very least, hundreds of thousands of people who thought they enrolled in Obamacare via the website will find out they are not enrolled. Sick people will lose their doctors and probably their hospitals. Healthy younger people will, by and large, boycott Obamacare.

In economic terms, Obamacare taxes and regulations are holding back business investing and hiring. And I can add another 5,000 words on the flaws of this state-run health plan. But suffice it to say, those very flaws must be a key ingredient in a Republican takeover next November.
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In any negotiation your always have to consider what your best alternative to a negotiated agreement is, and another shutdown is not a good alternative.  While there are still plenty of things not to like about the deal, it is better to push those issues down the road when the Republicans will have a chance to take back the Senate and make a difference in the budget fight.