Go for it.

Boehner wants to pass spending cuts with GOP alone — AP

Sometimes in politics and legislation, whether you win is less important than how you win.

That’s the dilemma facing House Speaker John Boehner as he tries to round up the votes to pass a fast-approaching spending compromise and avert a partial government shutdown by week’s end.

Boehner, R-Ohio, wants the overwhelming majority of those votes to come from his fellow Republicans, even if dozens of easily attainable Democratic votes could help carry the budget bill to victory.

The goal complicates Boehner’s task, and possibly could push the bill farther to the right. It motivates him to battle for the votes of conservative Republicans who are demanding deeper spending cuts, and greater changes to social issues such as abortion access, than the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Barack Obama say they can accept.

If Boehner can argue convincingly that it’s the only route to House passage, Democrats conceivably could yield on some points they might otherwise win. At the same time, however, Boehner is trying to persuade Republicans that some compromise is inevitable.

It didn’t matter if every House Democrat backed the bill, which would allow it to pass with a minority of Republicans. In essence, Democrats’ votes were irrelevant to Hastert. Boehner is taking a similar approach, at least publicly.

“Not very interested,” Boehner told reporters last week when asked about forming a coalition with Democrats to pass the legislation to keep the government operating.

Lawmakers and the White House are negotiating, but all sides agree the measure should cut more than $32 billion from current-year spending. Many Republicans want deeper cuts.

Boehner has told colleagues he wants at least 218 House Republicans to vote for the spending package. That’s the magic number for passing bills in the 435-member House.