Look, I think now is the time to cut losses, bank the permanent extension of key tax cuts and the few spending cuts that are preserved in the budget deal, and then completely revamp strategy going forward (with two months to get act together). In short, past this dog’s breakfast of a bill and move on.

But if the House insists on amending the bill as a show of strength, here’s what it should do: Add a single amendment. Just one. It should eliminate the medical device tax in ObamaCare. Dare the Senate to reject that, and dare the President to veto a deal it has been trumpeting just because it wants to put taxes on pacemakers and insulin pumps. Politically, this also shifts the focus of the debate onto ObamaCare, which helps conservatives going forward.