Democrats have a pretty good idea how to do it.  The very first lesson is to always make your first offer more than you want.  Healthy Wisconsin was meant to be that.  We pretty much all knew that it was a red herring, but it did make for plenty of good blog fodder.  Their hope all along, as Mr. Fraley told us right away, was to ask for the moon, and hope that it would at least get them in orbit:

State Senate Democrats today offered to drop their universal health care plan if Republicans accepted higher taxes on hospitals and cigarettes and a $175-million transfer from the Patients Compensation Fund.

Senate Democrats said the moves - including the $1.25-per-pack increase in the 77-cent tax on cigarettes, and a surtax on hospital revenues to attract more federal aid - are needed to pay future Medicaid bills and Gov. Jim Doyle's plan to ensure every child has access to health insurance.

So they dropped the biggest tax increase in history, and then said they'd be happy with some increases.  Shockingly, they abandoned their standard phrase book and didn't call this smaller increase a "decrease" in taxes.  The Republicans in the legislature have rejected this first "offer":

Assembly Republican leaders rejected a $1 billion package of tax increases and other funding programs that Senate Democrats said they need to drop their universal health care plan from the overdue state budget.

"I am providing you nothing in return," said Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem). He said Healthy Wisconsin, which would provide universal health care by 2009, should have never been added to the state budget by Democrats who control the Senate.

And now the real negotiations begin.  Unfortunately, I don't see how there is anyway we can get off without increasing taxes... yet again.  Just once I'd like to see a budget get passed without any increases.  Just once.  Fucking politicians.  I don't care if there is an R or a D next to their name.  It's all a show.  They all want the increases... they just want it to go to different places for different reasons.  It's just a matter of who's a better salesman.