Porcupine’s Sixth Law:

Politicians do not want to be effective, but to have the reputation of having fought, preferably dramatically, and purchased, vitally, at the lowest possible price in political capital.

The corollary to which is that they’re often delighted to have a publicly explainable reason why their noble intentions were foiled by those hacking oligarchical badgers on the other side, especially if they themselves didn’t personally believe in the value or wisdom of what the base demanded they fight for and were glad to have a way out of having to accomplish it.  It’s political flopping.