@inthehandsPaul Cantrell Yup. They are looking for an exit strategy where they can minimally save face and claim some sort of "win" because they are obsessed with form over substance -- The important part of which is that they are looking for an exit.

That's pretty much it. They know they can't sustain how things are going, and they aren't getting anything out of trying. TACO. If you stand up to the bully, they eventually give up.