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Even the most rabid House Republicans couldn’t have been surprised when the Senate killed the GOP debt-ceiling plan, just two hours after it passed the lower chamber. It’s not as if the measure, crafted by Speaker Boehner (R) to satisfy the demands of the far-right, was a serious attempt at policymaking.
The proposal needed to be bipartisan, but was written in secret to be as partisan as possible. The proposal needed to be sensible, but would instead force us to go through all of this again in six months and would mandate approval of a constitutional amendment in both chambers before House Republicans would allow the United States to pay its bills.
Think about that for a moment. Elected GOP lawmakers have come to believe extortion is a legitimate tool to get Congress to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. When I talk about Republicans shredding the American political process, this is what I’m talking about.
With the countdown to the deadline now being counted in hours — in case you’re wondering, it’s 88 hours away — attention will turn to the Senate. What will the House do in the meantime? It could wait for a compromise bill and lay the groundwork for its passage. It could also play a constructive role in the negotiating process.
Or it could do this.
House Republicans will bring up Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s debt limit package Saturday just to vote it down, an attempt to show that the legislation is dead in the lower chamber, according to GOP leadership sources.
I’d call this childish spite, but that’d be insulting to children. Reid’s plan is still being shaped through negotiations, and is being changed all the time to help garner additional GOP support. But House Republicans have decided to bring up Reid’s original proposal — which is an overly-generous offer to the GOP anyway — for no other reason than to deliver a chest-thumping message.
And that message would appear to be, “We’re comfortable being big jerks.”
Last week, House Republicans threw a pointless tantrum over “Cut, Cap, and Balance.” This week, House Republicans threw another pointless tantrum over a watered down version of “Cut, Cap, and Balance.” And today, House Republicans throw yet another pointless tantrum, just to thumb their noses at a Senate Democratic plan that gives Republicans effectively everything they want.
These clowns really are an embarrassment to themselves, the Congress, and the country.
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DAY on July 30, 2011 8:08 AM:
Some of us learned about how we amend the Constitution in fifth grade. Apparently the Tea Party Republicans were playing hookey that year.
Amending the Big C by Tuesday is like building the Great Wall of China- by Tuesday.
Oh, wait! They traded their brains for a handful of magic beans. Now, to just climb up the beanstalk, and grab the Golden Goose. . .
SadOldVet on July 30, 2011 8:13 AM:
If they were only clowns and an embarrassment!
Add the senate repukes going into filibuster mode to stop any legislation from being passed in the senate. We are in exceedingly uncharted and perilous territory where long term damage may have already been incurred.
Where are the sane republicans, if they any longer exist? Do the repukes really expect The Capitulator-in-Chief and the dumbocrap party to surrender to their demands for the destruction of the social safety net?
c u n d gulag on July 30, 2011 8:17 AM:
The "R" next to their names stands for "RADICAL!"
They are a combination of radical nihilists and radical anarchists.
Throw in some old time religion, and Fascism.
Eventually, there will be violence in this country - because nothing short of it will satisfy them. Especially if they don't get their way.
Be prepared.
'Nuff said!
Danp on July 30, 2011 8:18 AM:
In a sane world, Agent Orange and his Pekoe Posse would only rank second on the list of villains here. More blame goes to MSM which is treating this as if the process is based on legitimate disagreements.
N.Wells on July 30, 2011 8:21 AM:
Has either the Senate or the House ever tried to make a trigger like this to coerce a desired voting result from the other one?
As exlibra noted on the other thread, Senate R's voting with the Dems against the Boehner plan included DeMint, Graham, Lee, Hatch, Paul, and Vitter, making an extremely odd collection of bedfellows. For Paul, the bill was probably not far enough to the right. Were the others simply jealous of senate prerogatives?
Snow, Collins, Brown, & Murkowski were evidently happy enough to sign onto the sinking Boehner ship.
FRP on July 30, 2011 8:22 AM:
The factionalism which motors the tiniest fraction of American interests bears an interesting chorus in the same which embedded a Tyrant and permanent autocracy in Augustus's capital city .
At the time the slogan , that was popularly accepted , was a neat bit of ju jitsu on the part of the canny Augustus , Freedom from the tyranny of the oligarchs .
I suppose Cantor is willing to accept the role , but it is difficult to see him maintaining his health .
Who ever would rid me of this damned factionalism would have my august thanks , if not fealty . Reagan is still playing Antony , and the list never ends for right wing Cicero's .
Is Obama ushering in the second age of comeuppance to the arrogant Oligarchies of the right ?
Stay tuned as we may need nimble feet as well as strong constitutions to manage the ripe fecundity of the right , and the Lucas Spielberg-ian Saturday Matinée timing for the new boss to rid , extract , and otherwise humble the country of its free wheeling looters and idiots .
berttheclock on July 30, 2011 8:31 AM:
There are those who believe we need a third party. Perhaps, they really mean, we need a new fourth party. Our current system is bogged down by a third party which is the Tea Party. Several of their libertarian members have forced their way into the present RepuGnant Party and scared RepuG leaders into siding with them. This leaves a very small group of Republicans with no power. So, in essence, we do have Three Parties. At least in the Democratic Party, the Blue Dogs and the Progressives can, at times, work together. But, the Republican Party has been split into the Tea Party and the few remainders of the old GOP who have been taken hostage. This new Three Party system can never work. As long as this new form of coalition government is going to exist, why not try a Fourth Party and separate Progressives from the roll over so-called Democratic Party. Could it be any worse?
RepublicanPointOfView on July 30, 2011 8:32 AM:
@ Danp...
This process is based upon legitimacy disagreements.
We republicans know that only a white male republican can be a legitimate president and the democrats disagree.
If we had a legitimate white male republican president, deficit spending would not be a great concern and we would be focused on creating jobs. Our disagreements then would be over how big a tax cut to give to the billionaire job creators.
Besides that, the current environment provides the best opportunity we have had since FDR to eliminate the social safety nets. The only mistake that the republican leadership has made was that of not accepting Obama's offer to put social security and medicare on the negotiating table. It is unfortunate that our white male republican leadership could not have exerted itself at that point. Once we had a major democrat agreeing that social security and medicare are entitlement programs and not insurance programs, we would have had the long term battle won.
SadOldVet on July 30, 2011 8:36 AM:
I call b.s. on berttheclock...
The teabaggers are not a 3rd party. They are the same reich wing of the repukes, only rebranded to disavow having any association with the failures of the Bush administration!
The corporately owned media will never allow a real 3rd party to come into existence and prosper.
FRP on July 30, 2011 8:37 AM:
Oh for a world whose herald the R Murdoch heir and its striding colossus Koch would brook no air that failed to impress that only the chosen go to heaven , or rule on earth by the gods will .
Howzat ?
TT on July 30, 2011 8:39 AM:
The Republican Party hates our country. Plain and simple. Their every action over the past 30 months reflects not just a willingness but a fervent desire to sabotage any attempt to rescue our country from the gravest crisis it has experienced in 80 years. As such, it is, frankly, no longer a legitimate governing entity. President Obama should act accordingly and invoke the 14th Amendment. To paraphrase Brad DeLong: Invoke Section 4 of the 14th Amendment. Do it. Do it now.
delNorte on July 30, 2011 8:47 AM:
I'd call this childish spite, of the rich spoiled kid variety - they simply can't believe that mama and papa won't give them what they want, so now they're going piss on the carpet and smear poo on the walls, because, well, they feel entitled to their spite. Maybe entitlement reform needs to start with these assholes.
Danp on July 30, 2011 8:52 AM:
I'm with SadOldVet at 8:36. They're just two voices in the same choir.
SadOldVet on July 30, 2011 8:53 AM:
@ TT...
What would happen if Obama invoked the 14th Amendment?
- Would the repukes appeal to the Supremes? Probably!
- Would the Scalia, Alito & Supremes side with the Teabaggers over the interests of their corporate owners? Probably not!
- Would the congressional repukes vote articles of impeachment of Obama? Probably!
- Would Obama be convicted in the Senate? No way in hell!
While Obama invoking the 14th Amendment may be the only way to avoid the destruction of the U.S. and world economies, I still find it unlikely that The Obomination would suddenly find the pair of balls that he has been missing. A more likely scenario is The Capitulator-In-Chief doing a 100% surrender of the future of the social safety net.
bob h on July 30, 2011 8:58 AM:
Do the Republicans even know what their endgame is? It seems they are in it now just for venom and spite, and jerking people around.
Rrk1 on July 30, 2011 9:10 AM:
There are many of us hoping our balless president finds his gonads before it's too late. Wherever he hid them there they remain.
Shortly we will be in uncharted territory surrounded by rocks. The ship of state is in peril.
bdop4 on July 30, 2011 9:11 AM:
This can't be playing well in Peoria, can it?
I wouldn't know. I've never been there.
With my luck, it's full of teabaggers.
2012 is going to validate my greatest hopes or fears concerning my fellow Americans (or Merkans, as the case may be).
It's starting to look like the most important election in my lifetime.
jcricket on July 30, 2011 9:12 AM:
bob h, the right wingers end game is to destroy the establishment. Drown it in a bathtub, so to speak.
What they are doing is not merely a 'different political viewpoint'. Acting to destroy our government from the inside is sedition.
Deliberately wanting to destroy the economy is sedition.
bob h, their endgame is sedition.
I don't know why it is not being called out for what it is.
DisgustedWithItAll on July 30, 2011 9:14 AM:
The only hope for the country - ONLY hope - is for the House Tea-diots to vote down whatever comes back from the Senate - it will be GHASTLY - and Obama to suddenly discover he has testicles and take the 14th.
Balkin from Princeton has something good to say about Obama invoking the 14th:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/28/balkin.obama.options/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Marge on July 30, 2011 9:18 AM:
Can any body really see that these republicans, in the House AND in the Senate are working for the benefit of this country and it's people, other than the rich and corporations. How any one could have voted for these people is beyond me. Such a small group of nuts, given legitimancy by the press, and backed by the power players, like Dick Armey, Rove and the Koch Bros and trying to make people think they are grass roots. THEY ONLY OBJECTIVE IS TO OVER TAKE THIS FREE GOVERNMENT AND TURN IT INTO A DICATORSHIP TO SERVICE CORPORATIONS.
berttheclock on July 30, 2011 9:21 AM:
@SadOldVet, I witnessed the change from the Republican Party of Lincoln to the Nathan Bedford Forrest RepuGnant Party, following the '64 election. That new RepuG Party was, largely, despicable. But, this Tea Party is a real party made up of old line Perot libertarians who go beyond the Republican and RepuG mantra of Cut Taxes, to one of No Taxes. They are the same crowd one sees on the back roads of America, where they put up endless signs wanting to split their various counties off into new "Free" entities, where there will no taxes. Look at the difference between this group and Cheney. Cheney believed in running deficits. He convinced Shrub that they had no worry from huge deficits. Bush and Cheney were the worst of thieves and plundered our future. I have to laugh whenever, such as a Heritage Foundation type on MSNBC yesterday, talks about the debt in 2007 only being a low figure. Of course, he didn't mention the huge Bush/Cheney debt which was off the books, but, passed on to Obama. Once, Obama brought it into the open and put it on the books for all to see, it "Suddenly, became his debt" and treated by the Far Right as though he had spent it all by his self.
This newly formed Tea Party may not be as evil as the Bush/Cheney crowd, but, they are, extremely, crazy and very stupid. Let them drop the charade that they are the RepuGnant Party. The Tea Party is akin to the anarchists of the late 1800s. They believe in No Government.
Sapient on July 30, 2011 9:26 AM:
DisgustedWithItAll, you shouldn't invoke Balkin to complain about Obama's cowardice, since Balkin says that Obama is already invoking the 14th Amendment. Balkan's other posts on this issue are well work reading. (He links to some of them in the article.)
Diane Rodriguez on July 30, 2011 9:26 AM:
As I am drinking my morning coffee ( it's 6:20 in CA)I'm pondering the great mysteries of life. What kind of mileage does that TP stretch clown car get?
Kathryn on July 30, 2011 9:39 AM:
The shocked face of Sen. Kent Conrad on MSNBC last night said it all. Conrad is not exactly an ardent liberal and he looked as if he'd been hit in the gut with a 2 by 4 when announcing that McConnell would not negotiate with Harry Reid. TT comments are correct, the GOP hates our country, it's struggling citizens and mostly the President of the United States and the media refuses to acknowledge it. Will the president negotiate with McConnell? If he does, I want it on C-Span for all to see, mano e mano.
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Mr Serf Man on July 30, 2011 9:41 AM:
I have had enough .
I think I'm ready for a benevolent dictatorship.
Danny on July 30, 2011 9:47 AM:
Think about that for a moment. Elected GOP lawmakers have come to believe extortion is a legitimate tool to get Congress to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. When I talk about Republicans shredding the American political process, this is what I’m talking about.
This, exactly this.
ComradeAnon on July 30, 2011 10:42 AM:
In my world, the second the banana republicans opened their mouth, Obama would have said that what they are talking about is unconstitutional and he would invoke Section 4 Amendment 14. My world sure is nice.
Oh for a Democrat in the Whitehouse.
TCinLA on July 30, 2011 10:44 AM:
And that message would appear to be, “We’re comfortable being big jerks.”
No, it's "We're comfortable being public morons."
June on July 30, 2011 10:53 AM:
You know what, SadOldVet, what is it with your constant drone that Obama lacks courage. I can't remember ever reading a post of yours that doesn't include a line about how Obama doesn't have "balls." Bullshit. Yes, you're entitled to your opinion, but in the face of the many crises that Obama has faced down and resolved, the many historic bills he has championed through to completion, and the fact he put his presidency on the line to go after and get bin Laden, I find that constant assertion of yours ridiculous and disgusting. Even if he had done none of those things, one does not get to be the first African-American president by one's own merit without having a great deal of courage. That's my opinion about your opinion.
Anjinsan on July 30, 2011 12:07 PM:
Didn't the house promise to make legislation public 48 hours before a vote?
berttheclock on July 30, 2011 12:51 PM:
@Danp, no, they have become the choir.
The newly formed Tea Party was smart enough to recognize the huge cost and time to attain ballot recognition for a new party across the land. They, also, knew RepuG primaries were easily controlled by zealots. So, they opted to co-opt the primaries and capture the established party. Now, they have the old line RepuGs running scared, such as Hatch seeing what had happened to Bennett. Might as well drop the old name of the GOP, the elephant, call it what is has become, The Tea Party, with the party symbol being one giant Rat.
Schtick on July 30, 2011 1:44 PM:
SadOldVet on July 30, 2011 8:13 AM:
The sane republicans, most of the few that were left anyway, have been forced to retire, lost in a primary to another republican, have had support pulled from their campaigns, and retired rather than be subjected to all the bullshit. It is something that became very obvious back in the early 90's with Newt and Hastert. You did not speak out or vote against another republican no matter what or you suffered one of those consequences.
And just for thought, why do these people spend millions, and that is millions in double digits, to get elected to a job that pays on average, $100,000 or so? The answer lies in where the millions comes from and that is why we have the dysfunction we do in politics.
crapcha....role woryin....yes, we all are.
nk007 on July 30, 2011 2:29 PM:
SadOldVet,
Your irrational hatred of PRESIDENT Obama, and all those ugly names you call him, makes you sound exactly like the teabaggers you are criticizing! President Obama warned the nation about not letting these people behind the drivers seat. But the "holier than thou progressives" who think the country is predominantly leftist, urged people not to vote because you hated Obama and wanted to punish him. In my book, we are in the situation we are in to day, in part because so many so called progressives were out throwing tantrums, urging people not to vote, because the President didn't do everything they wanted, and exactly the way they wanted him to do them. I see absolutely no difference when it comes to tactics between the teabaggers and the "holier than thou progressives."
EvilNYCliberal on July 30, 2011 8:53 PM:
This only ends one way. The radicals will demand to take over the government to restore order.
Passing bill after useless bill creates the delusion that only they are trying to fix the problem. Refusal to contemplate compromise creates the delusion that they are principled. If they are fooling the american public it is by accident. The real target of their lies is inward. They are deluding themselves into actions that they otherwise would never contemplate.
They WILL take those actions.