And with just a few hours before America defaults on its debts, the GOP throws in the towel -- finally deciding not to damage the global economy in pursuit of petty partisan goals. Senate leaders announce a deal: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-leader-announces-bipartisan-budget-deal-162109391--finance.html It re-opens the government through Jan. 15 and raises the debt-ceiling through Feb. 7. In exchange the GOP gets -- nothing. As it should be. John Boehner has promised to expedite the measure, by bringing the Senate agreement to the House floor before the Senate votes on it, then passing it to the Senate as a "message". http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/328803-boehner-to-allow-vote-on-senate-deal http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/15/john-boehner-harry-reid_n_4103938.html Boehner gives up trying to placate his crazy conservative caucus, and will instead preserve America's credit rating by relying on Democratic votes for majority passage of the Senate agreement. The crazies are still crazy. Rep. Tom McClintock gives an unhinged speech saying that raising the debt-ceiling will cause a constitutional crisis: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Govern...itutional-crisis-if-GOP-caves-on-debt-ceiling House Republicans berate the National Parks director for closing parks during the GOP-forced shutdown: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewi...ks-director-for-shutdown-as-deal-is-announced Erick Erickson demands primary challenges for anyone who wasn't willing to let America default on its debt: http://www.redstate.com/2013/10/16/bridge-burning-and-bridge-building/ The one remaining obstacle could be Ted Cruz, who could hold up final passage of the Senate deal for 30 hours -- long enough to force us into technical default. But while Ted took the opportunity to grandstand against Senate leaders, he said he wouldn't hold up the vote: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cruz-blasts-senate-but-vows-not-to-delay-vote-on-deal So it looks like the bill will pass in time to avert default. There are two remaining tasks: Counting the damage, and looking ahead to what happens in Jan./Feb. when we are at this same point again. As far as counting the damage, it's been a disaster on the GOP side, with the crisis costing them the support of independents and a growing number of fellow Republicans: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/10/shutdown-hurts-gop-senate-chances.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...how-the-gop-is-now-losing-their-faithful.html Congress' approval ratings have tanked: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html Obama's job approval is largely unchanged: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html Obamacare has actually gotten *more* popular during the crisis: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/obama_and_democrats_health_care_plan-1130.html Even Ted Cruz is getting hammered, with the Houston Chronicle regretting its endorsement of him: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/houston-chronicle-expresses-regrets-for-endorsing-cruz As far as what happens a few months from now, I suspect the answer will be "nothing". Having allowed freshman firebrands to push the party into a fight it couldn't win (and which seriously damaged the Republican brand), the GOP will have no stomach for a rematch, especially as we get closer to the 2014 elections. The real fight in the next few months will be between the fringe Tea Party crazies and the GOP establishment, with the former continuing to do their best to find hostages for their petty partisan agenda, and the latter doing their best to sweep everything under the rug before the elections. And maybe, just maybe, a majority of Republicans will stop and think, "How can anyone who was willing to push the country into default be considered a patriot?" Which will be the first step toward putting the crazies back into their padded cells.
The Founding Fathers threw the country into the Revolutionary War. Hero Lincoln threw the country into the Civil War. Both of which had substantially more effect on the country than this "default" would have had. Congrats on the status quo being extended a few more months. I hope your union goon boss got a nice fat bonus from his croney Obama.
This will end the GOP as previously known. A jackleg like Boehner will never again be at the helm. DEFUND THE GOP
Maybe dishonest Leftists will stop and think "How could a president who threatens to refuse to fulfill his constitutional obligation to service the debt when he has the means to do so be considered a responsible person, much less a patriot?". Perhaps, now the lunatic Left can calm down and reel in their inner Stalinists for a few weeks before they go Full Retard the next time someone stands up to them and their neo-socialist economic misadventures that are keeping economic activity low and unemployment high. .
Liberal Democrats have political motivation to keep the economy weak. If only people realized that before they stepped into a voting booth. I guess the thought of getting free stuff outweighs that concern for far too many.
DEMOCRATS keep spending 1.4 trillion more annually than they take in to buy votes for themselves and to pacify the slaves they have created.. AMERICA, REMEMBER THIS IN NOVEMBER...who solves the problem and who kicks the can down the road AND ULTIMATELY, OVER A CLIFF!!!
Didn't they just agree to put off the fight for a few months? Aren't they supposed to negotiate now before they end up closing down the government in 2 months again? Maybe we could once again witness the president's unwillingness to negotiate again, and we can shutdown Washington for Christmas.
Things will have to get much much worse before people wake up. That's just the reality, and why I didn't support this move to block Obamacare. It needs to fail on its own. If it doesn't, there's nothing to stop the clueless masses from trying it again. It won't be like Medicaid and Social Security that had decades of relative solvency that convinced people it would work. This one is going to go down. I think that was the intention all along. The Democrats next move would be to say "well, we tried the market approach, time for single payer!" which was what they wanted all along. Obamacare was just a way of poisoning the well first. Even Harry Reid described it as a step toward a single payer.
OK - it's time for the victors to scavenge for ways to spend more money and help those foolish obstructionists forget all this silly debt nonsense. We'll let the feds spend their way to our prosperity! It must work. And besides, what's the big deal with these ridiculous debt limits anyway? Democrats should be allowed to spend whatever they want, without limit - and tax whoever they want without limit, too. That's because they're experts and only they really care about people - and they're real smart, too. Besides, we can always just keep borrowing and printing more and more to cover the costs. Why, anybody that knows anything about economics must have learned that by now. Progressives are very smart people. We are fortunate to have them. I'm sure glad they're running the country.
Have the Republicans or the Tea Party achieved anything throughout this whole exercise other than causing their poll numbers to tank?
The Left thinks if they celebrate it means the have won but you are correct. There is no deal as of yet. Besides didn't Obama/Reid say they would not negotiate....then they negotiated? hmmm.....sounds like they caved.
OMG this post is so funny. What is more funny is that I don't think liberals will find it one bit funny.
And, yet, Republicans think that defaulting is somehow going to SAVE the country. Let's drill another whole in the Titanic to let the water OUT. How silly can you get?
Yes, much better to destroy it slowly. I'd much rather fall off of a 100 foot cliff and kill myself than a 10ft. cliff and break my leg.
I guess Boehner would get criticized by the OP either way, right? So being criticized for not giving in to all the democrats demands and avoiding government shutdowns and defaults, he is now being criticized for being adult enough to giving in to all the democrats demands. And why were the democrats never to blame for demanding all or nothing creating a government shutdown and default crisis? And why does the president not get the blame for any of this? Is it not all his fault to begin with for not showing leadership early on to avert this crisis? What the democrats are going to end up doing is creating division among the republicans. They may think that this is a good thing, but in the end, they will create a situation that will cost Boehner his job. They may think this a victory as well until they find they have to deal with a speaker who is a Tea Party member.
