The unconditional surrender of the “Republican” party is in full effect in Washington, D.C. – meaning an end to the so-called “government shutdown” and the raising of the nation’s debt ceiling.
That means it is now time to count the costs (something hardly any media outlets are bothering to do).
First … how much will taxpayers have to shell out to run the federal government from mid-October to mid-January (including that Panda-cam thingy)?
“If they maintain sequester levels, it would be $988 billion on an annualized basis,” one D.C. source tells us. “They could also choose to ignore sequester and take the annualized rate up to $1.056 trillion.”
Great …
Now … how much additional deficit spending are taxpayers going to be saddled with as a result of extending the debt ceiling through February?
According to another D.C. insider, a “plain vanilla debt ceiling” would probably involve $300 billion in immediate payments (to “refill depleted accounts”) and another $200 billion for “four months of regular debt.”
So half a trillion dollars …
Oh, and this time lawmakers aren’t even pretending they will make “future cuts” down the road like they did during the last debt deal.
That is one expensive white flag, people. Perhaps the most expensive white flag ever …
17 comments
Here come the war analogies.
Unconditional surrender?
When can we expect the war crime trials to begin? Maybe the 2014 elections can fill that role.
We can only hope. The memory of the public is short.
Soon. Very Soon.
Watch the Senate Cam (better than the Panda Cam?)
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Leaders-Reach-Agreement-to-End-Shutdown-Avoid-Default/10737442041-2/
President Stompy Feet wins again.
So all they did was decide to kick the can down the road and go through this all over in January/February.
We’re getting Gutfeld to ban that [kick the can down the road] overused phrase. We understand some diehard can-can dancers will ignore the ban.
We do not believe this is a surrender, if the surrender occurs. Oops.
‘The fact of the matter is that it wasn’t Ted Cruz or John Boehner who caused the latest Republican crushing defeat. It was President Obama steadfastly saying no.
The seeds of the most embarrassing Republican defeat in decades were planted when congressional Republicans and their corporate billionaires made the mistake of misjudging President Obama’s character.
Republicans have long been torn on Obama. Republicans alternate between paranoid visions of the president as some sort of socialist superman who is out to destroy America, and the idea that the president is a weak and inept bumbler. When the Koch brothers and congressional Republicans got together in January to plot their government shutdown strategy, they fatally made the decision that Obama could be bullied. This would turn out to be their greatest miscalculation.’
Politicus
Shit, they weren’t really that committed to start. Republicans pretend that are “small government”, but it’s a facade.
That’s why they “lost”, Republicans are frauds with no principles.
The Republicans are bunch of racist, worthless, MFing jackasses . . . and that is being kind.
Sucks for shitheads like you. Go Obama biatch!
Obama yo mama!
I agree with DL. Obama rocks. FITS sucks balls.
I, as a 62 year old aged white woman disagree with this.
What does the fact that your menopausal have to do with anything?
It’s not just about ObamaCare it’s about ideology
Recent divisions represent an escalation of tea party rhetoric and ambitions — not just an attempt to block Obamacare but an accusation that other conservatives who oppose their approach are supporting Obamacare. This is a strategic and tactical debate rather than a policy disagreement. The result is no less bitter. Both sides of the GOP want to get rid of an unpopular law. One side believes in building a legislative majority and electing a president to overturn it; the other believes in making preposterous demands and blaming their Republican colleagues when these demands aren’t fulfilled.
Tea Party Living in Ideological Crazy Town
Tea party ideology involves questioning the character of Republican leaders — presenting them as cowards, or co-opted by the establishment, or deceptive about their actual views. Republican leaders, in turn, naturally view the tea party caucus as politically irrational and irresponsible. Boehner has not bridged this gap. No one can reason with crazy. Tea party leaders inhabit an alternative political reality — sheltered in safe districts or states, applauded by conservative media, incited (or threatened) by advocacy groups, carried along by a deep current of anger and frustration among activists — they have no incentive to view defeat as defeat. Reality involves serious political risk. So every setback is interpreted as a need for greater purity and commitment.
Stunt Kochs
This conflict is certain to bleed into the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. The influence of a highly committed minority is exaggerated in small electorates. All the conditions for volatility will be present: voters embittered by recent defeats, a growing infrastructure of tea party institutions, a campaign finance system easily influenced by ideologically eccentric billionaires, acting through PACs and “Foundations,” and gerrymandered fluffers.