The Alantic - "Why This Is Not Just 'Washington Breakdown."

[TomCADem]

Here is a nice story that pushes against the typical main stream media meme of blaming both parties for failing to compromise and placing the blame squarely on crazies in the Republican party.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/09/why-this-is-not-just-washington-breakdown-in-3-graphs-and-1-story/280099/

In essence, the hard-line faction of the House GOP is demanding the following, as recent NYT, WSJ, and WaPo articles, apart from today's, have made clear:

EITHER the Administration must undo the main legislative accomplishment of the president's time in office, which he passed despite filibuster resistance four years ago and which the Supreme Court has since held constitutional;
OR ELSE all other business of the government will be halted, and the full faith and credit of the United States will be called into question, with unknown but likely bad world-financial consequences.

This is not what either John Boehner or Mitch McConnell says he stands for. I have no doubt that Obama could ultimately strike some compromise with even McConnell's filibuster-happy Senate Republicans and any kind of normal Republican majority in the House. In the end Democrats would complain that Obama had caved, Republicans would complain about Beltway insiderism, but some deal would result.

Yet enough of today's absolutist House members think in exactly these Either/Or terms that normal compromise is simply impossible. Compromise itself is as much their stated enemy as is Obamacare. If you're urging a search for "common ground," please tell me where you see any in this case. I argued recently that the closest parallels in our history were to the John C. Calhoun era before the Civil War. If you think that's unfair, please tell me another case in which a dissatisfied minority threatened to shut down the entire government, and if necessary renege on the national debt, unless a sitting President agrees to reverse his hardest-won policy accomplishment.

[PM Martin]

1. kick

[madashelltoo]

2. Can't "compromise" with people

Who can't bring themselves to even say the word "compromise".

[blkmusclmachine]

3. Uh oh. That's very unbipartisan of them.

[Cha]

4. Teabaggists are their own worst enemy.. of course, ,they'd be

nowhere if the US media weren't Chuck Todding them..



"MSNBC’s Chuck Todd Says It’s Not His Job To Challenge Republican Lies"

http://www.politicususa.com/2013/09/18/msnbcs-chuck-todd-job-challenge-republican-lies.html

[silvershadow]

5. They are slow to call it the fracturing of the Repubican party.

I have my popcorn ready.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

6. Tea Party People think they're covered by claiming how unpopular the ACA is.

And they do it not based on the polling numbers. They do so because FNC's and the Koch Brothers' non-stop misinformation about the ACA is pummeled into peoples' heads 24/7. They've been told repeatedly that "Obama is a liar" and not worth listening to. They don't listen to him. (pretty much the way I would rush for the 'mute' button when Bush showed up on the tv.)

We live in two distinctly different worlds. And they're much more aggressive than Liberal/Progressives. They also ignore everyone but themselves in all matters. We know this. Why doesn't Obama? I think he still believes the right will listen to him. They won't. They hate him. We suffered Bush. They hate Obama.

[blackspade]

7. I see no reason at all for Obama to even negotiate at this point.

He has compromised throughout this process.
The Republicans own this shit sandwich.

[TxDemChem]

8. Agreed.

For one thing, a one year delay on implementing the ACA for two months of government funding is a shitty deal. And second, he has been more than accommodating to these assholes already.

No negotiations!

[Sunlei]

9. good article!