Monday, July 25, 2011
Brinkmanship
I think Ezra Klein has the measure of things when he writes the Republicans have won.
If you take the Republicans' goals as avoiding a deal in which they have to vote for tax increases and denying Obama a political victory, it looks like they have succeeded. That success has come with costs -- they've done themselves political damage, are risking a crisis that could do the economy tremendous harm, and have left the Bush tax cuts unresolved, which means they might end up watching taxes rise much higher than if they'd taken Obama's offer -- but it's still been a success.
The question is, what happens if they don't stop pushing?
Essentially, the question is, do the Republicans realize they've won? My guess is "no" as they're being driven by the teatarded faction of the party, and no one wants to risk being primaried, since well know that if there is one thing a congresscritter doesn't like, its being a not-congresscritter.
If you take the Republicans' goals as avoiding a deal in which they have to vote for tax increases and denying Obama a political victory, it looks like they have succeeded. That success has come with costs -- they've done themselves political damage, are risking a crisis that could do the economy tremendous harm, and have left the Bush tax cuts unresolved, which means they might end up watching taxes rise much higher than if they'd taken Obama's offer -- but it's still been a success.
The question is, what happens if they don't stop pushing?
Essentially, the question is, do the Republicans realize they've won? My guess is "no" as they're being driven by the teatarded faction of the party, and no one wants to risk being primaried, since well know that if there is one thing a congresscritter doesn't like, its being a not-congresscritter.
