It's not impossible to imagine that GOP Sens. Lee, Rubio and Cruz have been so busy devising villainous methods of the federal government's destruction that they never had time to learn how that government works. Mike Lee, for instance, may be one of his party's crown jewels of duncedom--conference committees are secretive cabals of skulduggery and betrayal which should be avoided at all costs, he has warned the citizenry--but surely his Capitol Hill staff is aware that "even if the federal government shuts down, Obamacare can still continue pretty much apace," and has advised Boss Lee accordingly.
In brief, his radical team effort to defund Obamacare through a government shutdown is not only "silly" and the "dumbest idea" some of his Senate colleagues have ever heard of, it's simply unworkable. By now, Lee and his friends surely know that.
So why persist, other than for propaganda value? Perhaps merely to embarrass the bejesus out of Mitch McConnell, or better yet, sabotage his reelection labors. "Among those supporting Lee’s plan is Matt Bevin, the Republican leader’s recently launched primary challenger," reports Chris Cillizza. And "McConnell is not a signatory on the letter Lee circulated to win support for his plan."
For the Senate minority leader, chronic obstruction is one thing, but acute stupidity is another. And yet he may be forced to sign on to the latter nevertheless--which could expose McConnell not only to Democratic ridicule in his general election campaign, but to charges of colossal failure in his primary. For while it's true that shutting down the government won't--can't--accomplish Obamacare's defunding, Kentucky's tea-party base isn't likely to uncomplainingly accept such a reality.
To the Senate's tea party gang, Minority Leader McConnell has always been a suspicious wheeler-dealer and closet traitor, ready to sell out the moronically honorable purity of principle the tea partiers so jealously guard. No matter how often he proves himself otherwise, McConnell will never be embraced as a true and faithful "made" guy--and the Senate tea partiers' "defunding" strategy just may be their way of whacking him.
Or maybe we can go with Occam's Razor.
Contrary to the hyperventilation of his critics on the left during the first six months of his second term, maybe we are watching the the implementation of a sound political strategy using well-conceived tactics. Obama and his staff has correctly identified the key group on the right to wedge from the rest.
Yesterday's deal offer was designed to appeal to the true masters of the GOP, the large corporations. Obama offered them hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate tax savings if they will bring "home" a one or two trillion dollars of cash from off-shore accounts - and let Obama use the one-time tax windfall to pay for his jobs programs (which by the way also benefits them).
In reference to this post, the people who count in the GOP have already very publicly and repeatedly declared the ideas of government shutdown debt default dead on arrival. Obama set out to force a civil war in the GOP, but the corporate wing will settle for trillions of dollars and a silent coup.
The corporations will place the trillions in cash on their balance sheet and gradually over a few years hand them out as profits/dividends to shareholders. Wall Street tends to value stock prices at 15/20 times earnings. So, an extra trillion in profit equates to $15-20 trillion in market value. Bonuses for everyone and send a billion or two to our lobbyists in D.C.
God help anyone, including a Tea Party candidate, who gets in the way of this deal.
Well played, Mr. President. Well played.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | July 31, 2013 at 08:55 AM
A curious game. The only way to win is not to play. If you must play, tell giant WOPPERS.
Posted by: Peter G | July 31, 2013 at 10:22 AM
There has been a rather vocal minority in the Democratic party that has actually expressed admiration for the "take no prisoners" style of the teabagger wing of the Republican party. They've often expressed fantasies that if Democrats just acted more like the tea-baggers then maybe they would actually be able to bring about the liberal wet-dream (true confession: I once found the idea appealing, but ultimately rejected it.)
In the GOP of today we see example after example of just what that kind of approach actually produces.
Posted by: Chris Andersen | July 31, 2013 at 11:05 AM