The Tea Party Way, Governing By Extortion

[finnbow]

Here's an insightful and well written piece on today's Tea Party - GOP dynamics. It's not clear to me that Boehner likes the 'Baggers any more than Obama does. He just happens to be the adult in charge of herding those cats. It'll be interesting to see how long the Tea Party tail is allowed to wag the GOP dog.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...can-civil-war/

[Rajoo]

From reading the WaPo blog, I wonder as to why members of the Tea Party are considered conservative. They sound more like political psychopaths.

[icenine]

I think the episode where the Tea Party Congressman is insulting the Park Ranger at the WWII monument sums up everything about the Tea Party, which in a nutshell is that there is no fear of accountability. To whit:

1. In the past no politician, left or right, Republican or Democrat, would publicly denigrate a citizen on camera. Just a dumb dumb thing to do. No one likes assholes period.

2. The fact that he could insult a Park Ranger for basically doing what he actually voted to make her do (i.e. shut down the government and the national parks) shows the contempt he has for other workers of the government. Never mind she is a public employee like himself....he voted to gut her pay but of course kept his. He is ok with it though since he is from a gerrymandered district and he does not have to worry about re-election because the Koch brothers has him in their back pocket.

3. He has an American flag in his pocket but his contemptible toward the concept of American government. He could care less about the country...as long as he votes Tea Party and does not get primaried he is down with destroying the economy and putting people out of work.

He would have been like a party hack in Stalinist Russia...as long as he is on Uncle Joe's good side he does not care or have to worry about anything but his own political career.
That is the Tea Party...as long as they toe the line for the Kock Brothers super pac and get re-elected screw everyone else.

Name one positive thing the Tea Party congress has accomplished. One important piece of legislation.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by finnbow

Here's an insightful and well written piece on today's Tea Party - GOP dynamics. It's not clear to me that Boehner likes the 'Baggers any more than Obama does. He just happens to be the adult in charge of herding those cats. It'll be interesting to see how long the Tea Party tail is allowed to wag the GOP dog.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...can-civil-war/

Just read where Boehner is threatening to suspend the Hastert rule. And if I'm correct, the house as voted to pay the furloughed government workers and put them back to work. I think it's a done deal, but don't quote me on that, as the disinformation mills have opened the floodgates.

I still see all of this as just more political posturing, and will be surprised if the budget isn't funded. We have no choice at this point, and I would imagine that even the majority of the Tea Party caucus realizes this.

Actually, the Tea Party can be used as an asset by the Pubbies. They can let them do their dirty work, and then lock 'em back in their cage once it's done.

Kind of like a junkyard dog.

Chas

[CarlV]

Originally Posted by icenine

Name one positive thing the Tea Party congress has accomplished. One important piece of legislation.

IIRC, they have not done anything at all, let alone anything important.


Carl

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Charles

Actually, the Tea Party can be used as an asset by the Pubbies. They can let them do their dirty work, and then lock 'em back in their cage once it's done.

Kind of like a junkyard dog.

Chas

That was the original idea, but the dog now has rabies.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Charles

Just read where Boehner is threatening to suspend the Hastert rule. And if I'm correct, the house as voted to pay the furloughed government workers and put them back to work. I think it's a done deal, but don't quote me on that, as the disinformation mills have opened the floodgates.

I still see all of this as just more political posturing, and will be surprised if the budget isn't funded. We have no choice at this point, and I would imagine that even the majority of the Tea Party caucus realizes this.

Actually, the Tea Party can be used as an asset by the Pubbies. They can let them do their dirty work, and then lock 'em back in their cage once it's done.

Kind of like a junkyard dog.

Chas

I just read an article about the furlough, Pentagon employees returning to work and back pay for all. I'm thinking it's real. At the same time the president is still advocating ACA. So, I'm guessing the budget is passed and it's on to the debt ceiling?

Dave

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Charles

Actually, the Tea Party can be used as an asset by the Pubbies. They can let them do their dirty work, and then lock 'em back in their cage once it's done.

Kind of like a junkyard dog.

Chas

Originally Posted by finnbow

Here's an insightful and well written piece on today's Tea Party - GOP dynamics. It's not clear to me that Boehner likes the 'Baggers any more than Obama does. He just happens to be the adult in charge of herding those cats. It'll be interesting to see how long the Tea Party tail is allowed to wag the GOP dog.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...can-civil-war/

Originally Posted by finnbow

That was the original idea, but the dog now has rabies.

I'm thinking the dog was nuts to begin with, now it's rabid and when it's "master" decides it has gone too far, it will get put down.

Dave

[bobabode]

Hi Chas- Here how I think it works for what it's worth. The Hastert rule, which is an unwritten rule that says unless a majority of the 'pubbies in the House indicate that they are in favor of passing something, the speaker will not bring it to the floor for a vote. Feel free to correct me if I've got it wrong anyone.

Boehner has broken it in the past and it almost cost him the speakership. Some folks are reading the tea leaves to mean that Boehner will break it again to raise the debt limit rather than let the Tea Party wreck the economic structure of the planet by defaulting on our existing debt interest payments.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

I just read an article about the furlough, Pentagon employees returning to work and back pay for all. I'm thinking it's real. At the same time the president is still advocating ACA. So, I'm guessing the budget is passed and it's on to the debt ceiling?

Dave

I do not think so Dave. Pentagon civilian workers have been called back with pay on some technicality. Congress only voted to assure back pay for government employees. The budget impasse and govt. shut down still persists.