The Tea Party folds. "Prior to the shutdown, it wasn't clear whether Bachmann et al were irrational (that is, so zealously attached to their ideological goals that they ignored conventional political incentives, like widespread public disapproval), or delusional (meaning they were perfectly capable of responding to political incentives in theory; they just assumed the masses supported them). The shutdown demonstrated that the Tea Partiers are, for the most part, delusional rather than irrational: They can be forced to reconsider a particular tactic if you persuade them it's politically catastrophic. It just requires an epic level of public anger to break through their epistemically-stunted consciousness." Noam Scheiber in The New Republic.
SARGENT: Extortion by debt ceiling is now dead. "The crucial point about this outcome, should it happen, is that it will be the direct result of the decision by Dems -- in the last two debt limit fights -- to refuse to negotiate with Republicans. That was a major course correction on Obama's part in which he learned in office from failure. After getting badly burned in the 2011 debt limit showdown -- which left us saddled with the austerity that continues to hold back the recovery -- Obama recognized what many of his supporters were pleading with him for years to recognize: There was no way to enter into a conventional negotiation with House Republicans." Greg Sargent in The Washington Post.
Painting the roses red...
... and discovering that the "paint" was coming from their own jugular.
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