Michael Tomasky at Newsweek's The Daily Beast says that House Republicans aren't "hostage takers" keeping the economy hostage, they're "political terrorists":
What they’re doing here is not hostage taking, the most commonly used metaphor in the media. It’s political terrorism. When hostage takers see that their demands are met, they release the hostage. But what makes anyone think today’s Republicans will ever release the hostage? No—if the Democrats agree to negotiate, the demands will never stop. Every pivot point on the legislative calendar will be an opportunity to make demands without precedent in our system. And they won’t care how much they sink in the polls, as long as Obama sinks too.
Dana Milbank at The Washington Post:
Democrats howled about “extortion” and “hostage taking,” which Boehner seemed to confirm when he came to the floor and offered: “All the Senate has to do is say ‘yes,’ and the government is funded tomorrow.” It was the legislative equivalent of saying, “Give me the money and nobody gets hurt.” A threatened rebellion by the small band of House GOP moderates failed to materialize, and, just three hours before midnight, House Republicans sent their politically explosive device to the Senate, which disposed of it like the suspicious package it was.
Jay Bookman at The Atlanta Journal Constitution:
I still can't get my head around the idea that this is considered an acceptable means of doing the people's business. Even more bizarre, Republicans appear to believe that by threatening to harm the country to get their way on a partisan issue, they will be able to convince the American people that they have the judgment and maturity to be trusted with the reins of power. Color me surprised if that strategy works. The Des Moines Register:
High school civics textbooks define political tactics, such as logrolling, pork-barrel spending and the storied art of compromise. Nowhere is there any mention of blackmail as a legitimate legislative tactic. Joe Nocera at The New York Times:
[A]s Boehner well knows, many House Republicans do not want the government to shut down and would probably vote for the Senate’s clean bill if given half a chance. Their unwillingness to speak out against the extreme faction in their party is shameful. And it’s tragic that, at a time when the House desperately needs a strong speaker, it has John Boehner instead. Heidi Przybyla & Julie Hirschfeld Davis at Bloomberg:
The Republican war with President Barack Obama over funding the government and the new health-care law will play out in the coming days and months. The conflict now exposed within the party may shape its future for years. Carrie Wofford at U.S. News:
We are witnessing a political shift. The tea party seems to be taking over the GOP. Its small numbers belie its increasingly outsized clout. Despite having only 49 caucus members in the House, the tea party has so threatened House Speaker John Boehner that he not only puts forward bills he knows full well are only gimmicks, but also now seems willing to risk a government shutdown and default crisis while doing so. Lydia DePillis at The Washington Post:
These are the conditions brought upon us by a small core of Republicans who can't let go of their opposition to a law their colleagues passed three years ago. And yet, not long ago, many of those same Republicans were declaring that uncertainty is the economy's biggest threat. |
