Few things provide such enjoyable political sport as watching the unhinged elements of the GOP base - i.e., pretty much the entire base at this point - begin to attack one another and their simpering prostitutes in the Congressional GOP. The debacle on John Boehner's "Plan B" has set off a fire storm of batshitery and internecine attacks that is nothing short of delicious to watch. Meanwhile, one can only hope that the American public comes to a realization that today's GOP is unfit to govern and that Republicans must be voted out of office until such time as the GOP regains sanity. Two pieces in Politico here and here look at the rants and accusations being tossed around. Here are highlights:
Liberal and conservative commentators alike took to Twitter and blogs to blast House Speaker John Boehner as a “failure” after his fiscal cliff legislation did not pass in his own party Thursday.
Boehner’s “Plan B” legislation would have raised tax rates on Americans making more than $1 million as part of a broader deal to avert the fiscal cliff. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republicans had earlier this week expressed confidence that the measure would pass the House of Representatives, but ultimately the bill failed to receive sufficient backing from the rest of the party.
The Ohio Republican took heat from some on the right, including from those who has opposed Plan B. “VICTORY for now. House goes home,” tweeted Erick Erickson of RedState.com after news broke of Plan B’s failure.
Hugh Hewitt, a conservative talk show host, slammed the speaker for keeping the negotiation process quiet. “Negotiating. In secret and losing in public is a bad combo. Seek input for positions first. Good argument for a new Speaker,” he tweeted.
The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin, a conservative writer, saved most of her fire for the GOP caucus that opposed the measure — but she still called Boehner’s effort a “stunning miscalculation.”
“It is a stunning miscalculation, one that allows the president and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to essentially write whatever bill they can get through the Senate and then watch House Republicans either cave (to a deal that will certainly be worse) or effectively raise taxes for the entire country,” she lamented.
Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), all stripped of prized committee assignments earlier this month because of perceived sins against the party, did a three-amigos end zone dance as GOP leaders struggled and failed to get the votes for a tax-cut bill designed to empower Speaker John Boehner in negotiating the so-called fiscal cliff.
But Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), a conservative and a member of the Steering Committee, said the real reason was an “a-hole factor.” Another member of the Steering Committee, seeking to distinguish between these lawmakers and others who might be difficult to deal with, called them the “most egregious a-holes” in the Republican Conference. The meaning: These guys didn’t just vote no — they went extra miles in working against the interests of the GOP.
A conservative who is on the outs with Republican leaders contended that the failure of the Plan B bill represented “the beginning of the end” for the House GOP leadership team.
House leaders don’t have much of an operating margin now, and it will be slimmer come January when Democrats add seats. It seems clear now that they will also have to contend with four fellow Republicans who have little incentive to help them.
Petty egos, insanity, extremism, and a disregard for the best interests of the country now seem to best define the GOP. The only question becomes one of how much harm will this unhinged party inflict on the rest of us as it crawls toward the insane asylum.
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