Getty Images
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), two weeks ago:
President Obama ... has already signaled an unwillingness to negotiate over the debt ceiling. This is unacceptable. [...]
It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), yesterday:
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said in Houston Thursday that Congress will not allow an impasse over raising the debt ceiling to result in the federal government defaulting on its spending obligations.
"We will raise the debt ceiling. We're not going to default on our debt," Cornyn told the Houston Chronicle editorial board.... "I will tell you unequivocally, we're not going to default," Cornyn said Thursday.
By any measure, the dramatic shift in posture is welcome news, and moves the nation further away from the brink on a self-imposed economic catastrophe.
But it's also further evidence that the entire Republican strategy is quickly unraveling. GOP leaders assumed, as recently as a few weeks ago, that if they threatened to crash the global economy on purpose, President Obama would scramble to pay their ransom.
Republicans, however, never actually came up with demands, were burdened by intra-party strife, faced pushback from every possible corner (including its allies in the private sector), and now appear eager to announce they have no intention of shooting the hostage.
This was a reckless plan executed incompetently, and it's reassuring to see GOP leaders like Cornyn reverse course.
Leave a Comment:
The mighty John Cornyn, breaking wind, reveling in the smell of his own fart, until it blows away and he can do it again.
They think themselves tough, but this latest bravado has turned into panty-waste! -Kevo
If they stay true to form (and why deviate now) they will spin this as Obama's fault, whine on the Sunday shows, and half the nation will say, "That horrid Obama..."
All it takes is to stand up to bullies. It's time for Democrats to goad the Republicans into continuing their outrageous behavior and sticking the knife in every time they do it. Keep doing it on every issue, on and on and on, making Republicans expose themselves as the media refuses to do. The public will finally get it, the Useful Idiots will be exhausted so much from their own constant rage they'll give up and scurry back into the woodwork where they were 35 years ago, and the Republicans will be defeated in no uncertain term.
Stick the knife in Democrats. KILL IT, GODDAMMIT!
A few days ago, the Kochs' Americans for Prosperity President said that there would be no default. Yesterday, the House Republicans talked about a short-term debt limit extension. Cornyn joined the chorus: "Yes, Kochs, we got the message. We will shamelessly change strategy for you. Tell us what to do next."
Unless there is even more pressure on the Kochs, e.g. the threat not to approve the Keystone pipeline and ruling against the safety of fracking, they will keep pressing the T.E.A. members in the House to give them even more government subsidies and to underfund the government's ability to enforce environmental laws that would be not be to the Kochs' advantage.
Don't look to a "Republican" strategy, look at the "Kochs" strategy.
LOL
Stand By Stand BY --- This Maybe is a Maybe!
thinking as the time rolls on they will also find out that all their obstruction will come back and bite them over and over in their tiny little a$$es.
In the good ole days such naked hypocrisy and flip flopping had actual repurcussions.
We've now seen several defections in the Senate, but what about the House? That's where the real danger of radicalism comes from. I think we're close to having enough senators to break a filibuster, but we need about a couple dozen House Republicans to do the right thing as well.
The only way you change the Confederates in the House is when you defeat them. If Boehner finally takes marching orders from his real masters and tosses the Hastert Rule, the Confederates will be (once again) isolated. Between now and 2014, that's the best strategy: demonstrate to Boehner that if he has any hope of a future, he loses the morons. Let the Confederacy go form its own political party and the rest of us can defeat them every time.
I watched Pleasantville again last night, and am reminded about how fine a line there is between the pleasant Ward Cleaver reality of the old norm, and violent hate filled expressions of frustration about the incomprehensible changes.
The GOP has run on God Guns and Gays. The far Right is shocked that Gays have been taken off the table, and that Obama is coming for the Gun pillar next. The nuns on the bus are taking away their ownership of God. My view is that the Left does not have to be the amused spectator and can do something more constructive than simply munch popcorn as they stumble from one self inflicted wound to the next.
Why not? The problem is that if you don't give a dog a bone to chew on, they are just going to gnaw on something else.
How about helping them to define their new pillars by picking public fights with them. There are plenty of legitimate differences of opinion on what the proper role of government is in an economy. The old Reagan saw was to "Get Government off the Back" of businesses. Ok fine- that could be new pillar. Or how about all the Climate Science deniers. If they want to go with that- fine. Run on being anti Climate Change policy. The plains states are turning into a new dustbowl with crop yields going down 10% for every 1 degree of temp increase. Those farmers need to return to their home in the Dem party.
Democrats must force Republicans to take as many definitive positions as they can. If they lean too far right, they lose the moderates. If they lean too far left, it's possible the tea party will run its own candidate and split the conservative vote.
Most Republicans are walking a very fine line right now -- it wouldn't take much to push them one way or the other.
Anything can still happen, but I think Obama is teaching the Dems the importance of message repetition. Republicans kept insisting raising the debt ceiling was "giving Obama a blank check." Obama kept repeating raising the debt ceiling was "promising to pay back the money we already borrowed." "The United States will not default on its debt" and the like. Lo and behold as unpopular as the GOP already is, people started asking "why are you making us default on our debt" rather than "why are you even thinking about giving Obama a blank check?"
this makes the most sense to me along with the idea that enough GOP donors spoke up after figuring out that the GOP really was willing to risk their donors' economic interests for partisan purposes in the 2011 fight.
what terrifies me is that I keep entertaining this idea that many in the GOP caucus simply didn't understand what the deficit ceiling was and once they figured it out, actually came around. its a sort of amalgamation of, "Republicans are good people with good intentions, just bad information" and "they can't really be willing to blow a hole in the side of the economy can they?"
everyone has a deeply conservative family member that isn't a bad person, they've just been told a lot of bad information and have ill-conceived positions as a result.
Translation: the Koch brothers told me to cut it the hell out.
Word.
This is good news. Now, will Obama attempt to bring them back to the table so that he can renegotiate the already good news into something less savory?
The Oligarchy has raised it's voice and I'm not gonna piss them off. Hahahaha
Could this POSSIBLY be the greatest sign in the last five years? Perhaps the GOP is beginning to realize that RUNNING the government means that you have to run it and not simply say that your focus is constantly going to be shutting it down?
More importantly, what does this signal to all of our favorite tea party folks?
that the Rasmussen poll is totally correct and the tea party is down to just 8% from its high of 24%.
lol guess used tea bags carry no weight.
No matter how much fertilizer you spread, it's really hard to make astroturf grow.
Don't give them too much credit for comprehension.
This field may look like it's played out to these jokers for the moment, but this is the bunch that thinks fracking is a great idea, and if they can come up with a new approach that will provide some dregs of satisfaction while leaving toxic destruction in their wake, they'll try it.
It seems Sen. Cornyn was all set to charge into the "Cave of Caerbannog" to kill that little bunny despite the warnings about the 'great terrible fangs", until he saw it bite the head off another knight. Did he pee in his armor or wake up to reality?
This was a reckless plan executed incompetently, and it's reassuring to see GOP leaders like Cornyn reverse course.
It is not "reassuring" to find out that these scumbags aren't that scummy. It's still damn scary that they think this way and that the only reason they change tactics is they get hit in the face a sufficient number of times. Some things about this country should be "beyond the pale" if you believe in our system of government.
With luck, OFA can become an organization that smacks them down at the grassroots level, and gets people sufficiently fired up to get rid of these bastards in elections to come.
I do agree however that it's fortunate Republicans don't have the brains to find the zipper on their fly with both hands on a clear day with a 2 hour advance notice.
hey GOP we the people got your number,you are no longer putting the wool over our eyes ever again,your party is a do nothing organization filled with people that haven't got a clue on running good government...we as the people will make sure we get rid of the rubbish within the GOP in 2014 and 2016 good riddance to bad rubbish.
Sorry - I give Cornyn credit for having something most of the far right Republicans lack - an astute grasp of the obvious. Don't forget he told Todd "legitimate rape" Akin to get lost. He knows what a loser looks like.