They will just to whatever they normally do and pretend the debt ceiling doesn't exist/it was auto raised.

No phony platinum coins, no new excessive printing, just normal tax, debt and spend.

Disagree. Boehner has lost all control with the True Believers.

suzzer, man, you're not in the same universe as they are. You and I see this as kabuki theater, but House Republicans sincerely think that the Senate will actually pass this bill. They sincerely believe that the grassroots surge of outraged Americans over this obviously terrible law will somehow allow Ted Cruz to get 5-10 Ds to flip and vote with him. And then, I guess, Obama will be forced to sign it.

That fever dream needs to get broken and I don't think that will happen before September 30th.

And then the Obama veto will be met with widespread outrage, the fallout from which will lead to a wave of electoral victories culminating in a Ted Cruz presidency.

You guys never lose hope, do you?

Remember when Obama shut down the goverment to help leaches and parasites?

Their problem is that they're like the little boy who cried, "Wolf!" and no one except other Republicans takes seriously anything they say about Obama. Their only hope is for Democratic and/or sane voters to stay home. With news that senior citizens, who vote faithfully, are turning against them, we could be into the endgame fairly quickly.

Pretty sure that was an expression of lost hope.

No they don't. It's political theatre to appease the base.

I lean more toward Riverman's view. They've shown no ability to rationally assess and react to conventional political incentives. Their narrative is that Democrats (despite Obama being a reckless tyrant, go figure) are wimps and will fold to a big bluff.

But stipulating that it is just hype, the problem doesn't vanish. Unless the financial markets believe it to be just hype, it will have a very serious impact on our credit rating and make it expensive to borrow. And if Wall Street is in on the ruse too, then the whole charade of trying to extort concessions out of the Dems is stupid. It could only work if somehow the financial markets can see the GOP's hole cards but Democrats can't.

The problem is Republicans see themselves as the rebels in A New Hope, whereas the majority see them as the trade federation with an illegal embargo around Naboo in The Phantom Menace. They are not smart enough to even be the Sith in the prequels. CNN is Jar Jar Binks, obv.

Lol, there is definitely a lot of freshmen Representatives who got high on their own supply. You can even see them asking questions during committee hearings about invented stories they found on drudge.

Perhaps they can find a new identity when episode 7 comes out.

If someone can define good detailed terms on what "shutting down the government" entails, I'd be willing to make a small friendly wager that a kick the can solution comes in at the last minute to prevent that.

The problem for Boehner is that like 200 of his votes in the house ARE the base.

suzzer:

Don't know if this is accurate and correct information, but according to a talking head pundit on MSNBC, the following Government programs (and spending) would be excluded from a Government shutdown. (These debts and obligations would continue to be paid in the event of a Government shutdown.) First, interest on the national debt gets paid. Second, retirees continue to receive their Social Security benefits. (I'm not sure if active duty military personnel continue to get paid.) And finally, drumroll please, members of Congress continue to get paid during any Government shutdown. (If this last exclusion is correct, I suspect that greatly increases the probability of a shutdown.)

So typical of members of Congress ... they pass yet another "law" and conveniently exempt themselves from having to obey what they inflict upon the rest of us. (I wonder if there's a way or a mechanism whereby a citizens group - or even an individual citizen - can file a lawsuit with the United States Supreme Court which would result in a judgment that Congress cannot exempt either themselves (or their staffs) from any law that they inflict upon the rest of us? If such a lawsuit were successful, it might very well result in a lot less of the "too big and too intrusive overbearing Government control" that Republicans constantly bitch and complain about.

It happened in 1995, and since you can't remember it, it wasn't really as big of a deal as people made it out to be, unless you are employed by the government.

Basically all non-essential stuff gets shut down. "Essential" stuff stays running.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_..._1995_and_1996

Fly:

Here's an article from The Daily Beast web site:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...ight-wing.html

which argues that provoking a government shutdown "works" for the more radical extremist fringe of the Republican party while putting the few remaining swing district "moderate" Republicans (especially in the House) in jeopardy. (If this analysis is correct, it explains why a segment of more moderate members of the GOP hate Ted Cruz - his antics and overheated rhetoric could wind up costing them their seats!)

Stoked by blowhards like Louis Gomert, Ted Cruz and Rush Limbaugh, Republicans have convinced themselves they can win a showdown with President Obama and the Democrats. Neither side seems to be in any mood for negotiating and compromise - they would rather fight and see who wins. If that's the case, I suppose we're in for a repeat of 1995-1996. (This time around, I wonder if President Obama will "snub" Speaker Boehner by making him sit in the back of Air Force One?)

That's exactly it. The incentives are now misaligned between the fringe (now the GOP mainstream) and the much smaller "center", with the electoral interest of the party closer to the latter's incentives.

How far can this regulating sexuality by republican government go? Imagine if they can spy on your body all the time to insure your sexy time qualifies for their interest in the "benefit" of "society"...

http://www.eclectablog.com/2013/09/m...ke-babies.html

This. We can lol all we want, but as long as we have a system where the most ridiculous, stupid, xenophobic, ill-informed people enjoy considerable over-representation in both houses of the legislature, the Republicans can obstruct to their hearts' content and keep collecting checks from donors.

let's outlaw blowjobs then.

wtf, ban jmakin

I abstain from that post even though I have a big raging clue to say nay.

This is the true story... of 233 strangers... picked to work in a House...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real GOP.