So it turns out this whole thing, this laying off hundreds of thousands of people, costing the US hundreds of billions of present dollars and even more in future borrowing costs because the threat of default has raised interests rates, damaging food programs, research... all that has been to maintain a Boehner.
All Boehner was after, in the end (so to speak), was to keep his cred as a tough guy with the crazies in his party. Take us to the brink like a tough guy, blame the failure not on the insane and anti-democratic destructiveness of their attempts at extortion, but on the weakness of those unwilling to cause irreparable ruin over established law. After all this, John Boehner, the Speaker under whom virtually no legislation has passed, who asked to be judged by how much legislation they repeal (none! which seems a little damning unless the plan was to repeal nothing), is safe in his job because he fought a meaningless and doomed fight to corrupt our most basic legislative processes.
If that isn't the most awful sort of cynicism, the lust for power trumping the good of the country, I don't know what is.
(My friend Glenn sends along this link, which provides some insight.)
... Rather than revisit their strategy of supporting Republicans after this week’s near-disaster, influential organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are standing behind Boehner. More important, Boehner’s friends in the business community are getting ready to take sides in a few Republican primary races against tea party candidates in Michigan, Idaho and Alabama who could cause the House speaker more trouble...
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