It's been five days since a ridiculously small minority faction of the House Republican Party (led by Senator Ted Cruz) grabbed John Boehner by the gonads and took the U.S. government hostage. So far, most of the legacy media blather has been centered on closure of tourist sites, museums, and zoos. The stenographic pool continues to create false equivalencies where none exist. Even though THE FEDERAL FUCKING GOVERNMENT IS SHUTDOWN, it's still all smiles and chuckles from the talking heads on my TV & radio. If I see Dana Bash or hear Mara Liasson do their "both sides" schtick one more time, I'm going to lose it.
I've been saying for weeks that the buttheads in the legislative branch who control the levers of government (yes, you, Eric Cantor) have no damned clue how the wheels of the many moving parts of government are almost like the works in a Rolex. Now, Cantor may very well know how to wear a Rolex, but as far as having any idea how the gears and jewels inside the casing must operate in synchronicity in order for the watch to give the correct time - bupkis. You might as well ask a howler monkey to solve a differential equation.
So when Lockheed Martin puts out layoff notices to 3000 employees, or Sikorsky Aircraft is laying off 2000 employees starting Monday because government safety inspectors are furloughed, don't expect Cruz and Cantor's crew to have any understanding. Or when the cafeteria operations contractor at the Capitol cafeteria shutters the salad bar and lays off their entire staff because the big bad government can't pay the cafeteria contractor, it'll somehow be Obama's fault.
Today, the LA Times has a superb, fairly short article on more unintended consequences of the GOP tea party faction's hizzy fit:
Layoffs are beginning in the private sector. More investors are unloading Treasury notes. And beneath the surface of the apparent calm in financial markets, banks and corporate chief financial officers are quietly taking steps to prepare for what many see as a potentially disastrous scenario if lawmakers fail to raise the debt limit by the Oct. 17 deadline.
Why doesn't Wall Street get that? The Kochs and Buffetts and Bloombergs should be in full fledged panic at this point. They think they can pull Boehner's string and all of a sudden bring the wayward children back in line. It's not going to work this time. The 25 to 30 nihilists and anarchists in the tea party wing of the House GOP won't allow it, because they and their leader, Senator Ted Cruz, feel that this is their moment in history to change American history. They will never again have this opportunity.
Again, from the LA Times:
At this point, few experts in government, business or academia think that Washington would dare to let the country default. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has suggested as much in private discussions with members of his party.
Really?? The concrete is starting to cure. In two weeks, the government will most likely still be shut down. The cascade through private industry will be picking up steam. There is no reason for any kind of optimism that Boehner can shepherd a clean debt ceiling bill through the House.
And so, is there any cause for expectation that the tea party wing of the GOP will have a modicum of motivation to go along with raising the debt ceiling? John Boehner has lost control of the Cruz / Cantor clown car. He's not going to be able to get a clean debt ceiling bill through the House any more than he's been able to move a clean continuing resolution to the Senate to get government workers back on the job.
No one knows for sure what might happen next. But there's broad agreement among experts that a first-ever U.S. government default — at risk if the $16.7-trillion debt limit isn't raised — could trigger a major financial crisis. Treasury Department officials warned this week that it could be worse than the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession, labeling the prospect potentially "catastrophic."
No one knows for sure?? The sequester. The government shutdown. Defaulting on the debt ceiling. It's a tea party trifecta and Norquestian wet dream. I suppose you can be 99% certain, but still not "be sure".
Hang on for the ride. You ain't seen nothin' yet.