Knives Out Quote of the Day

"When Mr. Cruz demands that House Republicans 'hold firm,' he means they should keep trying to defund ObamaCare even if it results in a shutdown that President Obama will blame on Republicans. It's nice of him to volunteer House Republicans for duty. The supposedly intrepid General Cruz can view the battle from the comfort of HQ while the enlisted troops take any casualties."  -- editorial in today's Wall Street Journal, that bastion of trickle-down economics and social Darwinism, fearing a Government shutdown not because it would hurt average Americans and the economy, but because Rethugs would be rightfully blamed.  The "General" Cruz dig drips with contempt.

The right-wing corporate Rethug elites are reaping the harvest of years of whipping up anti-Government sentiment among the increasingly radical, know-nothing teabagger base of the party.   Now that a hardcore nihilist group threatens to run the party off a cliff, the alarm bells are going off and the fur is flying.

BONUS:  From Ed Kilgore, Washington Monthly:

 Tea Folk are the only category of respondents in the Pew survey who don’t say a government shutdown would have a “major” effect on the economy. But even they say (by a 62/22 margin) that a shutdown would have a “mostly negative” effect on the economy. It’s worth remembering that many Tea Folk kinda like recessions as purgative medicine for an economy where too many “losers” can get public benefits or private credit. And it’s definitely worth understanding the Tea Party is the tail wagging the dog when it comes to GOP maneuvering in Congress on the budget.