Probably the smartest thing you'll read today,
from James Fallows. He hits media on this but does provide links to a few folks who have gotten it right. Read the whole thing as he traces a historic fiasco we haven't seen in decades, maybe over a century, but here's excerpt:
As a matter of journalism, any story that presents the
disagreements as a "standoff," a "showdown," a "failure of leadership," a
sign of "partisan gridlock," or any of the other usual terms for
political disagreement, represents a failure of journalism
and an inability to see or describe what is going on....This isn't "gridlock." It is a ferocious struggle within one party,
between its traditionalists and its radical factions, with results that
unfortunately can harm all the rest of us -- and, should there be a debt
default, could harm the rest of the world too...
In case the point is not clear yet: there is no post-Civil War precedent for what the House GOP is doing now.
It is radical, and dangerous for the economy and our process of
government, and its departure from past political disagreements can't be
buffed away or ignored. If someone can think of a precedent after the
era of John C. Calhoun, let me know.
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