Republican Party seems as divided, angry as ever
By STEVE PEOPLES
Associated Press
The Republican Party seems as divided and angry as ever.
Infighting has penetrated the highest levels of the House GOP leadership. Long-standing geographic tensions have increased, pitting endangered Northeastern Republicans against their colleagues from other parts of the country. Enraged tea party leaders are threatening to knock off dozens of Republicans who supported a measure that raised taxes on the nation's highest earners.
...one of the GOP's most popular voices [Ed: Heh], New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, blasted his party's "toxic internal politics" after House Republicans initially declined to approve [a $20 billion] disaster relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy [that was loaded with $40 billion of extraneous pork]. He said it was "disgusting to watch" their actions and he faulted the GOP's most powerful elected official, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
...To a greater degree than the Democrats, the Republican Party has struggled with internal divisions for the past few years. But these latest clashes have seemed especially public and vicious.
...Republicans haven't had a consistent standard-bearer since President George W. Bush left office in 2008 with the nation on the edge of a financial collapse. His departure, along with widespread economic concerns, gave rise to a tea party [sic] movement that infused the GOP's conservative base with energy. The tea party [sic] is credited with broad Republican gains in the 2010 congressional elections, but it's also blamed for the rising tension between the pragmatic and ideological wings of the party [only the ideological wing consists of the RINO neo-Statists and the pragmatists are the Constitutional Conservatives] - discord that festers still.
...Those on the GOP's deep bench of potential 2016 presidential contenders, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, have begun staking out their own, sometimes conflicting ideas for the party.
...Obama has outlined a second-term agenda focused on immigration and gun control; those are issues that would test Republican solidarity even in good times ["gun control... would test Republican solidary"? Uhm, right.]. Deep splits already exist between Republican pragmatists and the conservative base, who oppose any restrictions on guns or allowances for illegal immigrants. [How about Democrats and gun control?]
...Fiscal issues aren't going away, with lawmakers were agree [sic] on a broad deficit-reduction package. The federal government reached its borrowing limit last week, so Congress has about two months or three months [sic] to raise the debt ceiling or risk a default on federal debt [sic]. Massive defense and domestic spending cuts are set to take effect in late February. By late March, the current spending plan will end, raising the possibility of a government shutdown [which has happened many times in the past].
...Weary Republican strategists are trying to be hopeful about the GOP's path ahead, and liken the current situation to party's struggles after Obama's 2008 election. At the time, some pundits questioned the viability of the Republican Party. But it came roaring back two years later, thanks largely to the tea party [sic]...
Eh, Einstein: running into the debt ceiling does not mean a default on the debt. More than enough revenue comes into the federal coffers each month to pay principal and interest on the debt as well as fund the military, pensions, and additional services.
No, genius, what will be cut when we run into the ceiling is the bloated federal leviathan that is headed for certain collapse if something isn't done pronto to cut spending. Schmuck.
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