TPM Reader MH isn’t too worried:

Meh. Republicans can play the game theory madman role all they want at this point. But everybody knows the hostage has a get out of jail free card. The Republican fund raising base, the real Republican base – not the abortion fanatics, the christianists or the bigots – will never allow them to voluntarily turn the economy over like a cop car in a riot.

No, the Chamber of Commerce crowd will have the final say in this question, and they’ll only extend the leash to the GOP as long as no real economic damage will accrue. As soon as they see the potential for revenue losses, it will end, not with a default, but with a whimper…

Public polling, the NY-26 outcome, and other objective indicators make it clear Republicans have boxed themselves into a political corner with their plan to end Medicare. It’s a big problem for them politically, and there’s no easy way out, especially since virtually every Republican in Congress is now on the record, with a vote, that they favor gutting Medicare.

So how are they gonna get out of this jam? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) just made it clear in a briefing with reporters on the Hill: They’re going to hold the government’s debt limit as hostage in order to back their way out of this political tight spot. Read More