A remarkable morning on Capitol Hill even by recent standards. The quick rundown is this:
With the Senate nearing finalizing a debt limit/shutdown deal, House GOP leaders convened a meeting of their members and unveiled to them a counteroffer to the still-emerging Senate plan. Similar in key respects, but with additional demands that were designed to appeal to the conservatives in the House.
While that meeting was still going on, House leadership aides began briefing reporters on what the bill would contain. The White House quickly rejected the plan. But meanwhile, disenchantment among conservative members quickly began to brew in the conference meeting.
By the time Boehner emerged from the two-hour meeting to speak to reporters, he was very oblique about what the GOP plan would be, almost to the point of suggesting there still wasn’t a plan yet. So it appears the House leadership’s strategy has imploded almost as soon as it was unveiled.
