Is this the end of the
Republican Party?
The irony of last night's drama on Capitol Hill was that the proposal at stake had far more symbolic value than substantive. House Speaker John Boehner, after having abandoned his own fiscal talks, pushed his "Plan B" knowing full well it would not, and could not, become law. Rather, Boehner hoped to use the measure to send a message.
Oh, he sent a message, all right. It's just not the one the Speaker intended.
At least in theory, there was a coherent strategy underlying Boehner's efforts. He would pass his pointless charade, demand Democrats do as he instructed, and cover his backside when the larger process fell apart. All the Speaker needed was his own allies to follow his lead, and give him some additional leverage.
To that end, Boehner tried everything. He tried pleading with his Republican allies, threatening them, and offering them all kinds of goodies. The Speaker made appeals based on emotion, economics, loyalty, and pragmatism, at times, simultaneously.
But in the end, despite all the bravado and faux confidence, Boehner just couldn't deliver. The party he ostensibly leads heard his impassioned pleas, and decided not to follow him.
Debacles of this magnitude are rare.