The New York Times has an article up about Republican reaction to the sequester deadline and Boehner’s kamikaze run at the economy. That reaction is pure joy.
While the frustrations of Congressional Democrats and Mr. Obama with Mr. Boehner are reaching a fever pitch, House Republicans could not be more pleased with their leader.
“We asked him to commit to us that when the cuts actually came on March 1, that he would stand firm and not give in, and he’s holding to that,” said Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. “I think Friday will be an important day that shows we’re finally willing to stand and fight for conservative principles and force Washington to start living within its means. And that will be a big victory.”
That’s just a representative sample, GOPer after GOPer steps forward to give the Orange One “credit” for triggering the sequester. “Republican aides say privately that Mr. Boehner sees no need to negotiate; Republicans are in a good place, they argue, because they want spending cuts and those cuts are happening,” the report tells us.
All of which triggers this observation from Ed Kilgore:
[The] expressions of deep satisfaction with the sequester being heard in Republican circles almost everywhere seem to have rapidly replaced last week’s talking points blaming the whole thing on the president. I guess they just can’t stop the joy in their hearts from bursting into view at the dismay of public employees and the fear and confusion of “takers” everywhere. But happiest of all is the Orange Man who for once can go to sleep at night without fear of being shivved in this sleep by Eric Cantor or humiliated by his own supposed followers. So enjoy the day, Mr. Speaker; it won’t get any better than this.
No, it won’t get better. It’ll get worse. And all this Republican triumphalism is profoundly unwise on their part. After a huge effort to pin the blame on the President, message discipline breaks down completely and House Republicans parade the sequester around like a trophy
The public was already inclined to blame the GOP for the sequester, drastically cutting spending is not going to bring the sunny economic days ‘baggers seem to believe it will, and Republicans’ fingerprints are not just all over this thing — they’ve actually signed their names on it in fingerpaints.
This is not going to turn out well. Not for me, not for you, not for the nation — but especially not for Republicans celebrating the fact that they just dropped a time bomb of their own making down their pants. This is in all likelihood all going to go so very, very wrong, leaving Republicans to explain to 2014 voters why it was exactly that they broke out the champagne and confetti on March the First, 2013.
