Update From The Stupid

Boehner attacks!

Boehner now has a bill so batshit insane it might just get Tea Party votes.  In it, he will REQUIRE the House and Senate to pass a Constitutional Amendment - the Cap, Cut and Balance Amendment, what Ezra Klein calls the Worst Idea In Washington - and refer it to the states before the second debt ceiling limit.

He basically takes TWO non-starters - a bifurcated debt ceiling increase and a terrible, terrible Constitutional Amendment - and ties them to solvency.

At this point, Reid should just pass a clean debt ceiling increase and see if enough GOP congressfolk will join with every Democrat to pass it.

And then we have a report that Q2 growth is MUCH lower than expected.  I bet 19 out of 20 economists would implore the Congress not to contract any more in the face of slowing growth.  Even the IMF, home of austerity, has begged them not to do it.

In a just world, the GOP will be punished for ruining the economy.

We don't live in a just world.

UPDATE: Herr Professor Krugman weighs in on the Cult of Balance:
The cult of balance has played an important role in bringing us to the edge of disaster. For when reporting on political disputes always implies that both sides are to blame, there is no penalty for extremism. Voters won’t punish you for outrageous behavior if all they ever hear is that both sides are at fault.

Bingo.