The Worst Speaker In The History Of The Republic

"I don't know what I'm doing!"

So, the House GOP caved.  This, ultimately isn't surprising, since they were playing a losing hand so poorly that you had the WSJ editorial page, Mitch McConnell and Turdblossom all call them out for being stupid.

The question is, what's the long term effect of this.

The short term effect is that maybe we can pay off some of our Christmas bills.  The mid term effect is that we are headed for a government shutdown in February.

The long term effect is of course to be measured in November of next year.

There is no way a sentient political observer can conclude that this House has done its job as part of the legislative branch.  No jobs program, the debt ceiling fiasco, numerous acts of brinksmanship with the budget.  Someone the other day called it the world's worst kindergarten.

Now, I think there are two reasons why the GOP has done this.  First is that they see government as fundamentally corrupt and useless, so they feel no problem trashing the place.  So they spend their days waging jihad against Planned Parenthood rather than trying to actually help people, because - as Grover Cleveland so eloquently put it - "It is the people's job to support the government, not the government's job to support the people."

Secondly, they basically see politics as a competition of strength.  They are the bullies in high school, who swing a fist at your face and yell, "You flinched!" and then punch you in the arm.  Their entire legislative agenda has been a dick measuring contest.  Anything Obama proposes, they oppose.  Not out of reasoned positions, or at least not out of consistently reasoned positions.  They oppose things they used to support, simply to try and prove that Obama is "weak".

Now, if we lived in a sane world, Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker again in 2013.  Not because she's the greatest Speaker EVAH (although she's probably the most accomplished since Tip O'Neill, at least), but because you simply cannot reward the sort of political vandalism that is being practiced by the GOP.

I think we will see an even bigger gender gap this year.  Frat boy politics won't play well with the ladies.  And while gerrymandering will indeed work its wicked ways next fall, I think we're more likely to see a Democratic House than a GOP Senate.