12/21/12 Apocalypse Update

Forbes got their way. The tea-party caucus blocked this proposal during much confusion, shouting and media coverage. They threw Boehner under the bus. There is a possibility that Boehner will be pissed enough to work with the Democrats. Doubtful.

Originally Posted By: sini
What they want for Boehner is to not negotiate


You called it. Especially about the Norquist tax pledge being more important than the United States to many.

Originally Posted By: Helemoto
.I don't see where, other then progressive propaganda foil, that the Republicans are in dire straits.


Sure, the Republicans are still very viable electorally. National elections will continue to be 48/48, with the remaining 4 deciding it. Gerrymandering is such that the House will continue to be red until my daughter is an adult.

What we're talking about is the GOP's unwillingness and inability to preform day-to-day governance and meaningful policy debate. This is bad for everyone, regardless of personal politics.

And the democrats did have an identity crisis.

Originally Posted By: Derid
Silver was right... this time.


Nate Silver was also right in 2008 and 2010 (though everyone was for this one). He also preformed exemplary work for Baseball Prospectus before that. Regardless, my intention was not to reference him an oracular paragon, but instead to allude to the supremacy of hard, verifiable data over murky correlations. Otherwise, you've been very insightful throughout this thread.