Shutdown, Day Wev

Republicans still terrible. Government still shut down.

There was a thought that the impending default, if Congress failed to end the shutdown and raise the debt limit, would put some pressure on Congressional Republicans to do the right thing. But that thought was contingent on those Congressional Republicans understanding and caring that default could result in financial catastrophe. It turns out that was an unreasonable expectation: "Many in GOP Offer Theory: Default Wouldn't Be That Bad."

[President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner] were counting on the prospect of a global economic meltdown to help pull restive Republicans into line. On Wall Street, among business leaders and in a vast majority of university economics departments, the threat of significant instability resulting from a debt default is not in question. But a lot of Republicans simply do not believe it.

A surprisingly broad section of the Republican Party is convinced that a threat once taken as economic fact may not exist — or at least may not be so serious.

... In a news conference, Mr. Obama said repeatedly that those who doubted the repercussions of a default were making a huge mistake.

"When I hear people trying to downplay the consequences of that, I think that's really irresponsible, and I'm happy to talk to any of them individually and walk them through exactly why it's irresponsible," he said. "And it's particularly funny coming from Republicans who claim to be champions of business. There's no business person out here who thinks this wouldn't be a big deal, not one. You go to anywhere from Wall Street to Main Street, and you ask a C.E.O. of a company or ask a small-business person whether it'd be a big deal if the United States government isn't paying its bills on time. They'll tell you it's a big deal. It would hurt."

The turmoil created by the partial shutdown of the federal government has already sent investors fleeing from stocks to the safe harbor of Treasury bonds, long considered the safest investment on earth because the full faith and credit of the United States government has never been questioned. If that safe harbor is undermined, most economists have said loudly and repeatedly, the impact could be catastrophic.

... But the voices of denial are loud and persistent, with some Republicans saying that the fallout from the continuing shutdown and the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration has been less severe than predicted.

Mr. Paul acknowledged that some economists disagreed with him, but said others agreed. Peter Morici, a conservative economist and a frequent guest on Fox Business, dashed off a column on Tuesday in which he argued that "House Republicans, by refusing to raise the debt ceiling until they obtain budget reforms, may be the country’s last hope to avoid a financial ruin."

Congressional Republicans have varied arguments. To Representative Paul Broun, Republican of Georgia and a candidate for the Senate, it is a question of ranking the evils.

"There are a lot of things that are going to affect our economy," he said. "The greatest threat right now is Obamacare. It's already destroyed jobs, it's already destroyed our economy, and if it stays in place as it is now, it's going to destroy America."

Incredible. In every sense of the word.

This is a full-on breakdown of responsible governance. A large portion of the Republican Caucus simply does not deal with any facts they deem inconvenient. They have a story, and they're sticking to it, no matter how dishonest, incorrect, and dangerous it is for the country they are meant to serve. And I don't see any way out of it. Even if we manage to get through this crisis, the next one's just around the corner.