Well, what do we have here:
House Speaker John Boehner is abandoning discussions with the White House on a large-scale debt deal slated to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction. The bone of contention is Boehner’s insistence on no tax increases in the deal. Instead, Boehner said the talks should focus on reaching a smaller debt-reduction deal.
“Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes,” Boehner said in the statement.
The Administration knew what Boehner’s pressure point was. How? Because Grover Norquist hasn’t shut the hell up about it for a month now. The sacred tax pledge! You must obey the sacred tax pledge! All the howling from the left may turn out to have been a good thing.***
Meanwhile, the Tea Party is about to lose its collective mind (to the extent it has one, which is unlikely).
The hits: They just keep on comin’.
I reckon this is your evening flame war thread.
Cheers!
***I know I know, he’s worse than Bush.