Republican Schism - Old Guard v. Tea Party

Click here for Howard Kurtz in The Daily Beast on the internal Republican conflict.

Not everyone agrees. Former Newt Gingrich aide Tony Blankley says “both parties have their extremes, and their leadership can’t embrace them. But you never want to disperse the energy of your supporters. It has to be managed.” Maybe, but Democrats have never enabled the Bush-caused-9/11 nuts this way.

Both parties indulge in dishonesty when grappling with painful budget choices, but the latest Republican pandering over raising the debt ceiling also seems to flout the facts. Sure, the out-of-power party always scores cheap points when it’s time to authorize more borrowing—Obama did it during the Bush years—but some GOP lawmakers and candidates want to let the deadline pass and force the administration to prioritize its bill-paying. It’s hard to think of a better way to spook the credit markets.