Mother Jones
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Rep. Thomas Massie, the Hayek-quoting, trouble-making first-term Republican congressman from northern Kentucky, stood in a circle of reporters in the Capitol basement and shrugged. “Goose egg—we got nothing.” That was his summation of what House Republicans had accomplished, after shutting down the federal government for 15 days, costing $24 billion in economic losses, and bringing the nation to the brink of an unprecedented default.
After the Senate voted 81 to 18 to approve a bill to raise the debt ceiling and fund the federal government, the House followed suit late Wednesday night, with 87 Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus in support of the measure, one that included none of the original tea party demands to delay or defund Obamacare. In a statement, President Obama expressed his wish that Washington “put the last three weeks behind us.”
More MoJo coverage of the debt ceiling crisis.
Debt Ceiling Crisis Averted, House Tea Partiers Express No Regrets
The Debt Ceiling Explained in 10 Short Sentences
7 Deadly Spins: A Guide to GOP Debt Ceiling Denial
How John Boehner Could Lose His Speakership
Unpacking the Dumbest Thing Said by a GOP Congressman About the Debt Ceiling
4 Things the Fed Could Do About a Default
Economist Mark Zandi: “We Will Be Dooming Our Economy and the Entire Global Economy”
Still, Massie had no regrets. “I don’t see any credence to the argument that we would have been better off without the fight,” he said, “because nobody can tell me what we’d have now that we don’t have.”
Among House Republicans on Wednesday night, Massie’s attitude was hardly an outlier.
Asked if the shutdown and debt fight had been worth, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) didn’t blink: “Absolutely, I think it’s worth it! It’s been worth it because what we did is we fought the right fight.” Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) argued that the House’s intransigence was ultimately critical to America’s survival. “For this government to continue as a republican form of democracy, we’ve got to have both houses contribute, not one,” he said before hopping on an elevator.
Originally posted here:
Debt Ceiling Crisis Averted, House Tea Partiers Express No Regrets
