Mother Jones
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The just-concluded government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis revealed a deep and profound split within Republican ranks, as tea party crusaders pushed for brinkmanship to thwart Obamacare and establishment-minded GOPers freaked out over the historic hit their party was receiving in public opinion polls. Even after the conflict was settled (at least for a few months)—with the congressional Republicans essentially waving a white flag—the civil war within GOP and conservative circles continued unabated. Once the deal went down, mainstream GOPers immediately blamed the “suicide caucus” for harming the party and pledged to block future shenanigans of this sort, and tea partiers in and out of Congress dismissed the “surrender caucus” and vowed to continue the fight as the next D-Days approach (January 15 for funding the government, and February 7 for the debt ceiling).
This ugly episode hasn’t resolved the tensions within the GOP and the conservative movement—it has exacerbated them. Here is a list of post-deal quotes from key players in this civil war that show the internecine battle is not likely to end soon.
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