As the GOP Burns Delusional Republicans Think They have Leverage Over Obama

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Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 02:13 am

Even though the GOP is crashing and burning on the fiscal cliff, Republican senators like Chuck Grassley believe they have leverage over Obama.

Sen. Chuck Grassley provided a fine example of the Republican state of mind when he claimed to Newsmax that Republicans have leverage over Obama on the fiscal cliff.

When asked about a solution to the fiscal cliff, Grassley answered, “If we do go over the cliff then the focus next year’s going to be on raising the debt ceiling and we’ve got a great deal of leverage on the president on raising the debt ceiling because we don’t have to raise it unless we’re going to get some reduction in expenditures.”

Grassley thinks that the Republicans have the advantage on the fiscal cliff because of the debt ceiling. The Iowa senator thinks that Republicans can get the spending cuts they want by repeating the debacle on the debt ceiling that led to US debt being downgraded last year.

In short, Republicans think they have leverage on the fiscal cliff, because they can use the debt ceiling to create more chaos next year. What they seem to be incapable of understanding is that their antics are destroying the Republican Party. Their behavior likely helped to win the president a second term by convincing a majority of voters that they didn’t want these people unchecked and making policy.

Republicans have less than zero leverage right now. The House Republican leadership is in disarray. Boehner, Cantor, and company have been reduced to releasing statements that blame the Senate and the president. Mitch McConnell is wishing for things that are never going to happen, and nobody has a clue if Republicans can muster enough votes in the House or the Senate to pass any sort of agreed upon deal.

Congressional Republicans have completely fallen apart. They have no bargaining power. Yet, people like Chuck Grassley and House Republicans continue to feed the right’s delusions on the fiscal cliff.

While the Republican Party is nosediving, they continue to believe that they have Obama right where they want him.

The Republican attitude on their party’s bungling of the fiscal cliff reminds me of this:

As a group congressional Republicans are completely divorced from reality, and incapable of governing.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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