The fix, as it were, is in.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has appointed Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) to serve on the deficit supercommittee.
Hensarling will serve as the co-chairman of the supercomittee.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appointed his deputy Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), former Bush budget director Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Tea Party favorite Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.)
That would be Pat "Club for Growth" Toomey and Jon "defense cuts are unconstitutional" Kyl for the Senate, and as for Portman:
The great thing about this is that Rob Portman wasn't just head of Bush's budget office; he also voted for both of Bush's tax cuts and for Bush's invasion of Iraq, so when he talks about fiscal nightmares, he knows exactly what he's talking about.
So how about that House team? Hensarling has called Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid "cruel Ponzi schemes." Camp says that these social insurance programs are promises that won't be kept, and Upton is best known for his great light-bulb flip-flop.
And, of course:
This isn't going to end well.