No game plan, other than to 'put points on the board'
I think the esteemed speaker
has lost the plot:
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was quoted last week by Roll Call saying the budget stalemate "isn't some damn game."
National Review quotes Boehner telling GOP members this morning he wants something that "puts points on the board."
It's not a game, but the Republicans aren't going to budge until they outscore the other team. Sounds about right.
There doesn't seem to be any actual plan, at the moment. According to the National Review link Boehner is telling his caucus "we can get through this if we stick together," but what "through this" might mean is unclear. What is clear is that the president telling them the full faith and credit of the United States government is not to be used as a bargaining chip has deeply offended them for some reason, and that general feeling that President Barack Obama has offended them is enough not only to keep the government closed, but possibly to default on the debt as well.
Remember when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich closed down the government in part because he was offended at not being catered to properly on Air Force One? This is that. They are children.