It looks as if any day now, congressional Republicans will muzzle their threat of an annual shutdown of the federal government.
At least maybe the media will shut up their ridiculous song and dance about how this time -- THIS TIME -- a shutdown would be disastrous for the GOP.
Even The New York Times has been out in fantasy-land on this issue. Last week it reported that after a basement meeting at the Capitol, GOP leaders said they know they have to actually govern now or "squander the support voters gave them at the polls last month."
Where on earth did that idea come from?
More below the Cheese Puff.
If voter turnout for last month's midterm elections was as low as 36 percent, as reported, then the Republican vote might represent 20 percent of the electorate.
That's the bedrock percentage that basically opposes the rest of us on everything and has strangled the House of Representatives for years, so where does the GOP stand to "squander" anything and how did last month's vote represent a change of any kind?
It's bad enough that we have thousands of websites and hundreds of newspapers spinning fantasies in order to sell ads without the major media following along.
If the last shutdown cost the GOP a single vote, where was it?
The party's stock can't get any lower among most non-Republicans -- zero is zero -- and the people who elect these wingnut chupacabras still think it's a peachy idea.
Nov. 4 proved it. Last year's shutdown cost them nothing. A net loss? Not in the vote count, that's for sure.
Now, I understand that Republican leaders may want the lunacy stopped because they're tired of trying to command an army of dipshits, but so far the price they've paid equals a pack of chewing gum.
You can always say, "Well, if they keep pulling these stunts, it will cost them in the long run." Logic might dictate that you'd be correct, but the whole Tea Party schtick has become an emotional thing, not rational, so there's no way of knowing how far they're willing to go.
Remember: Back in the 1930s, German voters refused to accept the idea that Hitler would destroy their country even though he told them he would. How many times have you read, "We thought it couldn't happen here?"
Americans seem determined to believe the same thing now.
If some of you know some magic trick to keep it from "happening here," feel free to start the incantations any time. Our clock is ticking.
If magic fails, there seems to be no reason not to tell you right now: With the new crop of chupacabras in both Senate and House, it not only can happen here -- it's mighty damn close to happening here.
Time to dust off that box of fairy dust, folks!