This is where "the people with the money" tell "the people making the noise" to shut up.
The Chamber of Commerce, in league with the "Financial Services Forum," a group of 20 finance-industry CEOs, plus numerous other heavyweights, is lobbying "dozens of lawmakers" in small groups and dinner parties. They want the debt ceiling raised, and no untidy (John Boehner-inspired market-frightening) fuss about it, please.
Lots of pressure. Here's where the rebellion meets the road. The Washington Post (h/t David Dayen, my emphasis):
Financial industry executives, business leaders and Treasury Department officials are visiting the freshmen in their offices, briefing them in small groups and even cornering them at dinner parties. It’s all part of a behind-the-scenes campaign to school congressional newcomers in the economic stakes of Washington’s next big fiscal fight: over the debt ceiling.It's one thing for the Republicans to hand over gobs of money to the already-rich; it's another to do stuff that makes that money worth less. There's a nice bright line between the two, and those freshman Teabags are getting a solid dose of "do the first and stop with the second." In other words, "leave your integrity at the door, chum," the big-money special interests are here and they own your Republican teabag.
The freshman class that gave Republicans the House majority will be a critical voting bloc in the looming clash over whether to raise the amount of money the government can borrow to keep it from defaulting on its loans. ... Members of the Financial Services Forum — which represents the chief executives of 20 of the nation’s largest financial institutions — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups have fanned out across Capitol Hill to press lawmakers.
In some cases, lawmakers have been visited by community bankers and local business leaders from their districts — to put a friendly face on the lobbying effort and to underscore the point that it’s not just Wall Street, but also Main Street that would take the hit.
I admire the true teabags, greater and lesser, for forcing their principles, misguided though they be, on their would-be masters. If we had the equivalent chutzpah on our side, the congressional conversation would mirror the conversation the actual nation is having: Shall we take care of the needy or punish them hard? At present, the congressional conversation is more like: How does the Red Team give government money to its billionaires, and prevent anyone on the Blue Team from receiving a dime?
Here's where the rebellion meets the road. The next move is yours, teabaggers. Do you stand by your principles, or acknowledge your masters? The world awaits the answer.
In my case, eagerly.
GP
