Is the GOP deliberately trying to crash the economy?

I'm not making the statement, but I am asking the question, and I'm asking it seriously. The man making the statement is Thom Hartmann on The Big Picture. Here he is in conversation with Cliff Schecter, discussing that very subject:



Hartmann: "The Republicans have sabotaged this process every step of the way." Exactly. The question is, are they bluffing to get the best deal, or deliberately driving the car off the cliff in order to win the next election?

And the other question is, who's driving that Republican car? If you don't factor in the election, it's the Tea Party. But if you do factor in the election, and Mitch McConnell's claim that all he wants to do is destroy Obama's presidency, it could be both of them, doing the good cop–bad cop thing.

I do agree that this is a "defining moment," with lots of angles from which to look at it.

If you'd like to read the Alternet piece Cliff Schecter mentioned in the interview, it's here. Interesting discussion.

GP