Governing by extortion. The La Costra Nostra House

               The Government is still shut down.

The Radical Republicans still have no plan to get out of the room now that they've painted themselves into a corner.

Their idea is to force negotiation over a LAW that was passed by both Houses, signed by the President and upheld by the Supreme Court. So I missed the part of the Constitution that says extortion is a legitimate tool of Governing.

The minority of the GOP majority in the House is trying to spin this as something they didn't want. It's the Dems fault for not negotiating over a law. By not acceding to their demands the Dems are evil. We'll forget about the letter demanding a shut down if the ACA is funded. It was signed by only eighty Reps. All Republicans. Oops.

They keep saying no one wants Obamacare even as the servers crashed under demand on the first day. The only people who don't want the Government to function are those who'd rather burn down the country to save us from a health care plan.

The parks and monuments not being open is a tragedy while WIC being shut down is acceptable collateral damage. They want to pick and choose what is deserving of funding in their little Ayn Rand utopia.

Bad as this is, and it's not good. the Debt Limit fight is careening at us like a runaway train.

The House has decided that to fulfill their Constitutional duty to protect the full faith and credit of the United States they are going to launch Shutdown II: The Default. Both The Shutdown and Shutdown II: The Default are reboots of the cult hit Default: The Hostage from 2011. It didn't go big box office but performed well on the DVD Special Edition:Fundraiser.

As they did in '11 the Tea Party Coup led House will try to attach their wish list to their price for doing what is required by the Constitution they profess to revere. Obamacare, of course. They'll go after contraception also. That's a given. Everything else is fair game. Social Security and Medicare. Check.  Unemployment? Check. Return to the Gold Standard? Maybe. Tax cuts for the rich? Check.  This will vary from day to day as the deadline nears depending on who is running for President.

If the Senate and President don't capitulate they seem willing to kick the slats out from under the world economy by destroying the go to investment. Perhaps they want a Mad Max style world to justify their bunkers and bring about the end of days.  Perhaps they simply love the idea of holding the planet hostage like a bad Bond villain? They are more KAOS than SPECTRE

There is enough revulsion in the GOP now to perhaps avoid catastrophe. Don't bet the ranch. Get ready for the zombie apocalypse.