Big Deal, Big Irony

Earlier this month, many were worried about the crisis in Syria. Then, after President Obama threatened use of military force against the Syrian Government for using chemical weapons against its own people, the real diplomacy began. And now, a deal is being reached.

The United States and Russia have been at odds on how to force the handover [of chemical weapons]. Those two countries negotiated the deal, and France played a large role in helping come up with compromise language, the sources said.

The deal includes a resolution with so-called Chapter 7 authority, a reference to a United Nations provision that allows member countries to take military and nonmilitary action to confront threats to peace and security.

The U.S. and Russia reached agreement earlier this month on the outlines of a plan to rid Syria of chemical weapons. Syria satisfied the first part of the plan last week, when it gave the world a catalog of its weapons stockpile.

The agreement envisions the removal of chemical weapons from Syria by the middle of next year.

Fortunately for everyone, the combination of tough talks and hard negotiations secured a real deal. A month ago, many were wondering when World War 3 would start. Now, all five permanent members of the UN Security Council have managed to agree on something... And something that truly is a big deal.

So why can't we feel good about this? The strange irony of today is that even when President Obama can forge agreements on the world stage, he can't even count on the G-O-TEA Mad House to agree with him on basic things like keeping the government open. Just as the Senate is about to finish a temporary federal budget agreement, House G-O-TEA "leaders" are threatening to blow it up and force a shutdown.

They're not even pretending to be sane any more. They're truly caving into pure batshit crazy.

The bill, obtained by the National Review, tacks on items including a one-year delay of Obamacare; tax reform in the image of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); approval of the Keystone pipeline; expanded offshore drilling and other pro-oil and coal energy reforms; increases in military spending coupled with deeper cuts to domestic programs; repealing a fund in the financial regulatory reform bill; means testing for Medicare; repealing the Obamacare prevention and public health fund and medical malpractice reform.

One House GOP leadership aide didn't deny the contents of the summary but cautioned that it may not be final. The aims, however, reflect the direction the House of Representatives is taking and contains important clues as to how the debate will unfold. [...]

Democrats believe the Republican plan is [batshit] crazy. And President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have repeatedly vowed not to make concessions in order to lift the debt ceiling. But Boehner is in a bind because the debt limit is a very tough vote for conservatives and he needs to dangle all sorts of enticements before them in order to win over most Republicans.

It's been nearly a year since President Obama won reelection and Democrats made net gains in Congress. Republicans lost the 2012 Election. But now, they want to re-fight the 2012 Election and threaten to blow up the world economy if Barack Obama doesn’t kill himself after directing Mitt Romney be appointed President they don't get their way?

They truly are fucking nuts. Who would have guessed Russia and Syria would be more willing to prevent global disaster than Congressional Republicans? Wow, what irony...