House Republicans to hold vote on debt limit increase – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeHouse Republicans to hold vote on debt limit increase – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs: "Washington (CNN) – House Republican leaders have scheduled a vote next week to raise the debt limit without any spending cuts attached in order to demonstrate that a so-called 'clean extension' preferred by President Barack Obama and some congressional Democrats cannot pass in the GOP-majority chamber.

According to several aides, GOP leaders announced the move Tuesday at their regular weekly meeting with rank and file Republicans.

The Republican proposal, sponsored by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, would raise the Treasury's borrowing authority by $2.4 trillion, which is the same amount in Obama's proposed budget, and would give the Treasury Department the authority to continue paying its bills through December 2012.

The vote is not expected to get any Republican support, dooming its chances of winning House approval."

The politics of grid lock is clearly in full sway. So lets get this straight, under Congressional rules in the House, the speaker, in this case Mr Boehner, controls what can come to a vote. He also controls the Republican caucus and can influence, often to the point of controlling, how elected representatives vote. You remember the notion of elected where voters elect someone that is suppose to represent the will of the electorate as distinct from the will of Mr Boehner or the Republican party. So Mr Boehner having instructed the Republican caucus NOT to vote for this measure even knowing full well that not extending the debt ceiling is a non starter brings this measure to a vote. Why? This is political theater at its worst. It's not about the debt ceiling. It's certainly not about good governance. One thing it clearly shows is that the two party system and Congressional rules are seriously broken.

Here is a common sense notion, perhaps we shouldn't pay Congress when they engage in this sort of political theater since they are clearly not working for the American voters.

Related articles

• What's wrong with having two political parties (richards-common-sense.blogspot.com)