Thomas Lane July 27, 2011, 1:50 PM

The fast-developing Republican civil war appears to have wracked up its latest injured, the most prominent of which is Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (OH). Following his attacks on Speaker Boehner’s debt limit proposals, reports indicate he himself came under heavy assault. Meanwhile, the RSC’s executive director, Paul Teller, was facing calls for his sacking over his emails opposing Boehner.

On Tuesday night, House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) plan to raise the debt limit in two stages didn’t just look DOA for when it arrives in the Senate; it looked DOA in the House as well.

Democrats were whipping hard against the measure. Along with President Obama they say a two-stage debt ceiling raise would endanger the fragile economic recovery. Speaker Boehner seems to have the support of many in his party when he says allowing a straight lift through to 2013 would be giving Obama “a blank check.”

However, he’s faced a barrage of fire from within his own caucus. Many of the more extreme Tea Party-leaning elements are hung up on the “Cut, Cap and Balance” act that the House passed in a partisan vote last week.

This was always doomed to failure in the Senate. The plan called for swinging cuts and put an impassable limit on federal debt. However, many more hardcore Republicans seem convinced that nothing less will do when it comes to putting America’s fiscal house in order. For them, Speaker Boehner’s plan to allow a debt ceiling raise that didn’t call for eventual acceptance of “Cut, Cap and Balance” as the price for passage was an unspeakable betrayal.

Consequently, Boehner’s two-tier bill, which has the support of much of the Republican establishment that fears a default, has opened something of a civil war within the party. On Tuesday night the momentum seemed to be with the rebels, but as of Wednesday that appeared to be shifting.

According to a Washington Post report on Tuesday night, GOP leaders had tried to rally Tea Party favorites (including, successfully, Florida’s Allen West) to their side by showing a macho scene from the Ben Affleck film, “The Town.”

After a House GOP meeting on Wednesday morning, several members came out noting they were switching their thinking to lean towards Boehner.

The Republican establishment appears to have brought out the sticks for the dissenters. The Democrats have taken note and appear to be recalculating their approach. Meanwhile, the time ticks on towards the Treasury’s declared default deadline of August 2, and even if the Boehner bill passes the House, it still faces a rout in the Senate and a veto threat from President Obama.

Allen West, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Debt ceiling, Default, John Boehner