John Boehner

Why Boehner's Debt Limit Plan Will Have To Fail Before Endgame Becomes Clear

Brian Beutler | July 26, 2011, 5:17PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

High level discussions continue between Democrats and Republicans to make sure Congress raises the debt limit before the Treasury runs out of borrowing authority and has to slash public spending on a massive scale. But for the moment, we're in a period of repose. In public, few are willing to budge too far off their own party's plan to raise the debt limit. And members and aides are now believe that a viable solution won't emerge until one of the existing, partisan plans fails publicly.

In other words, things haven't moved a whole lot since yesterday. For the moment, most participants expect that the House GOP plan, authored by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will move first, and will fail, either in his own chamber or in the Senate. But they're now pessimistic that a workable plan will emerge before then, something party leaders were hoping against hope for yesterday.

"I think so -- probably that's the case," Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Read more »