Once again, it appears that Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have to navigate the tricky partisan waters of Congress to find a deal. How successful these two men will be depends largely on McConnell's re-election efforts and how influential Speaker John Boehner can be in swaying his upper chamber colleagues.
Tuesday morning found a Washington D.C. as divided and embittered as ever. Boehner and President Barack Obama have been accusing one another of fiscal extortion since the weekend, and most communication channels – albeit public ones – appear stifled. It fell to Reid and McConnell, who have a cordial if not occasionally strained relationship, to cobble together a deal before the United States defaults on Thursday for the first time in its borrowing history.
Making matters worse is the fact that Tea Party Republicans appear dead-set on pushing their leaders to the brink in the hope that Obama will blink and cave to at least some of their demands, including entitlement changes and delayed taxes for Obamacare. Meanwhile, the original intent – defunding Obamacare – seems to have fallen to the wayside.
Exactly how this circus will end remains to be seen. A few more weeks of shutdown – which could include a temporary halt for the SNAP program, according to some sources – and the GOP may throw its majority away, which it will have to defend in next year's midterm elections. It seems like only yesterday that the Republican establishment was crowing about the prospects of taking over the Senate. Now, major party donors are watching in horror as the party's most extreme elements set fire to the government. Will they be back with million-dollar checks? If you were in their position, would you?
The failures of the two-party system are on full display, and while international media sources openly question the supremacy of the United States, the president and Congress continue to squabble. Investors need to protect themselves at all costs, and tools such as robotic trading software can help during a difficult economic period. Learn more by exploring our website further today.