The latest from the Washington Post's Ezra Klein. His take on the conflict between House and Senate Republican leadership points out the differences between the two branches. Remember that Tea Party members were - due to the electoral differences between the two - able to infiltrate the House more than the Senate. That helps explain - perhaps fully - the course of the conflict.
Senate and House Republican leadership are starting to split, report Jonathan Allen and Manu Raju: "Senate Republicans are starting to send a message to their increasingly isolated House counterparts: It’s time to abandon the hard line or face a public backlash.Whether it’s the top two Senate leaders’ plan to avert a debt crisis or the recently resurrected Gang of Six framework, most senators have shown interest in the kind of bipartisan compromise that provides political cover to all involved. But House Republicans leaped further to the right this week, endorsing a Cut, Cap and Balance bill that attracted just five Democratic votes...House Republican insiders acknowledge that passage of a bipartisan Senate plan would put enormous pressure on them to follow suit or get blamed for any ensuing economic calamity. But most House Republicans aren’t ready to move off their mark."
