GOP Jiu-Jitsu

Mickey Kaus Columnist
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I don’t quite see why the Republicans’ move to extend the debt ceiling for 3-months is the first “concession” of a party intimidated by the power of Obama’s inaugural speech (as the NYT would have it). Didn’t Boehner just get Obama to sign on to the sort of short term extension the President had previously opposed? Hadn’t Obama wanted a permanent ceiling fix? … Kind of clever of the GOPs to jiu-jitsu their bad press image into a legislative turnabout–the MSM was so used to calling them suicidal cliff-jumpers that when they seemed suddenly reasonable Obama couldn’t be seen as stopping them. I used to call this the Falwell Maneuver–first you act crazy. Then when you stop acting crazy you get all sorts of praise and influence you’d never have gotten if you didn’t act crazy in the first place–or, in this case, if the press hadn’t played up the initial craziness for all it was worth.  …

Mickey Kaus