Well, That Was a Waste of Time and Money

“GOP Prepares for Surrender on Debt Ceiling and Shutdown”

So let’s review: Bomb-throwing Republicans on Capitol Hill have put the U.S. through a harrowing last two weeks, coarsened the political dialogue, and threatened the economic stability and world standing of our nation, all because of their tizzy-fit at the fact that millions of Americans they don’t want to see receive health-care coverage can now afford it. And where are we at the end of the right wing’s irresponsible tantrum? With no concessions having been made by either party--exactly what President Obama insisted upon from the beginning. The GOP has proved itself incapable of governing.

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“As the 16-day-old government shutdown draws to a close,” reports The National Memo, “its true costs are coming into clearer focus.

According to Standard & Poor’s, the shutdown has taken roughly $24 billion out of the U.S. economy, and cut 0.6 percent off of yearly fourth quarter GDP growth.

“The bottom line is the government shutdown has hurt the U.S. economy,” S&P said in a statement. “In September, we expected 3 percent annualized growth in the fourth quarter because we thought politicians would have learned from 2011 and taken steps to avoid things like a government shutdown and the possibility of a sovereign default. Since our forecast didn’t hold, we now have to lower our fourth-quarter growth estimate to closer to 2 percent.”

The ratings agency also stressed that a short-term solution won’t solve the nation’s economic woes.

READ MORE: “‘Lying to the American People’: House Conservatives Blame Press for Shutdown Surrender,” by Dylan Scott (Talking Points Media); “Boehner’s Sorry Reality: GOP’s True Leader Is Jim DeMint,” by Elias Isquith (Salon).