Maybe you had forgotten about them — those vociferous tea party representatives who descended on Washington last January, who had promised to clean up the government and reduce the federal deficit. Well, they are back under the spotlight: They would be the first held responsible for the possible government paralysis.
Indeed, as is explained in Libération, Democrats and Republicans must try to find an agreement on the 2011 federal budget by midnight Friday or else federal agencies will be shut down. And they are currently in a complete deadlock.
The fault lies in particular with the tea party representatives who enabled the Republican party to gain the majority in the House of Representatives. They have been holding Republican leader John Boehner hostage for weeks by refusing all compromises and demanding very ideological, drastic budget cuts (on funding of social services programs, public radio, projects related to protecting the environment, Planned Parenthood, etc.) Democrats are trying hard to negotiate, but it has been all in vain so far.
The stakes are much higher than the 2011 federal budget itself, as the 2012 presidential election is approaching. If the tea party manages to impose the budget it wants, it will be in a position of strength to back a candidate in the next race for the presidency.
This should guarantee us some interesting brawls in the next few weeks.
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