House GOP ready to push America over the cliff

Latest word is the House Republicans will maybe end up allowing the passage of the Senate bill at some point tonight, but not before making a day long public spectacle of their dysfunction. Clear highlight being Cantor's brief challenge for the gavel. Which apparently failed if one is to take the clues from the subsequent solidarity photo ops. Like this one:

[Photo: AP file/J. Scott Applewhite]

To which the White House replied:

[photo via Zeke Miller]

I've seen a few call this day a turning point on the twitter. Not so sure we've really reached peak wingnut myself, but surely this farce will become the stuff of legends. In the future, people will write books about this Congress. The subtitle for all them could be this tweet:

Joe Manchin: "Something has gone terribly wrong, when the biggest threat to our American economy is the US Congress."

There were many GOP confabs today. Clearly some of the caucus really don't understand how negotiations work:

Dan Pfeiffer ‏@pfeiffer44 Amazing RT @LukeRussert: Told that one member inside conf mtg asked for Boehner to try and bring up his original offer to Obama.

And this suggests the caucus did not heed the advice to stay sober.

billmon ‏@billmon1 Hemlock is extra. MT '@robertcostaNRO: source tells me 5:15 GOP caucus mtg will not be a dinner: "Just heavy snacks & soft drinks, water.'"

Now hearing a vote on the Senate bill is definitely coming tonight. As if they have any choice. The game is already over:

@politicalwire Note to House GOPers looking to amend bill: Senate has left town and current Congress ends Thursday at noon.

The last four or five hours have been nothing more than theater of the absurd.