My warnings from two recent columns, one labeling House Republicans the Banana Republicans, the other warning that the far right will doom the GOP, have come true.
Public approval has collapsed for the Republican Party, the Tea Party, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Republicans employing extremist tactics to impose crushing pain and economic danger upon Americans.
Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) should allow votes on clean bills to fund the government, end the shutdown and end the danger of a GOP-induced default that would cause a GOP-induced economic crash. The public verdict is in. The Republican Party is guilty as charged.
The fiasco must end. The government must be reopened. The financial crash must be avoided. The inmates must no longer be allowed to run the asylum by Republican leaders. The obsession against Obamacare must end.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) must no longer be allowed to waste taxpayer money using a Congressional committee for partisan public relations. Regarding Obamacare, you bet there have been snags. Shame on White House staff who did not listen to warnings and better prepare the system.
But -- and this is the most important but in American health care policy -- the reason for the snags is that Americans want to explore and in many cases sign up in the health care exchanges. In this most important sense, Obamacare so far appears to be a success. Consumers are interested. Very interested.
The public has seen the results of the Banana Republican policies and politics. The public has seen the damage of these GOP policies and practices to them. The public is saying no to Cruz, no to Lee, no to the Tea Party and no to House Republicans. Their 15 minutes of fame are over.
The smart move for the speaker would be to say goodbye, farewell, to those who practice the politics of obstruction and destruction. The Speaker should allow clean votes to fund the government and prevent a default. These measures will both pass -- and the speaker knows it, and the media knows it, and Republicans know it.
It is time to take back America from the radical right, which has done enough damage for a lifetime. Let's make it official: Their 15 minutes of fame are over.