The president has to hold firm, even if that means shutting down government for a spell. Perhaps then the mainstream Republican Party will expel the radicals and proclaim they are not against government, in general.
Shouldn't we stop inviting the Jonses, Taitzes, and Becks of the world on national television, letting them embarrass themselves, and then scurrying back to our columns, blogs, and Facebook pages to cite them as representations of mainstream conservative thought?
The destruction of middle class wealth and income by Republicans, in particular, has been prolonged and systematic for decades. This standard of living has already declined for most of us since the 1980s, and will continue to decline.