Will Wall Street Get its Way?

For my whole adult life it has generally been the case that while Congressional Republicans talk a lot about "values" with their voters, when it comes to legislation they usually do what the business leadership wants. Now the debt ceiling impasse has set up a stark choice for Republicans in the House, because the Tea Party faction is opposed to any sort of compromise on the debt while a big coalition of business groups has just sent a letter to every member of Congress demanding that the debt limit be raised:

The letter, signed by hundreds of senior company executives and groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, said that “it is critical that the U.S. government not default in any way” and urges lawmakers “to put aside partisan differences and act in the nation’s best interest.”

“The business community in large numbers is saying to our leaders in Washington, ‘Do your job,’ ” said Business Roundtable President John Engler, a former Republican governor of Michigan. “Failure to raise the debt ceiling would strike an immediate and serious blow to any economic recovery, and failure to make significant progress on long-term debt reduction will continue the uncertainty which is hampering our investment climate.”

It remains to be seen if Boehner, Cantor and company will do the usual Republican thing and raise the limit, or act like the revolutionaries they say they are. Here's hoping they all want fat cat lobbying jobs when they retire.