In the Year 2013-- Not The Year 1913… And In Suburban Pennsylvania, Not Rural Texas

When Elizabeth Warren rails against what she called "backward-looking ideologues" she meant the 15-20 reactionaries who met to plot strategy with Ted Cruz at the notorious Tortilla Coast meeting Monday night, a meeting that included outright racists and secessionists like Steve King (R-IA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Southerland (R-FL), Mark Meadows (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and, of course, Louie Gohmert (R-TX). She says these hostage-takers and terrorists "cannot cope with the realities of our democracy" and urges them to get out of the way so adults can save the country from the mess they concotted. They met just as the Washington Post and ABC News released yet another staggering poll showing that voters have turned against the GOP in so massive a way that its going to result in career-ending elections next year for dozens of Republicans in swing district House seats.

A new high of 74 percent of Americans disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling Washington’s budget crisis, up significantly in the past two weeks and far exceeding disapproval of both President Obama and congressional Democrats on the issue.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that criticism of the GOP’s handling of the budget dispute has grown by 11 percentage points since just before the partial government shutdown began, from 63 to 70 and now 74 percent-- clearly leaving the party with the lion’s share of blame. Indeed 54 percent now “strongly” disapprove.

Some of the Tortilla Flats plotters are in districts where reelection can be won with just hard-core reactionaries and brain-dead Hate Talk radio fans-- think Gohmert's backward northeast Texas district-- but with 76% of independent voters now disenchanted with the Republican nihilism, this could be the death knell for phony "moderates" who loudly proclaimed their willingness to vote for a Clean CR-- like Charlie Dent, Mike Fitzpatrick and Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania-- and then stuck with the teabaggers on every single vote that would have allowed that to come to the floor. Even GOP polling firm Rasmussen agrees that the data shows Republicans will lose seats in 2014.

In fact, the Pennsylvania Republicans are among the most worried Republicans in the whole country. And they should be. Pennsylvania is not Georgia or Texas. Of the 13 Republican incumbents, 5-- Gerlach, Meehan, Fitzpatrick, Dent and Pitts-- represent districts that Obama won in 2008. These are swing districts and winners are determined by independent voters. Yesterday the Philadelphia Inquirer gave these Republicans a taste of what they can expect between now and the 2014 elections. Voters won't forget this charming little episode between now and then if Keystone Progress has anything to say about it.

A liberal group based in Harrisburg will fan out across the state and into the Philadelphia suburbs Tuesday to try to put pressure on Republicans in Congress toward ending the federal government shutdown.

Michael Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress, said hundreds of people will place "cease and desist" posters outside the district offices of House Republicans, placing the blame on them.

The National Republican Congressional Committee has called the protest a partisan stunt that ignores efforts by Pennsylvania's GOP House members to end the impasse. While Keystone Progress prepared for the demonstrations, Senate leaders in Washington said they were closing in on a deal.

The targets include Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick, who represents Bucks County, and Jim Gerlach and Patrick Meehan, whose districts stretch across swaths of Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. Keystone Progress wants them to end the shutdown by voting for a "clean" bill that raises the debt ceiling and does not attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act.

…"We've got members of Congress who are doing two things: either ignoring the reality of what's happening financially or playing word games," Morrill said. "In the case of congressmen like Fitzpatrick, they're saying they're opposed to the shutdown and don't want the country to go into default. But they're not taking any actions to follow up."

Responding to the planned demonstration, Fitzpatrick said, "People want the government back open, as do I. While I do not like how we got here, now is the time to focus on putting our country back on the right fiscal path."

…"These protests should be taken with a big grain of salt," Prior said. "Most Pennsylvania voters are trying to support a family. They aren't taking Tuesdays off of work to attend political rallies."

And while Pennsylvania Republicans worry about the general election, plenty of other Republicans have reason to worry about Tea Party primaries if they don't hold the line against… their own constituents. The Koch-owned Kansas reactionary who looks in the mirror every morning and sees the next Speaker, Tim Huelskamp, is threatening primaries against his colleagues. Speaking about the compromise Reid and McConnell worked out Monday night, Huelskamp growled “We’ve got a name for it in the House: it’s called the Senate surrender caucus. Anybody who would vote for that in the House as Republican would virtually guarantee a primary challenger.”