The Repbli-CON Plan to Destroy the Economy

UPDATE IV:  Read Bloomberg View, Best State for Business? Yes, California.

Read also Slate, The States Where Second (and Third, and Fourth) Marriages Are Most Common. 

UPDATE III: More proof that God hates the South.

Read The Huffington Post, These 9 Maps Should Absolutely Outrage Southerners. 

UPDATE II:  "In perhaps the least shocking economic data point to be released this month, American consumers were sharply less confident about the economy in early October than they were in September. Turns out, shutting down the government for 16 days while using the threat of a government debt default to battle over the nation's budget isn't great for peoples' psyche."

Read the Washington Post, Consumer confidence collapsed this month. Thanks, Congress!

UPDATE:  Want proof that Republi-cons are bad for the economy?

"On average, the economy in the districts those Republicans represent is significantly worse than it is in the nation at large.

The median income in those districts last year was 7 percent lower than the national median, according to the Census Bureau. The unemployment rate averaged 10 percent. That was almost two percentage points higher than the national rate, and two percentage points higher than the overall rate in the states that contain each district."

Read the Washington Post, At the source of the shutdown, the economy falters — and anger at Barack Obama runs high.

Of course, it could be that God just hates the South (new link).

As suggested by former Bush administration speechwriter Marc Thiessen, who urged Republi-cons (at the Washington Post, The GOP flunks Hostage Taking 101) "to release the government hostage and instead jack up its demand for the debt ceiling":

"'[O]ne of the first things they teach you in Hostage Taking 101 is that you have to choose a hostage the other side cares about saving' . . a debt-ceiling breach would potentially destroy millions of jobs, making it the perfect threat."

Read New York Magazine, Why the Shutdown Is Leading to Debt Default; or, What Happens When You Take Hostages Without a Plan.

The article states that "Boehner resembles William H. Macy’s character in Fargo, who concocts a simple plan to have his wife kidnapped and skim the proceeds, failing to think a step forward about what happens once she’s actually seized by violent criminals. He doesn’t intend for her to be harmed, but also has no ability to control the plan once he’s set it in motion. In the end, Boehner's Speakership is likely to end up in the wood chipper, anyway."

For a preview, watch the wood chipper scene: