Boehner's Debt-Limit Demands and No-Facts Zone

As I wrote Monday, House Speaker John Boehner gave a speech in New York on the state of the economy and our fiscal challenges. Today, the press reacted:

If you read one thing today, be sure to read the Bloomberg piece by James Rowley and Mike Dorning entitled "Boehner Builds Economic Case on Assertions at Odds with Markets, Studies."

In The Washington Post, Ruth Marcus takes a look at Boehner's lack of reality, and says he has an "incoherent, impervious-to-facts economic philosophy." Indeed.

And The New York Times Editorial Page similarly rips Boehner's speech, saying "There is no way to solve the country's fiscal ills without an accurate diagnosis and rigorous prescriptions for a cure. Mr. Boehner's speech was devoid of both."

The massive gulf in understanding between the two parties, either because of ignorance or ideology, about how the economy actually works and what drives the federal deficit, is a big reason why there's a gap between what Democrats and Republicans are willing to do. And it's why there are stories like this about the Biden-led deficit negotiations, because Republicans won't event come to the table in a serious manner. It's good that much of the media has stopped pretending that there is merely a difference of opinion; John Boehner has his own facts.