[Romarionsion]

A bit of political theatre played out this afternoon, as Republicans in the house went through the motions of passing an austerity bill that won't pass the Senate and would never be signed into law.

With that out of the way, work on the compromise proposal will ideally begin quickly.

TPM: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...it.php?ref=fpa

In a heavily partisan vote Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act -- a palatable-sounding piece of legislation that, if enacted, would slash federal programs deeply, and restrict dramatically the government's ability to do anything constructive for the country.

It also would graft those requirements into the Constitution, on the threat of a catastrophic debt default. Now leaders of both parties will have to scramble to make sure that doesn't happen.

...

The good news is that the legislation will now die a quiet death in the Senate. The better news is that, when the ballet is finally over, the House and Senate will finally figure out how exactly they'll raise the statutory debt limit.

The bad news is that time is running out. August 2 is the drop dead date before the country defaults on its debt, and still neither of the viable options on the table -- the grand bargain, the backup plan, or anything in between -- can pass in the House, where the agenda is currently driven by hot-tempered conservatives.

But the idea behind Tuesday's vote is to placate those conservatives, and give Republicans who know the debt ceiling must be raised cover to vote for a compromise in the days ahead. If it succeeds at that, then maybe the price of posturing will have been worth it.