Boehner Scrambles as Shutdown Looms

We weren’t supposed to be back here so soon, but once again the United States is on the verge of a Sept. 30 shutdown after 48 House conservatives revolted against the GOP Wednesday and joined Democrats in voting down the budget bill. Democrats wanted the bill to provide more for disaster victims and auto manufacturers; the conservatives who voted against it, meanwhile, wanted it to make deeper cuts. The unexpected revolt reveals the limits of House Speaker John Boehner’s power; he even went as far as to threaten stripping committee assignments in his efforts to get the bill passed. Republicans will have to rewrite the bill to hold onto a new vote.