It looks like Speaker Boehner just sold conservatives up the river;
Boehner, R-Ohio, chose Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Dave Camp of Michigan and Fred Upton of Michigan, while McConnell, R-Kentucky, picked Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio.
Fred Upton's presence on the debt ceiling supercommittee sets up a strong prospect for a 7-5 center-left vote on a Democratic-friendly package. Upton is a rather moderate Republican from southern Michigan who would be rather likely to give into Democratic demands rather than see the across-the-board cuts that will kick in if they don't do something.
The Senate picks are solid. Toomey is an old Cudgel for Growth boss who will hold a hard line on taxes. Portman was Dubya's OMB director and might be a tad establishmentarian, but he and Kyl are also solid conservatives.
Camp, my congressman, is a garden-variety conservative and Hensarling seems OK. Upton is more than a bit like Dick Lugar, an old-school Midwest WASP center-right guy. He seems like a decent guy, but one who (as part of that decency) is prone to reaching across the aisle more than modern conservatives.
That's the weak link on the right. Max Baucus might be the Democrat's weak link if we get to a 7-5 center-right vote; he, John Kerry and Patty Murray are Dirty Harry's picks on the Senate Democratic side. A Upton-Baucus caucus might be the decisive axis on that supercommittee, as you'll likely need both of them to get something out of committee.
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