The federal government officially shut down at midnight Eastern time, you know, just because. Previous government shutdowns have tended to be expensive and painful, but brief. This time though, I'm not so sure about the brief part.

A couple weeks ago somebody asked me if I thought House Republicans would follow through on their threat to force a shutdown, and I responded with a question of my own: "In what world do you live?" Of course we were headed for a shut down. The whole goal of the Tea Party is to dismantle government. How could a shut down be anything but a win-win for them?

Even scarier is the looming debt ceiling crisis, just two and a half weeks away. Not that they understand it or anything, but Teabaggers hate the national debt. And what better way to rein in the debt than by defaulting on it? Nobody would lend us money then, right? Of course, global financial markets would collapse in the process, but who needs global financial markets?

These people aren't just incredibly stupid. They're fucking crazy. And they're driving the Republican Party.

So this only ends one of two ways. Either President Obama caves on what even he now calls Obamacare—which I'm guessing (hoping?) is not going to happen. Or House Republicans defy the Tea Party and risk the wrath of the their idiot base. Don't hold your breath.