Can Boehner get Tea Party behind his debt plan?
In Washington today, it was more of the same old same old -- no breakthrough on resolving the debt crisis that could bring the economy to its knees.
But, believe it or not, there could be a solution this week. It all hinges on whether House Speaker John Boehner can convince enough members of his own party to vote for his bill Thursday, as CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports.
In two separate closed door meetings, Speaker Boehner told Tea Party Republicans it was time to close ranks around his bill to raise the debt limit even though it doesn't cut spending as much as they'd like.
Boehner lashed out at the conservatives, telling them to, "Get your ass in line."
CBSNews.com special report: America's debt battleRep. Blake Farenthold of Texas was among the converted.
"I moved from a lean no to an undecided to a lean yes," he told Cordes. "We just have to get what we can get from a Democrat White House and a Democrat Senate."
Boehner can afford to lose only a couple dozen Republicans if he wants to pass his plan and send it to the Senate, where Democratic leader Harry Reid has his own bill waiting in the wings.
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Some Republicans push back against Boehner's plan to raise debt limit
"If Speaker Boehner is able to get his bill passed in the House, is there a way that you could alter it in the Senate to make it more palatable to both parties?" Cordes asked Reid.
Reid's reply: "Don't worry -- it will be altered if it gets over here."
What angers Democrats the most about Boehner's bill is its short-term extension of the debt ceiling -- just six or seven months -- which would set up a repeat of this whole debate in December.
"Let's figure out during Christmas whether the U.S. is going to go into default," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney quipped Wednesday. "Brilliant."
The White House has threatened to veto the Boehner bill in its current form, but if it passes the House and the two sides can figure out a way to change that six month requirement it might just be the path out of this mess.
