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Today's installment of "Go ahead and vote Republican if it makes you feel better, but don't think it will change anything":

How many seats does John Boehner’s party need to control the House? If you guessed 218, you are wrong.

The correct answer is 28. That’s how many Republicans, counting the House speaker himself, voted to raise the debt limit with no strings attached.

Harry Reid called it “the right thing.” The White House praised it as a “positive step.” The Boehner 28 called it progress. “You’re not even going to clap for me getting this monkey off of backs?” the speaker asked.

[. . .]

With debt so large, federal spending on interest payments will increase substantially as interest rates rise to more typical levels,” the CBO states. “Moreover, because federal borrowing generally reduces national saving, the capital stock and wages will be smaller than if debt was lower. In addition, lawmakers would have less flexibility than they otherwise would to use tax and spending policies to respond to unanticipated challenges.”

This is the legacy for which the president and the speaker expect applause.

Yeah, yeah, I know all the problems the speaker and his supporters will talk about in explaining their cave-in -- the GOP controls only one-third of the government, the press keeps a strong cheering section going for Obama and the Democrats, etc., etc., etc. But still . . .

1. Our government won't shut down.

1. Our government won't be paid for, ever.

Double whammy.