Congress is not doing what it was 'designed' to do. The Hastert Rule (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastert_Rule) was only introduced in the last 30 years or so, and has never been followed as dogmatically as Boehner is following it now.
By refusing to bring a bill to a vote unless a majority of his party openly supports it, Boehner is explicitly preventing compromise.
That's not what I mean. Congress is refusing to finance a government whose actions it doesn't support. Which is exactly what it's supposed to do, and is in fact one of it's core functions.
Days later, congress voted to finance the government. They collectively decided it would be easier to build a better government on an economy that isn't in a nosedive.
