Remember that it appears by the last national election that Americans are becoming wiser to the games being played. What we need to find interesting here is that not only are they willing to throw the US economy under the bus but their own political careers with it. If the obstructionist tactics continue it is going to amount to GOP suicide.
What I am in fact expecting is the GOP to try and force the President to result to "heavy handed" techniques which he certainly CAN do should he so desire. They need ammo to use against the opposing party that is really a great deal more factual than what they "manufactured" last time. To have anything really good they need to create a situation where they can "use" a representation that "they" can sell to the American People.
That last group they tried didn't work very well!
There are also many good men and women who happen to be GOP in party affiliation. Right now they are afraid of the extremists, but, at the last minute some of these people will very likely turn on the extremist elements of their own party. Right now it is threats and posturing as is typical of the GOP or what it has become. If they actually do it, it will be political suicide, and that could result in a backlash from the people that will have absolutely horrific long term results for the GOP and it's viability as a party in the United States. For those that want a change for another party to rise and the GOP to find itself in a bottomless pit, just hope that they do it.
The GOP just found out that people disenfranchised deliberately tend to fight back.
If the GOP gets their way it will not be for very long, and the backlash could have riots in the streets against these people. Not only will the backlash hit elected extremists, that backlash is going to be directed towards anything that represents this extremist idealism. Let's see, the effects of that backlash could be the elimination of. . . .Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Greta VanSusteren, and all the others. It could literally destroy Rupert Murdoch's little empire as they are already under investigation in the United States. The FCC could and if the things found were bad enough force a sale and complete re-staffing of Fox. The worst thing that the extremists could do now is to force a "showdown at the OK corral".
The worst thing for the GOP would be an agreement to pass incredibly restrictive election reform legislation and extremely restrictive rulings against special interest groups. If true campaign finance reform went through based on sources it appears that while it would damage the DEMS it could literally cripple the GOP for possibly decades. If that were to be an outcome, the GOP could be it's own executioner.
It is a sad statement on how far down many of these extremists will sink. Remember that the "bought and paid for" are under extreme pressure to maintain the status quo and have to have the poor subsidize the rich. Do it wrong fellas and they lose the whole shooting match. They did it wrong last time and heavy handed tactics by either side done without real cause could backfire. At least a few did not learn from the mistakes, and they are not taking this last election seriously. The extremists could, succeed in causing the complete dismantling of the checks and balances created by the current two party system. Though I am not in favor of the GOP in it's current mindset in any manner, I don't think I would be in favor of an unchecked emergence of the other side either. There must be some balance, and I don't want to see a complete collapse of the GOP as that would not be in our best interest either.