Joe Biden has been involved in US politics for over 50 years now. The debt ceiling crisis/drama/play over the last few weeks, brings that to the fore, in that he has manipulated the Republicans into a corner that they can not escape.

A disaster was predicted if an agreement was not reached. The US would go into a major recession and financial calamity would result. Kevin McCarthy, throughout negotiation process drew a number of demands and red lines. The White House just stayed quiets. Pundits were saying that Biden was losing the Public Relations battle over the debt ceiling issue. The deadline date for default, as identified by the Treasury Department was inching closer, yet no deal.

Then, seemingly ot of the blue, a tentative deal was reached. The contents of the deal were such, that the extremes of both parties were angered. But the hard-line right were much angrier and much more vocal about their dislike for the deal. How could Kevin McCarthy betray them like this. One has to ask, what kind of under the table promise did Biden make to get McCarthy to sign into a deal which is a lot more Democrat friendly than Republican friendly.

The Republican hardliners were in full bluster mode for their constituents and for right-wing media. The first big hurdle was for this agreement to pass through the Congressional Rules Committee made up of nine Republicans and four Democrats. If the agreement did not pass here, it could not be vote on by the full Congress. There were three hardliners on the Committee. One of the hardliners, after complaining, voted to approve the agreement, resulting in a 7-6 vote for approval.

The hardliners exploded in anger, at McCarthy because back in January, one of the supposed promises McCarthy made to get to be House Speaker, was that all nine Republican members of the Rules Committee had to give approval before any vote could be taken on the House Floor. A promise broken.

the House vote will be tonight. Republicans, even though they are in the majority, will require some Democrat support for the vote on the debt ceiling to pass. If, by some chance, the vote does not pass, full blame will go to the Republicans. Biden, correctly so, can say, that he reached an agreement with Kevin McCarthy, in good faith, and the Republicans voted it down.

If the vote passes, McCarthy’s speakership is in peril. One of the other promises, McCarthy made in January, was that only one House Member, could ask for McCarthy’s Speakership to be challenged. The hardliners have already promised to do that. Will they do it is another question. Is it a stretch to say that Biden’s under the table promise, might be to convince Democrat House Members to support McCarthy if his Speakership is challenged. Let’s see how this plays out.