It's all Greek to him

Holman Jenkins, that is, in the WSJ;

What if, 10 years ago, Greece had made itself a laughingstock, sacrificed its credibility, brought shame on itself—all phrases used against Washington this week—by shutting down its government because certain legislators saw ideological and electoral rewards to be gained from making a fuss over unsustainable spending.

Greek TV hosts would have shouted, "Athens is broken!" The usual suspects at this point will be stamping their feet and insisting the U.S. isn't Greece, as if this is an insight. No country can borrow and spend infinite amounts of money, and no political system is immune to the incentive to keep trying anyway. Herein lies the real point that applies as much to Washington as to Athens.

It would be nice if today's fight were genuinely about the future, about long-term spending. Oh wait, that's exactly what the ObamaCare fight is about. By trying to stop a brand new entitlement before it gets started, in a country already palpably and indisputably committed to more entitlement spending than it wants to pay for, those radical House Republicans aren't trying to chop current spending amid a sluggish recovery (however much one begins to doubt that pump-priming from Washington is the solution the economy needs).

Weren't the Greeks famous for slaying the messenger who brought the bad news?