If US House Speaker John Boehner were a patriot, he would defy the kooky-right-wing of his Republican caucus, and schedule a floor vote for the stopgap spending bill recently passed by Senate, almost assuredly sacrificing his leadership post for the welfare of the nation. But he's not a patriot, so he won't. And thus the federal government will shut down on Tuesday, all thanks to the Tea Party obsession with assassinating Obamacare.

House Republican leaders proposed a new plan to the GOP rank-and-file Saturday afternoon: Make a new gesture of defiance toward President Obama’s health-care law, even if it increases the chances of a government shutdown Monday night.

Their plan calls for amendments to a bill designed to keep the government open for a few more weeks. The changes would include a one-year delay in the health-care law, which is set to take effect next month. The GOP plan would also repeal, permanently, a medical-device tax included in the law.

And if you think the economic and human service consequences of a government shutdown are bad, just wait a couple weeks until the House refuses to raise the debt limit, thus tanking global markets by pushing the US towards defaulting on our debt. This is economic terrorism, pure and simple. And of course, President Obama won't cave on Obamacare, because you don't negotiate with terrorists.

We've had a lot of bad congresses. But this has got to be our most irresponsible House ever. Boehner is so weak and weaselly that when it comes to statesmanship, he makes Newt Gingrich look like Henry Clay.