On Thursday's PoliticsNation, MSNBC's Krystal Ball asserted that Tea Party Republicans have been "actually destructive," blaming them for "destroying economic growth in this country," before later fretting that it is "frightening" that "radical elements" in the Republican Party did not "learn a lesson" from recent events. Ball:
And the problem with this Congress, I mean, we could call them a do-nothing Congress, but they're worse than that because of the Republicans in the House and folks like Ted Cruz, they are actually destructive. We didn't just have a debate for the past three weeks about nothing. We actually were destroying economic growth in this country.
After host Al Sharpton raised the possibility that some congressional Republicans would receive primary challenges from the right, Ball added:
And that's what's really frightening here. I mean, they didn't learn a lesson from the 2011 debt ceiling situation. They didn't learn a lesson from losing the election in 2012. And I don't think that the radical elements of the party, the ones who have been essentially driving what the entire Republican caucus does, I don't think that they've learned a lesson from this either.
She concluded:
In fact, you're seeing folks coming out and saying on the right like Eric Erickson that they want to see more primary challenges, enforce more purity on the Republican Party in the House. I mean, that is a scary situation. It could get worse before it gets better.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Thursday, October 17, PoliticsNation on MSNBC:
AL SHARPTON: Isn't this really where we have to try and go, Krystal, to go from this governing from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis as the President said to where we get down to governing based on the needs of the American people?
KRYSTAL BALL: That's exactly right. And the problem with this Congress, I mean, we could call them a do-nothing Congress, but they're worse than that because of the Republicans in the House and folks like Ted Cruz, they are actually destructive. We didn't just have a debate for the past three weeks about nothing. We actually were destroying economic growth in this country. I mean, that's the thing is I'm glad the government's reopened. I'm glad the debt ceiling is lifted, but we're looking at another fight just a couple of months down the road.
And so this all comes down to it. It doesn't come down to the President. It doesn't come down to Ted Cruz. It doesn't even come down to the Tea Party Republicans. It comes down to John Boehner. What does he want to do? What kind of a speaker does he want to be? Because there are a lot of good folks in the Democratic Party who would love to partner with moderate Republicans to actually get things like immigration reform and a budget deal passed. John Boehner himself could make the decision to go in that direction.
(...)
SHARPTON: Krystal, it is not sounding like all of them have learned a lesson from this.
BALL: No. And that's what's really frightening here. I mean, they didn't learn a lesson from the 2011 debt ceiling situation. They didn't learn a lesson from losing the election in 2012. And I don't think that the radical elements of the party, the ones who have been essentially driving what the entire Republican caucus does, I don't think that they've learned a lesson from this either.
In fact, what we really need to look at is the forces that are driving this situation because these folks in the House, this is in their political interest to vote for default, to vote for the country to default is in their best interest. And that has not changed. In fact, you're seeing folks coming out and saying on the right like Eric Erickson that they want to see more primary challenges, enforce more purity on the Republican Party in the House. I mean, that is a scary situation. It could get worse before it gets better.
