Wall Street had a terrible day. Stocks were off over six percent, giving the S&P 500 the worst day since December 2008, and pushing the price of gold over $1,700 per ounce. Republicans are blaming Obama, for the mess they caused. Treasuries are not weak. The market fled to them as a safe haven. What crashed the market is that the S&P downgrade brought it to international notice that the Republican Party is tanking our economy for political gain. Let’s go ever what happened and how in more detail.

Investors piled out of stocks and into a few "safe havens," such as gold and Treasury bonds. The appetite for Treasury bonds suggests that the Standard & Poor’s downgrade has not shaken investors’ faith in U.S. bonds. Market experts said the Monday sell-off was sparked by the S&P announcement but was motivated more by growing concerns about the weakness of the global economy. "It’s really all about economics," said Mike Norman, the chief financial strategist at John Thomas Financial. The Dow ended the day down 634.76 points, or 5.5%, to 10,809.85. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell even more sharply, finishing the day down 79.83 points, or 6.6%, to 1,119.55…

Inserted from <LA Times>

The Banksters’ explanation is all wet. The world economy is nothing new. That has been factored into the market for weeks. What is new is the stark realization that the Republican Party really would destroy the world economy, if they can profit politically. Informed that they were at fault, Republicans actually cheered the news.

Rachel Maddow fills in the blanks and explains how Republicans caused the crash.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Republican response is to double down on their intransigence.

Will S&P’s controversial decision to downgrade the country’s bond rating — and its explicit citation of GOP intransigence on tax revenue — be enough to break the Republicans’ broad opposition to tax increases in future deficit reduction legislation? Not if House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) can help it. In a Monday memo to the House GOP caucus, he candidly acknowledged that S&P faulted the party’s unyielding stance on tax revenues for the downgrade. But he encourages members not to erase this bright line… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <TPM>

Finally, as SoINeedAName reminded us in a comment yesterday, Standard & Poors made the reason crystal clear.

We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues….

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