THE RULE OF THE THIRTY

Byron York sticks by his story that 30-80 extremists in the House GOP are running the shutdown show:

"I've been trying to figure this out," says one House Republican of the current standoff over funding the government. "It seems to me that Boehner could do whatever he wants with Democrats on the floor and still get about 180 or 190 of us. So why doesn't he do that?"

The lawmaker was referring to the fact that a large majority of the House's 232 Republicans, plus a large majority of its 200 Democrats, would likely support a "clean" continuing resolution to fund the government but not defund, delay, or limit Obamacare. If House Speaker John Boehner were to bring such a bill to the floor, it would probably pass with a majority of Republican as well as Democratic votes. But Boehner doesn't do it.

If the Speaker did, he would raise the ire of the group of House GOP conservatives most committed to continuing the defund battle. There are various estimates of how many there are in that group -- probably about 30 core members, but perhaps 30, or even as many as 50, others who are sympathetic to the core position. Even so, a high estimate is about 80, meaning that even in the worst case scenario for a clean continuing resolution, Boehner would still have around 150 Republican votes to end the impasse. Given Democratic support, that would be more than enough.

But he doesn't do it. "I think the issue is, he's scared that those 30 people could somehow force a speaker's election," says the House Republican. "I don't know exactly, but clearly he thinks his speakership is a stake if he screws them."

Here's how one of The Thirty feel about the shutdown:

Bachmann to Hannity: ‘This Is About the Happiest’ GOP Has Been in a While

UPDATE FOR VICTOR DAVIS HANSON & HIS FANS:

Thirty Tyrants, (404–403 bc) Spartan-imposed oligarchy that ruled Athens after the Peloponnesian War. Thirty commissioners were appointed to the oligarchy, which had an extremist conservative core, led by Critias. Their oppressive regime fostered a bloody purge, in which perhaps 1,500 residents were killed. Many moderates fled the city; gathering a force, they returned to defeat the tyrants’ forces in a battle at Piraeus in 403. The 30 fled and were killed off over the next few years.