You reap what you sow, and Republicans are paying the price for elevating a minority within their party. It is democracy run amok when the country teeters on the edge of default because of a small number of Tea Party anti-government absolutists, some 30 to 40 by most counts, plus another 70 sympathizers, and most of the remaining half of the House Republican caucus too scared to speak out. The standoff coming to a head feels like an existential struggle, and that’s an invitation to the most aggrieved fringe of the GOP to come out in full force.