Singing the same old tune

In a conference call Tuesday afternoon, Senator John Kerry, ever the pragmatist, was saying the deal was awful, but that his yes vote was the only responsible one, given that the Tea Party crazies (my word) were willing to drive the country into a ditch to make a political point.

“I voted not for the deal, but to avoid default,’’ he said, and then slammed Republicans who would ruin the economy rather than raise taxes on hedge fund managers: He called it “the most singular instance of legislative extortion I have ever seen in all the time I have been in public life.’’

But Kerry, who is widely seen as a prospect for next Secretary of State, was very careful to avoid criticizing President Obama, who had some of his Massachusetts colleagues spitting chips for ceding way too much, too soon.

Case in point: professional chip-spitter Mike Capuano.

“At some point in his presidency, he is going to have to find some backbone,’’ said the Somerville Democrat, who has never come within a thousand miles of careful.

“I would have voted against the legislation even if I had been the guy who killed it. You run because you believe in things: Medicare and Social Security and fuel assistance and senior housing.’’

Is Capuano as reckless as the Tea Partiers (even though he’s right on his analysis of the problem)? Not quite: The Somerville Democrat had a fallback rationale.

In a meeting with Democrats on Monday, Vice President Joe Biden urged them to vote for the legislation but said the president would use the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling if all else failed, Capuano said. That would have bought time for a more sensible deal, he believed.

Other veteran reps in the room went the same way as Capuano, though with less pugilism. One was Jim McGovern, who heard Biden say the same thing. The Worcester Democrat, whose commitment to the social safety net is almost religious, had but one choice, he said.

“The easy thing to do would be to go along with the president and the leadership,’’ he said. “But I’ve got to live with these votes. I didn’t come here to force more people into poverty.’’