1. No the debt committee, or "super congress" if you prefer, can't unilaterally approve treaties, they still require a 2/3 majority per the constitution.
2. No the debt committee can't impose gun control, and, (there is some debate on this point), probably can't even introduce anything that is not budget related (Cantor says they can't even propose tax increase only spending cuts).
3.Even under a worst case scenario, that the committee did insert gun control into some debt bill, it would still require a majority vote in the house and senate.
4. No the Republican majority in the house are not going to throw away their political careers by voting for gun control.
5. No the Republicans won't be "held hostage" by the threat of debt triggers and forced to support gun control. The triggers don't go into effect until 2013 even if activated, giving republicans plenty of time to reverse the defense spending cuts in other must pass legislation. Cantor has already said the Republicans in the house would allow the triggers before voting for a tax increase if the debt committee included one. The triggers are essentially toothless political theater.
6. And finally, No the "super congress" is not an all powerful entity that is going to dominate congress from now on, for one thing it's mandate expires at the end of every congress and has to be renewed by the next on, because no future congress can be bound by the actions of a current one. For another, it only has a much power as the House and Senate decide it has, in fact, constitutionally the House and Senate leaders could simply ignore it with impunity, because the only recourse would be to get the courts involved and they aren't going to touch an internal congressional dispute with a ten foot pole.
>> I think this story was pretty thoroughly debunked yesterday <<
Oh, c’mon. Don’t be a spoil sport. Conspiracy theories are a lot of FUN!