This would be hysterically funny if it weren't so damned stupid and harmful ~ ~ Sooz

A debt-ceiling ransom note takes shape
By Steve Benen - Tue Sep 24, 2013 10:48 AM EDT

Given the trajectory of the current fight, congressional Republicans will probably fail in their government shutdown scheme. There are only six days remaining before the deadline, and there's still a chance for a disaster, but Senate Republicans are abandoning Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and the smart money says the government will keep its lights on through December.

But in the larger context, the shutdown crisis has never been the crisis that should keep you up at night. If the shutdown threat was the appetizer, the debt-ceiling threat is the main course. If the shutdown was the opening act; the debt ceiling is the headliner.

Indeed, late yesterday, we started getting a sense of what congressional Republicans will demand in exchange for doing their duty. I put together this image to help summarize:


You're probably thinking that I'm exaggerating. I'm really not. The conservative Washington Examiner reported late yesterday:


The legislative package, which House GOP leaders will unveil to their members tomorrow and which may get a vote as early as Friday, will agree to raise the debt limit and prevent a default. In exchange, they'll expect Democrats to "delay for a year further implementation of the Affordable Care Act" and accept "construction of the job-rich Keystone XL pipeline." The same report added that the bill "could include a variety of GOP-friendly economic proposals, including tax reform, Medicare means testing, medical liability reform, an overhaul of the federal employee retirement system, elimination of the Dodd-Frank bailout, the easing of Environmental Protection Agency rules, restrictions on federal regulators and an expansion of offshore energy production."

In other words, when it comes to the latest in a series of Republican-imposed crises, Democrats have effectively said, "Don't bother asking for anything because we're not negotiating." To which Republicans are responding, "Don't bother dismissing us because we're asking for everything."

If you're not worried, it's probably time to reconsider. Ezra Klein's analysis this morning rings true: "[T]his isn't 2011. It's potentially much worse."


Every time I write about this, I hear from plenty of folks who tell me Republicans are bluffing; Boehner has already told Wall Street he won't push the nation into default; and the GOP has already shown, just five months ago, that it's willing to talk tough before backing down on the debt ceiling.

Perhaps. But the deadline is weeks, not months, away and instead of looking for a way out of this crisis, House Republicans are poised to vote on a plan that would make matters much worse.

The Washington Examiner piece added a quote from Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) saying, "There's more leverage on the debt ceiling."

It's important to understand what that means. A government shutdown would be bad; but a breach of the debt ceiling is likely to be catastrophically bad. When Republicans say, "Meet our demands or we'll shut down the government," they think they have some leverage. But when they say, "Meet our demands or we'll trash the full faith and credit of the United States," they figure they have lots of leverage.

On the former, GOP lawmakers are threatening to do some deliberate harm to some Americans. On the latter, Republicans are threatening to do overwhelming harm to nearly every American. This, in Scalise's mind, gives the party "more leverage."

It's also help explains why the ransom note is so ridiculously one-sided. If unhinged Republicans ask for everything under the sun, they may not get everything, but they figure if Democrats give them anything, they'll be better off than they are now.

All the while, the political world doesn't see it at all scandalous that so many elected American officials, all from one party, are so willing to hurt the country on purpose.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/24/20675882-a-debt-ceiling-ransom-note-takes-shape?lite

they seem to think they are in charge.

they aren't.

Sometimes I find myself getting so fed up with all the BS going on in politics I give myself a break from it all and just stay away from the TV, internet and newspapers and bury myself in my Kindle and read fiction because the truth can be so dern annoying.

It's only 9:00am here, and this read makes me crave a BIG glass of wine ~ good thing I'm anti-guns/weapons ~ ~ Sooz

Republicans ready to trade one hostage for another
By Steve Benen - Thu Sep 26, 2013 8:00 AM EDT

There are just five days remaining for Congress to pass legislation to prevent a government shutdown, and overnight, the odds of some modicum of success appear to have improved. In the Senate, where a spending measure was on track to pass Sunday night, a bipartisan agreement was reached that will "accelerate" the process -- the chamber should now wrap up its work on Saturday.

In theory, this could give House Republicans time to reject the Senate bill, push another far-right alternative, and practically guarantee a shutdown, but all evidence suggests that's unlikely. As National Journal reported, "Conservative Republicans in the House appear ready to back off their demands that the short-term funding resolution Congress must pass to avoid a government shutdown also defund or delay Obamacare."

So, for those hoping congressional Republicans don't shut down the government, this is good news, right? On the surface, yes. Based on overnight developments, a shutdown appears less likely than it did a few days ago.

The problem is, as the Washington Post and others are reporting, GOP lawmakers appear eager to trade one hostage for another -- and the next hostage crisis will be far more serious.


This is nothing short of madness, but it's nevertheless quickly become the preferred Republican plan -- the GOP is prepared to let one hostage go (they won't shut down the government), while putting a gun to a new hostage (Republicans will trash the economy on purpose unless their demands are met). All of this will play out over the next 22 days.

The next task, aside from preventing a shutdown, is filling out the details of the ransom note.

According to the plan that GOP leaders will present to members today, Republicans will present a debt-ceiling plan "loaded with dozens" of right-wing goodies, including:

* A delay in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act;

* Approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline;

* The elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau;

* A tax-reform blueprint Republicans consider acceptable;

* A block on combating the climate crisis;

* The elimination of Net Neutrality;

* An extension on destructive sequestration spending cuts;

* Scrapping elements of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law;

* Medicare cuts;

* Tort reform;

* Maybe a ban on late-term abortions.

In exchange, Democrats would get ... literally nothing. And if their demands are not met, Republicans will crash the economy, push the nation into default, and trash the full faith and credit of the United States for the first time in American history.

Republicans could try to achieve these goals through the normal legislative process, but they probably realize those bills would fail to become law. So, as they abandon American governing and adopt policymaking-by-extortion, these unhinged lawmakers figure they'll just load up a must-pass bill with goodies, and threaten deliberate harm to Americans unless they get their way.

This is evidence of a political party that's gone stark raving mad. If you hear a politician or a pundit suggest this is somehow normal, or consistent with the American tradition, please know how very wrong they are.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/26/20704188-republicans-ready-to-trade-one-hostage-for-another?lite

Call them on it.

time for the 14th Amendment solution.

People with working brain cells who find themselves in a hole they dug but can't get out of ... STOP DIGGING ~ but the GOP/TPers seem intent on burying themselves [and us!] via their intentional bullying, hatred, and stupidity ~ ~ Sooz

Boehner Suggests Taking The Country Into Default Unless Republicans Get Additional Spending Cuts
By Annie-Rose Strasser on October 4, 2013 at 11:40 am

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) raised the idea of taking the country into default if Republicans don’t get more spending cuts during a press conference on Friday.

On October 17, the nation hits its credit limit, and must extend the so-called “debt limit” in order to pay outstanding bills that the United States owes. If the debt ceiling isn’t raised, it would be calamitous for the nation’s economy.

It’s long been suspected that House Republicans would wrap the debt ceiling into the shutdown fight, but on Friday, Boehner made it official.

“I don’t believe that we should default on our debt,” Boehner said. “It’s not good for our country. But after 55 years of spending more than what you bring in, something ought to be addressed.”

“I think the American people expect if we’re going to raise the amount of money we can borrow,” he went on, “we ought to do something about our spending problem and the lack of economic growth in our country.”

Boehner has previously pledged not to use the debt limit as political leverage. And while he may insist on spending cuts, the funding bill that Republicans are currently blocking actually includes the massive across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.

On Thursday, the Treasury Department released a report warning that hitting the debt ceiling would create “a recession more severe than any seen since the Great Depression.” Since the nation would default on its debt, it could affect the economic growth and borrowing power of the country for decades to come.

Still House Republicans have written off the effects of surpassing the debt limit, believing — against the advice of experts — that the nation would be able to prioritize payments and avoid pure default.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/04/2734541/boehner-debt-limit-default/