With the prospect of default drawing ever nearer, President Joe Biden on Sunday called on House Republicans to compromise and stop continuing to hold the debt ceiling hostage, warning that their current position is too “extreme.” He also placed renewed emphasis on the possibility of citing the 14th Amendment to sidestep the debt ceiling, a controversial prospect that could rob McCarthy of his leverage.
This is the point where McCarthy has never had sufficient leverage to win. All the Democrats have to do is peal 5 Republicans out of MAGA land. Nobody outside of McCarthy’s MAGA caucus is going to agree to the MAGA demands. In the end McCarthy will roll.
Over the weekend, Republicans rejected a new White House offer to basically freeze domestic spending at 2023 levels — a demand they have been yelling about for months. But not only did they reject the proposal, they also added new fresh ideas to their hostage ransom list — including work requirements that are more rigid than the ones they originally proposed and new provisions that they did not have in the debt ceiling bill they passed last month.
If Biden agreed with 100% of their demands today, tomorrow they’d have new ones. This is all you need to know to understand that the House MAGA are engaged in bad faith negotiation.
Let’s hope this fact finally bubbles up through the media reporting correctly.
The GOP see this as an easy way to turn on the Austerity Machine. Problem is, they are not skilled machine operators. The fiscal magic will begin just as it did for Mickey Mouse in Sorcerer’s Apprentice and then the central banks of the world will be asked to step in and provide adult supervision. There is a way to deal with the US Debt Clock app that Republicans believe gives them some view of the situation, and that is to move to a more progressive tax system. More, not less, procurement of public goods and services, would bring the US into alignment with advanced countries and facilitate spending geared to raising economic productivity generally.
“Authority”? The Constitution requires the country to pay its bills (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, §4.). This is a Gorsuchian “plain reading” of the constitution. It’s not optional.
If the majority in part of the Legislative branch wants to take the Executive branch to court, let them. Let the VRWC’s pet justices in the Judicial branch tell all concerned that the the country must default on their debts so that every one can hear.
And none other than Lawrence Tribe himself says so.
I think it would serve as a balls-out political and practical move on the part of Biden.
Make the Dems look like they gotta pair.
ETA: As I write this, MSNBC is milking this for all the drama: “House negotiators on way to WH negotiations”.
The MSM is driving the great majority of this bullshit. It is as though the only deal that McCarthy is successfully negotiating is the HorseRace/BothSiderist one.
Let’s hope this fact finally bubbles up through the media reporting correctly.
I doubt they’re interested in clarity, watching the clock tick, High Noon and all that stuff. you’re right, MAGA reps making brand new demands even if Joe says “yes, will do it your way.” LOL!
I’m thinking Joe wants to crush these assholes. There’s got to be 5-6 newbie 'pub reps from purple states/districts who want to return to Congress next November. Time for Joe to exploit his advantage. Easy for me to say of course but if KMac is crushed as a result, what’s a House to do? Maybe they’ll start eating one another.
I’m more convinced with each passing day that Biden decided to “negotiate” to shine a spotlight on the MAGAt lunatics and expose their insanity. He will soon have “no choice” but to rescue the economy from right wing terrorists. His rhetoric is edging closer every day.
… not only did they reject the proposal, they also added new fresh ideas to their hostage ransom list …
I guess it wouldn’t be a GQP negotiation if they couldn’t move the goal posts.
Like that gets us nearer to legislating a debt ceiling increase.
Of course, it’s possible that Freedum Kaukus wants the default. Not that they’d act more like it if they did.
And, Qevin will just go along with it like the feckless sock puppet he is.
If Sevaried, Cronkite, Huntley, Murrow, Smith, Chancellor, Rather, etc. were behind the mike interviewing McCarthy, he would probably have to go into therapy.
Allowing the GOP to use the Fourth Estate to basically abrogate their charge to inform and enlighten was, is and will always be the damage the Corporate MSM think they can get away with.
My beef with the Dems has always been their decision not to go after the Press more energetically
