GOP Sens. Ready To Blow Up Debt Crisis In Nakedly Political Gambit | Talking Points Memo

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1389800
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Guess we have to read between the lines?

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The blank space aptly matches the souls of the Senators picturedā€¦

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As well as their consciences, integrity, honesty, compassion ā€¦

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I have to point out that gun is pointed at their own heads too, also.

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The President told reporters last night that itā€™s ā€œa real possibilityā€

I am sure he already has Manchin and Sinema on board.

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Fine. Itā€™s THEIR ploy. Shout it from the rooftops. Point the gun at THEIR heads. No ā€˜Green Eggs and Hamā€™. No big sad face from Cruz at tanking our economy and our credit rating. Show the WORLD what a bunch of political hacks they are and their willingness to ruin the USA to ā€˜get their wayā€™.

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The President told reporters last night that itā€™s ā€œa real possibilityā€ that the filibuster rules could be loosened specifically to dodge Republicansā€™ obstruction on the debt ceiling.

So Biden has assurances from both Manchin and Sinema theyā€™ll vote for filibuster reform? I fail to see why he would publicly dangle such a change unless he did.

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So I wonder whether the federal government could keep operating without issuing new debt if they just cut off payments to any address in a state whose senators opposed such payments.

(Yeah, fantasy, I know)

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I think dems have been doing as much as they can to make sure of just that.

My original comment was on a glitch that has been fixed. The article was published before any content had been added other than the title and a picture of a few members of the Legion of Dumb.

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Itā€™s early, I have not had a lot of sleep but I need a call on this.

Nakedly?

That short circuited the brain for a moment.

What is the pro or con on that? I know there are editors out there lurking about.

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Shouldnā€™t be too hard to stop all Social Security checks from going to a given Stateā€¦

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Some of them are still soaping it up in the shower.

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Brilliant pic capturing four of the most vacuous do nothings ever to darken the door of the Senateā€¦disgracefulā€¦

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Not the imagery to start the day with.

However, beautiful sun rise this morning.

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I was thinking more of starting with contractor payments. And of course senatorsā€™ home-state offices would be shuttered.

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Hit the constituencies that are closest to the Republicans quickest. Get their retirement checks, youā€™ll see lines of golf carts blocking access to the greens in Florida.

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Except Lindz and Cruz ā€“ also vacuous evil do-nothings ā€“ are missing from the picture. Must have been in the cloak room.

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Iā€™m allowing myself a small dose of optimism. The caucus was united in opposing reconciliation for the debt ceiling increase. That means Manchin and Sinema are on with the gambit of running out the clock on reconciliation so that only filibuster reform remains as a legislative solution.

I think part of it is that on a personal level, Senators donā€™t want to waste their time on another reconciliation gambit. For us, itā€™s just another strategy. For them, itā€™s two weeks sitting through boring and useless hearings for a foregone conclusion that could be handled in an hour. That logic even applies to Manchin and Sinema.

We are witnessing the buildup of maximum leverage for filibuster reform.

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ā€œI mean, Iā€™m not going to be a complete asshole about it,ā€ Graham said.

They might be visible if Lindz opts for a partial asshole.

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