The Reckoning Continues In What Promises To Be A Wild Week For Infrastructure | Talking Points Memo

You don’t believe the party that refused to uphold its Constitutional obligation to advise and consent, that fell in line behind a would be dictator, that supports The Big Lie, that endorsed an attmpted violent coup, would crash the economy in the name of seizing power?
Why?

sysprog · September 27, 2021, 2:51pm

She doesn’t look like a ‘rock star’ … she looks like Effie Trinket.

noonm · September 27, 2021, 2:53pm

But Democrats could raise the ceiling so high that it’s no longer an effective weapon. Or, of course, they could get rid of the filibuster and deal with it through normal legislation.

I think Democrats should flip the script on the debt ceiling. Propose a law that supersedes all previous law that says the Treasury Secretary must take all necessary measures, including issuing debt, to avoid defaulting on its obligations.

Call it the “America Doesn’t Default on its Debt” Act and have the GOP vote against it. Then give Manchin/Sinema a choice between the first Debt Default in US history and killing the filibuster for this bill.

This would make for easy attack ads (i.e. “XYZ voted for American to default on its debt”) against anyone stupid enough to vote against it.

scabbysanta · September 27, 2021, 2:55pm

Here she is dressed as a traffic cone to symbolize her intention to block infrastructure:

seamus42 · September 27, 2021, 3:00pm

Can we just start using “Senator Petard” to refer to the Manchin/Sinema beast as it slouches toward Bethlehem to be filibustered?

grandpajoe · September 27, 2021, 3:05pm

I’m sorry, but this:
“Democrats would likely be too cowed by GOP attack ads that would (disingenuously) accuse them of enormously jacking up the debt to take the reconciliation route.”
Is a pathetic excuse not to do it. Those ads are coming no matter what. A lot easier to fight back when you’ve actually delivered something.

coimmigrant · September 27, 2021, 3:17pm

The GOP, constitutional scholars all, will say it stands behind the 14th Amendment. Payment of “the public debt of the United States” cannot be “authorized by law” until the debt ceiling is raised. The Supreme Court then rules that this is a problem for Congress to solve (see Roberts, John in Shelby County v Holder). The Court can only call balls and strikes, it cannot legislate from the bench, distinguishing this case from Brnovich on the grounds that it is clearly different. Court watchers, well aware of the potential global economic disaster, breathlessly debate whether the decision will be 6-3 or 5-4.

boidster · September 27, 2021, 3:23pm

a fuss over the $3.5 trillion price tag of the reconciliation bill.

I know every outlet reports on it this way so I don’t really blame TPM, but the Pod Save America guys are absolutely right - why do we talk about the “price tag” of a fully funded bill, but never the “price tag” of tax cuts? The net cost of the reconciliation package is zero dollars. Nada. Zilch. Bupkis.

Our national journalistic style is slanted towards conservative priorities.

vlharpley · September 27, 2021, 3:32pm

“Scott Peters (D-CA) was the lone Democrat who voted against passing the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill”

This guy really wants to be primaried. Odd he is from a pretty safe Democratic district. Is he looking for the cushy consulting gig after being removed from office?

sysprog · September 27, 2021, 3:33pm

IF you decide to ‘buck’ your party and join the Cons can you at LEAST think up some new talking point? Using Republican ones make you look like a DINO…

grandpajoe · September 27, 2021, 3:34pm

That or he just assumes people will continue not noticing he’s a corporate owned whore.

coimmigrant · September 27, 2021, 3:35pm

There is noting to debate. It has been consistently proven since 1981 that tax cuts not only pay for themselves, they also reduce the deficit and would actually pay down the National Debt if it weren’t for Medicare, SS, SNAP and all the other runaway socialist spending by the Democrats.