No Dealing On The Debt Ceiling, Part 30

Over at Power Line, John Hindraker is incensed that the Republicans are even considering a deal.

Republicans should have nothing to do with such banana republic proceedings. There should be no eleventh-hour cosmic bipartisan deal on the budget. The nation’s fiscal future should be debated and legislated on in an organized, transparent, legal, public manner. First choice: Republicans vote against an increase in the debt limit. Contrary to hysterical pronouncements from the likes of the discredited Tim Geithner, this would not cause the federal government to default on its bonds. Rather, the government would continue to pay principal and interest as it comes due, and would be forced to cut spending in other areas. Second choice: Republicans vote to increase the debt limit in exchange for specific, tangible spending cuts or other consideration–e.g., reductions in the continuing resolutions that fund FY 2011 spending–not in connection with a grand compromise. Third choice: Republicans vote to increase the debt limit with no conditions and no grand compromise, reserving all issues relating to the federal budget, future taxes, entitlement reform, etc. for another day and for an appropriate legislative process. Worst choice: Republicans join hands with Democrats and go over the fiscal waterfall together, to the Democrats’ everlasting political gain.

That's his plan: refuse to raise the debt ceiling, and spending cuts will simply happen.  What he doesn't mention is how deep and painful those cuts would be, especially with no revenue boosts.  In fact, as NRO's Andrew McCarthy pointed out in April, that's exactly what the Republicans want to happen.  Paying for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid would then not even leave enough to cover defense spending at the Pentagon...and that would mean the end of every single other government program.

The $395 billion can’t cover the nearly $700 billion for the Pentagon, and it certainly can’t be further stretched to cover another $115 billion or so for homeland security, $82 billion for HHS, $77 billion for Education, $42 billion for HUD, $21 billion for DOJ, $22 billion for agriculture, $14 billion for Treasury, $13 billion each for the Labor and Transportation Departments, $12 billion for Interior, $10 billion for EPA, and on and on and on (see here for relevant OMB tables — discretionary spending is table S-11). And all of that doesn’t count the prohibitive costs of Obamacare down the road.

So, no national parks.  No federal money for schools.  No Pell grants.  No money for highway repair.  No federal law enforcement.  No airport security.  No farm subsidies.  No federal unemployment benefits.  No food and drug testing.  No food stamps.  Nothing.  Drowned in the bathtub.  And that is the optimal outcome according to these guys.

So no, the notion that there's a deal coming on the debt ceiling?  I don't buy it.