Let’s set the record straight anyway, in case anyone’s forgotten. Congress could, today, pass a clean bill that raises the debt ceiling. It would immediately end the crisis, reassure investors and markets around the world, and clear the way for Democrats and Republicans to go right back to fighting again. The whole process would take a few minutes. It’s no different than having a car headed for a cliff, only to have the driver realize the brake works. All he has to do is step on it.
Since 1939, Congress has raised the debt limit 89 times. That’s not a typo. The issue has come up 89 times, and in 89 instances, Congress passed a clean bill. In fact, in two-thirds of these instances, there was a Republican president, and no one ever used the vote as leverage for a reward.
During the Bush presidency, Republicans raised the debt ceiling, without strings or preconditions, seven times. The current GOP leadership in Washington has voted to raise the debt limit 19 times. Bush’s former budget director said this “ought to be treated as the housekeeping matter it is.”
But we’ve now reached the point at which routine housekeeping, which didn’t even give conservative Republicans a second thought as recently as 2008, is considered beyond the pale. This is madness.
One effortless vote makes the entire problem disappear. I can’t think of any potential crisis that’s so serious and yet so easy to resolve. But this isn’t even a possibility because the Republican Party has lost its mind.
Meanwhile, all indications are that the House will not bother to work over the weekend and that the GOP continues to reject anything that isn't the ridiculous "Cut Cap and Balance" plan, which would amount to an across the board 25% cut in government spending, including Medicare and Social Security.
That plan, which is likely to die in the Democrat-controlled Senate today, would slash federal spending by $111 billion in the 2012 fiscal year, and go on to cap spending at about 20 percent of US gross domestic product. According to the Center for American Progress, "Cut, Cap, and Balance" would necessitate a 25-percent cut to every item in the federal budget, from defense spending to education to veterans' benefits. And if, say, defense spending was spared, it would mean far deeper cuts to other federally funded programs.
The Senate indeed has rejected the plan 51-47, and the GOP has responded by basically leaving the table. An across the board 25% cut in everything or sovereign debt default, this is where the GOP is leaving us. Indeed, late this afternoon Orange Julius announced the GOP was officially pulling out of any deal and walking away from the table.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner broke off talks with President Barack Obama on Friday and said he will begin negotiations with Senate leaders aimed at meeting an August 2 deadline to avert an unprecedented U.S. debt default.
In a letter to congressional colleagues, Boehner, the top U.S. Republican, said talks with the Democratic president had become futile, citing Obama's demand to raise taxes.
"The president is emphatic that taxes have to be raised," Boehner wrote. "As a former small businessman, I know taxes destroy jobs."
Needless to say, the President finally got angry this evening and went off.
Obama responded by appearing in the briefing room of the White House Friday evening, saying he was perplexed by Boehner's actions.
"This was an extraordinary fair deal," said the president. "If it was unbalanced, it was unbalanced in the direction of not enough revenue."
He said Republicans need to ask themselves, "What can they say 'yes' to?"
"We have now run out of time," said Obama. He called bipartisan negotiators back to the White House on Saturday morning.
"I expect them to have an answer in terms of how they intend to get this thing done in the course of the next week. The American people expect action," Obama said.
"What we're not going to do is continue to play games and string this along," said the president. "I've been left at the altar now a couple of times."
He added, "I cannot believe that Congress would be that irresponsible that they would not pass a package to avoid a self inflicted wound."
For the first time, Obama allowed for the possibility that the U.S. may default on its financial obligations. "If we default, then we're going to have to make adjustments."
The Fourteenth Amendment is looking better and better.
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