The Ultimate Sanction

Reeling from a massive defeat in the polls over the shutdown debacle that they caused, Republicans are now making open threats that if President Obama doesn't meet their demands and the GOP then fails to raise the debt ceiling, the resulting default will be an impeachable offense...for President Obama.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) isn't sure whether he'll support a debt limit deal, but he is sure of one thing: a debt default would be President Barack Obama's fault. 

A reporter for The Young Turks asked Gohmert whether he'd support a bill that would raise the debt ceiling at the Values Voter Summit on Friday. 

"The word 'deal' concerns me," he said. "If it's good for America." 

When asked whether he would allow the government to default on its debt, Gohmert projected the responsibility for such circumstances onto Obama. 

"No," he said, "that would be an impeachable offense by the president."

Moose Lady picked up on this theme last weekend as well.

President Barack Obama is risking “impeachable” offenses with the way he is handling the debt limit debate, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said in a post on her Facebook page Monday. 

“Defaulting on our national debt is an impeachable offense, and any attempt by President Obama to unilaterally raise the debt limit without Congress is also an impeachable offense,” Palin wrote.

The threat is pretty explicit here:  unless the President gives in to the GOP's extortion, they will force the nation to default, blame the President, and begin impeachment proceedings.  They will also impeach if the President tries to go around Congress and raises the debt limit by executive order through the 14th Amendment, which President Obama has said multiple times he will not do.

But of course if the options are "default and be impeached" and "raise the debt limit by fiat and be impeached" the remaining option Republicans leave is a deal to raise it on their terms.  Hell, some of most rabid Tea Party Republicans say they will never raise the debt ceiling now, so you can see where this is going.

Will the debt ceiling battle become an impeachment fight?  I'm thinking there's more than a few wingers who want to see that fight play out, and are already using the threat as leverage to wreck any possible deal that comes out of the Senate.

Once again, Obama Derangement Syndrome threatens to destroy the country.