The whole debt ceiling “crisis” is the latest battle in The Republican War on Christmas and, as usual, completely manufactured by Republicans for narrow political ends [1].
Since March 1962, the debt ceiling has been raised 74 times [2], according to the Congressional Research Service. Ten of those times have occurred since 2001.
The debt ceiling has been raised all these times without any of the Republican shenanigans now going on. If a default occurs, it will be solely the fault of Republican hyper-partisanship and completely unnecessary. If a default occurs, our nation’s economy will go into the tank as immediately billions of dollars will be extracted from the nation’s economy crushing any economic recovery and devaluing stocks by at least one third and causing a loss of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of at least 5% [2]. The US economic crash could spiral into a worldwide crash and precipitate another Great Recession or a New Depression.
All of this will solely be the fault of Tea Party and other Republicans [3] who have bastardized the debt ceiling process into a super high stakes game of chicken and have bet the welfare of America and maybe world’s economy on the outcome. Some of the leaders of the Republicans and the Tea party don’t believe there is any imminent risk of a default and continue to play chicken.
Now that Republicans have taken control of the US House of Representatives and use their threat of filibuster to stymie any progressive legislation from passing the US Senate, Republicans have picked this “debt ceiling crisis” as their latest and greatest fight to wrest blackmail from the country in the furtherance of The Republican War on Christmas. Republicans have posited a series of ever more extremist and radical plans to restructure government under the guise of “fighting the deficit.” [4]
But, lest we forget, the Republicans precipitated the entire debt “crisis” with their tax cut and spend policies which raised the national debt from $1 trillion when Ronald Reagan took office to nearly $11 trillion the day Bush left office [5]. Republicans are not fiscal conservatives. It is ridiculous for any political party to call itself fiscally conservative when that party is responsible for a 1,000% increase in our nation’s debt! See here [6], here [7]and here [8].
So, why are Republicans picking a fight on the debt ceiling? The usual President Obama response to Republican school yard bullying is to turn over his lunch money without a fight so he can feel like a nice guy. And that’s exactly what President Obama did. President Obama went from a requirement of revenue increases as part of a deal to caving in to Republican bullying and going for a spending cut only “compromise.” But, a compromise for the Republicans means getting all of what they want and giving up nothing for the deal. A compromise for the Republicans means Obama throwing seniors, the disabled, the poor, pregnant women, the unborn, infants, children, students, widows and orphans under the bus by allowing for the destruction of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in the fashion of what is desired in The Republican War on Christmas. [1]
President Obama has blinked and has quisling-ed out to say he will accept a debt ceiling bill which solely consists of cuts and no new revenues. But, Obama’s lack of spine is neither what precipitated the debt ceiling crisis or what causes it to continue, it’s just the latest in Obama’s pattern of caving in to the Republican school yard bullies and handing over his lunch money without a fight so there’s no conflict and he can feel like a nice guy. See here [9] and here [10].
Republicans have been counting on President Obama’s usual behavior and him making himself into a non-entity in the discusssions as Obama has already gutlessly conceded their main argument that all we need is cuts. Now, the Republicans will stop by the threat of filibuster anything coming out of the Democratic US Senate and dare Senate Democrats to vote down whatever claptrap the Tea Party extremists and the US House’s own quisling leaders ship over in the next several days. No matter what happens, the Republicans’ spin will be either “We win!” or “It’s the Senate Democrats’ fault!” The frame is perfect for the demise of the Democrats but, all of America will lose as a critical battle will have been lost to Republicans in the Republican War on Christmas.
It’s time for President Obama to draw a line in the sand and tell the bullying Republicans: “No! Hell No!“ President Obama has to tell Republicans “We need a ‘clean’ bill now!” President Obama needs to make it clear that anything but a “clean” bill will be vetoed. If necessary, President Obama needs to be prepared to use the 14th Amendment [11] to unilaterally increase the debt limit.
Let the Republicans sue or whatever. President Obama didn’t pick this fight, it was the crazy Republicans with their continued cries for more and bigger GW Bush-style tax giveaways to corporations and millionaires at the expense of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The last round of Republican tax cut insanity gave us the Great Recession and a record national debt.
Mr. President: Lead us not into damnation; end the Republican insanity now!
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