Associated Press
Last year, congressional Republicans, for the first time in American history, said they would crash the economy on purpose unless their non-negotiable demands were met. The result was a brutal-but-easily-avoided debt-ceiling crisis, which did lasting damage.
Republican leaders vowed, even at the time, to deliberately create the same crisis again if given the opportunity. And sure enough, the hostage strategy has begun anew.
President Barack Obama made a demand of House Speaker John Boehner near the end of their first White House meeting on the fiscal cliff: Raise the debt limit before year's end.
Boehner responded: "There is a price for everything."
Let's be perfectly clear about this. John Boehner knows the debt ceiling has to be raised. He's said, out loud and on the record, that if the debt limit isn't raised, it would mean "financial disaster" for the global economy. Boehner has also said, out loud and on the record, "Whether we like it or not, the federal government has obligations and we have obligations on our part."
And while we're at it, let's also not forget that during the Bush/Cheney era, Boehner routinely voted to increase the debt ceiling, without conditions, as has been the bipartisan norm since the law was created in 1939.
In other words, the Speaker of the House knows he's playing with fire; he knows the consequences would be catastrophic; and knows he's being a shameless hypocrite ... but he just doesn't care. The full faith and credit of the United States is on the line, and he'll throw it all away, deliberately, unless Obama meets undefined demands.
"There is a price for everything"? There doesn't have to be a price for everything. This is only true once hostage takers decide to take the hostage and demand a ransom. U.S. policymakers who want what's best for the nation have always resisted the urge to play such a dangerous and radical game, but the radicalized Republican caucus is playing by a new set of rules.
Boehner threatened to hurt all of us, on purpose, in 2011, and now he's prepared to do it all over again. Why this isn't considered a shocking political scandal is a mystery to me.
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Reid should use the nuclear option to change the philibuster rules in the Senate to show them that we mean business. Eff boehner and mcconnel.
Wow, how brave of bonehead to ignore the will of the people and the consequences of his arrogance. I wonder if Congress has ever recieved a negative favorability number?
I also wonder if a new party is waiting to emerge? AFS-Americans For Sanity? CARE-Citizens Against Religious Entaglement?
And of course a sub-party of the former GOP--WASPs.
Isn't that Jon Kyl lurking in the background? Does that mean that anything these people say is "not meant to be a factual statement"?
Give them nothing. They lost the election in every metric except in areas where they have drawn the districts for themselves. They are cheats, Liars, and fanatics of something that never existed. Let them take themselves and Grover Norquist off the cliff. Let us see how much they like being shown to be so beholden to the rich and so undeserving of any place at the table.
It isn't exactly a new move for them...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-09/when-republicans-deliberately-sowed-a-financial-crisis.html
It's not considered a shocking political scandal because there aren't any lurid sexual secrets being exposed about democrats by republicans.
We do not negotiate with terrorists of any kind, economics or otherwise.
We do not negotiate with terrorists, economic or otherwise!
My thoughts EXACTLY!
I am soooo tired of this nonsense. Ohio voters - why do you keep electing this idiot and his cronies?
The Repubs' whole approach seems to be "It almost worked last time, let's try it again"....
fine don't raise the debt ceiling in exchange we get a carbon tax... raises revenue to pay on the debt.
The Speaker of the House (for now), John Boehner needs to wake up to two entertaining thoughts.... (1) "The United States Government will not give-in to terrorists" !!!!! and (2) If you're not "down with that", we got two words for ya ....... NANCY PELOSI !!!!!!!!!!
"Fools and their money will soon be parted"
Shame.
I enthusiastically voted for President Obama, and I'm not interested in letting the country ruin economically, or in giving certain Republicans enough rope to hang themselves. Right now, I'm concerned about what I, as a middle class American, can do. Yes, the super wealthy need to be paying more taxes, but I'm not willing to allow a stalemate that will only serve to make Republican leadership look bad.
First all, we need to keep letting all those in Congress know that we want both cuts and revenue--a good compromise. The Republicans got the message on their immigration rhetoric, and eventually they may get it here as well. One by one they're abandoning Grover Norquist, we've got to keep up the heat.
But there's another thing we ALL need to do, so that we don't even need this discussion. We all need to make a commitment to buy 25% of our consumer items from American-based sources, especially products manufactured in the US. That would put huge numbers of people back to work, thereby increasing federal revenue and reducing federal expenses in a dramatic way. Instead of talking about Republican obstinacy, we need to act, and act in such a way that we can all have an immediate impact.
Didn't Gov. Blagojavich go to prison for saying the same thing? (aka Bula... someone beat me to my moniker!)
Shame is right!
Let's make it a big story and while we're at it...
It's quite admerable that some Hollywood elites are advocating for S. Africa, but 1 million American school aged children are homeless. WTF happened to America?
We can bitch til we're blue in the face here on a blog but what we should be doing ...IS DOING SOMETHING.
I'm so sick and tired of the BS. I donated, I made phone calls, I made trips to NH to knock on doors; WHAT?? To turn around and have the same old, same old Boehner BS? I don't think so!
We need action.
YUUP 2014 is just around the corner and a chance to change the make-up of the House. Mr. Boehner's stance that some issues are non-negotiable is not acceptable. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are NOT entitlements. Entitlements are the pay and benefits that members of Congress are getting. It seems once Representatives and Senators get to Congress they forget what their responsibilities are. They believe they are their for their own gains and not the business of the people.
I ca't help but feel sorry for the President. He's got another term, of what? More of the same? I try not to let this stuff drive me crazy but I don't know which one I'd like to strike helpless, Boehner or the irrelevant McCain. All this ta do about Susan Rice. More trouble for us to digest a constant stream of. I've read Barack Obama's first book and enjoyed it muchly. His second book however is more mature and makes politics understandable. All Republicans of the past weren't all wrong but the Democrat Party has always had heart. Since it is posssible that the Republican's may rule in the future, I think Obama wants long reaching programs that will save the ordinary person living in America, no matter what shade of color you are. This I know of the Republican's they are racist and mysoginists. All the rest I take a day at a time. I feel voiceless again..
Here is the only talking point that the reality based community needs to hit the Republicans over the head with until their own base tells them to shut up and raise the debt ceiling: In July of 2012 the GAO released a report that explained the last round of debt ceiling hostage taking cost the US a minimum of $1.3 billion in 2011 because of higher interest rates that were imposed because of the uncertainty that their unprecedented, reckless act caused in the financial markets.
This does not include the other administrative costs incurred by the Treasury Department to ensure that the US did not default while the Republicans ran around acting like a power-drunk bully. The GAO also believes that a side effect of the debt ceiling debate was an exaggerated slow down in our recovery process. What the House Republicans are engaging in is nothing less than economic terrorism.
http://crfb.org/blogs/gao-debt-limit-fight-cost-treasury-13-billion
"Why this isn't considered a shocking political scandal is a mystery to me."
Why this isn't considered CRIMINAL is a mystery to me. Blackmailing the current administration is not "in the Constitution".
This current Congress has fought Obama on Debt Ceilings 5 times! In may this year Boehner threatened Obama with not raising the debt ceiling. What is so significant is the confrontational aspect of the staunch TEA-Republican party to inhibit everything Obama does. Even more reason to oust the TEA-Republicans from office in 2014. The president needs to make it very uncomfortable for anyone dead-set on killing the economy. Hold the sequestration over their heads. First, get past the "Debt Ceiling" with passage or raising it to keep America solvent and away from any possible lowering of the nations credit standing. Second, pass the payroll tax extension for the middle class and thirdly, pass the "Dream Act" passed and ready to go to the floor for consideration to show which congress-person votes against it for the mid-term elections coming in 2014. Fourth, and last, do not mess with the recently passed and Supreme court sanctioned PPACA.(Health Care Act)
I have stated this many times over many blogs. The Republicans are not team players and they do not want to be a part of the solution but what to be part of the problem. What Americans need to do is stop blaming their problems on Democrats and begin laying the blame on who is causing all the mash up in Washington DC and across this nation.The Republicans are the problem. Have been for years and are going to be a major crazy for years to come and untill people come to realize the only way to get this nation back on track is for people to quit voting for idiots who put us in this mess; quit putting into office people who want to see this nation fail so they can make a little money on the side.
President Obama has a coming to God moment. He's either going to stand up to these entitled Republicans holding this country hostage or get walked all over again. Let's see what happens.
He has got to stand up to them. SS, Medicare and Medicaid, which these Republicans have always wanted to eliminate, are not deficit destroyers. Hence, they should not be on the table. Boehner, of course, has put them there.
Love, love, love your timed edit feature.
HERE WE GO AGAIN!! Boehner (BONER) is an IDIOT!!!! republicans can CRASH THE ECONOMY but, we WILL HOLD republicans ACCOUNTABLE & RESPONSIBLE!!!! This is their plan to keep Bush tax cuts in place and destroy President Obama!!! However; they will DESTROY AMERICA and create a WORLDWIDE RECESSION that will harm children, the elderly, the disabled, the retirees, unemployed people, and anyone else you can think of!!!!! America continues to make enemies worldwide and crashing the economy will add to our problems!! Boehner and the republicans are "ECONOMIC TERRORISTS." ANTI-AMERICA, and UNAMERICAN!!! If they crash the economy they should be prosecuted for high crimes and treason!!! ANARCHY is near!! "We the people" have had enough of republican OBSTRUCTION and "BOVINE EXCREMENT!!" based on BIGOTRY and RACISM!!! "We the people" are OUTRAGED by the DO-NOTHING CONGRESS!!! and our anger is about to ERUPT!! Boehner had naked protestors in his office today, maybe the next protestors; God forbid, will have guns (naked or not). I, like many other, gave 20+ years of my life defending the U S Constitution "Against all enemies foreign and DOMESTIC," and now we have the true DOMESTIC enemy in our midst and no one in Washington D C is willing to stop the ECONOMIC TERRORISTS led by tea-bagger thugs!! Either Congress acts RESPONSIBLY IMMEDIATELY or the American people will act to get the results needed to move America forward!!!
We do need to stop these economic terrorists. They will surely eliminate our safety nets if they can get away with it. They care nothing about the needs of the poor, elderly, or working people.
Their mission is twofold: Reelection, and Protecting their wealthy benefactors. (The ones who keep them reelected and wealthy).
That's it. Never make the mistake of thinking it is anything else which motivates them.