Sound Advice For President Obama

Sen. Warner (D-VA) Asks What This Was All For

It's Not JUST Americans Blaming Republicans...

From Think Progress:  

Republicans may be working hard to turn domestic public opinion to their side, but foreign media places the blame squarely on GOP extremists. Below is a sample of how the world is struggling to make sense of the ongoing shutdown:

“Paralysis” A Le Monde article on Friday wondered if American democracy even works, calling out the Tea Party for blackmail and urging the government to hold firm. “In a democracy, people abolish laws by winning the election, not with the threat of a government shutdown or even a default. It is impossible to govern seriously undergoing this type of blackmail,” writes Martin Wolf.

“Suicidal madness” Spain’s El Pais seems astounded that Republicans are still not responding to pressure, calling the shutdown “suicidal madness.” “Deaf to the warnings about the looming economic catastrophe and indifferent to the polls that blame for this crisis, the GOP insists it will not let Congress give the government a dollar more if Barack Obama does not back down on health care reform,” Antonio Cana writes. Even with the Treasury Department’s warning that the dollar could collapse and interest rates could skyrocket if the shutdown fight rolls into the debt ceiling fight, Cana reports, “None of this has created a huge impact among Republicans, whose calculation are political, not economic.”

There are more articles where these came from...

Holding America Hostage

Poll: Republicans Support Damaging the Economy

From National Memo:

Washington Post’s Greg Sargent summed it up best:

—Republicans are far more likely to oppose raising the debt limit than anyone else; they say “don’t raise it” by 61-25. By contrast, Dems say “raise it “by 62-31, and independents split by 48-46 on raising versus not raising it. 

—Republicans, however, also believe overwhelmingly that not raising it would cause serious economic harm — by 66-27. (Dems and indies tilt the same way.) 

—How to square that? Simple: Among Republicans who believe not raising it would cause serious economic harm, a majority say “don’t raise it” by 53-32. 

By contrast, among Americans overall who say not raising it would cause serious harm, they tilt in favor of raising it by 54-35. Independents who say not raising it would cause serious harm also tilt in favor of raising it by 58-36.

House leaders John Boehner (R-OH) and Eric Cantor (R-VA), accompanied by their enthusiastic conservative colleagues, have said that they are willing to raise the debt ceiling if Obamacare is delayed another year, among other demands. On Thursday, Speaker Boehner, who recently criticized President Obama for not “negotiating” with Republicans, affirmed that he would not go to the White House for any negotiations. He even seemed surprised by the suggestion that he would do his part in negotiating, saying: “Whoa, I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that.”

Why the GOP Caved on the Debt Ceiling

John Boehner & the Debt Ceiling Circa Winter 2011

From Think Progress:

Republicans are already promising a repeat of the summer 2011 fight that nearly led to such a default (and ultimately created the fiscal cliff). Senate Republicans have promised to hold the debt limit hostage for spending cuts, and House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) office has indicated similar intentions. “If they want to get the debt limit raised, they are going to have to engage and accept that reality,” Brendan Buck, a spokesperson for Boehner, said of spending cuts. 

But in the winter of 2011, before he led the GOP into the fight that caused the first credit downgrade in American history, increased borrowing costs, and nearly led to a default, Boehner proved that he knew the consequences of not raising the debt limit: it would cause “financial disaster” for the entire world:

Boehner said it would mean “financial disaster” for the global economy if Congress were unable to come to a deal to raise the debt ceiling this spring.

“That would be a financial disaster, not only for us, but for the worldwide economy,” Boehner said on “Fox News Sunday” of the risk of default. “I don’t think it’s a question that’s even on the table.”

Interesting that the only time the GOP is concerned about the debt ceiling is when a Democrat is president. I'm sure it's just a coincidence though...

The Fiscal Cliff & the Upcoming Debt Ceiling Battle

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