Irony abounds in the remarks of White House Secretary Jay Carney in yesterday's news conference:
But we have to do something significant. And we absolutely have to ensure that we remove the threat to our economy that uncertainty creates.
After repeatedly shrugging off complaints that businesses are sitting on billions of dollars instead of investing it because they're not sure what the White House is in store for
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You have a remarkable ability to blame this White House for everything. Obviously, any budget deal that passes the House will not pass the Senate, and vice-versa. Obama will never see it.
But if, miraculously, some sort of compromise reaches his desk, and it contains absolutely no revenue increases, I hope Obama vetoes it. The polls are very clear about which party will get the voters' blame.
The freshman Tea Partyers are shooting themselves in the foot.
The problem with that, littlejohn, is that it's a pyrrhic victory. If vetoing the bill results in the economy crashing, what's the point of being president of a country that's in flames from food riots?
A better solution is to announce that the debt ceiling is really advisory, rather than binding, because the 14th Amendment makes it unconstitutional. That way, Obama would be free to borrow as necessary to avoid default, and would have a good excuse to shut down whatever activity he wants to.
For instance, given Congress' refusal to fund the FAA, he could send all the air traffic controllers home, and ground all the aircraft in the country. That'd be highly unpopular, especially with the jet set, but the GOP would get the blame.
He could also shut down federal courthouses, etc. in the home towns of his political opponents, all in the name of cutting the deficit.
Do I expect him to do something like that? No. He's pretty consistently told Congress, "You get to make the laws, and I have to enforce whatever you decide." That's not what other recent presidents have done, but the idea has a certain limited appeal.
I've got news for both of you, as long as the media in this country remains 95% Democrat, we'll get blamed for everything anyway, we always do. We're used to it.
Look at any newspaper or watch any network news, it's hilarious how HeHimself is always portrayed.
Little place....... & Harl: I've got more news for you two ---
The problem IS NOT the debt ceiling !! - It's the level of debt! (And too darn many freeloaders!!!!! who contribute absolutely NOTHING!!!).
When I was young, Republicans favored balanced budgets, but since the Reagan administration, the national debt has risen more when the GOP was in charge.
Democrats have been charged with "tax and spend" policies, and that's a fair complaint, but the pseudo-conservatives today are deadbeats that favor "spend and never pay for it" policies. If we went back to the 1954 IRS code - passed when the GOP ruled things - we would have a much smaller national debt.