A cross post from my good friend Josh Marshall - his editorial commentary today from Talking Points Memo: Let’s Call It Originally Published: May 15, 2023 11:03 a.m. After months of insisting that the White House would not negotiate over a debt ceiling hostage taking, the White House now appears to be doing just that. Reports from numerous news organizations tell us that the White House is now looking for a deal to avoid a calamitous debt default. Yesterday President Biden told reporters, “I really think there’s a desire on their part, as well as ours, to reach an agreement, and I think we’ll be able to do it.” Of course, we haven’t seen any deal or its terms. So we can’t be certain we know what’s coming on that front. But in case there was any uncertainty on the process, the President provided clarity (emphasis added). “I’ve learned a long time ago, and you know as well as I do: It never is good to characterize a negotiation in the middle of a negotiation.” In other words, it makes sense to call this a “negotiation” because the President says it’s a negotiation. That’s good enough for me.
The extreme MAGA Republicans are operating on nothing ventured, nothing gained with regard to the debt ceiling. They are asking for the moon!!!!!! They are willing to hurt hurt at risk families, veterans, you name it. OMG, what will they ask for in budget negotiations??!!!They are expecting the Democrats to be the ones to do the right things for the country, and the MAGA extremists can do whatever stupid, dangerous stuff they want. REMEMBER!!! These are the people willing to let children be killed in school and people be shot at the grocery store and church in order to continue to stuff blood bribe money in their greedy pockets. NO!NO!NO!! A thousand times NOOOOO! To these hateful bast*rds. Invoke the 14th Amendment. They think any compromise is weakness. The thiught if negotiating with wicked criminals sets my hair in fire😡😡😡😡😡🤯🤯🤯
I’m in Japan now. They were talking about this embarrassing fiasco on the News. The world is watching.
Honestly, I don’t know how to feel/ think about this. I do believe the radicals in the Republican Party want to crash the economy and cause chaos so they can rise from the ashes and create a Christian theocratic Oligarchy.
Yet, I also don’t want to give them any concessions over the debt ceiling. What a mess!
If he can get them to go along by giving up absolutely nothing significant, great. But I think he may be playing a game right now: I think Biden is smart enough to know that there is no deal short of the bill he got through the House that Kremlin Kevin, the Bakersfield Benedict Arnold and servicer of Lev Parnas's financial and carnal desires, could sell to his caucus.
I'm thinking of a West Wing episode where republicans have shut down the government and Jed Bartlet walks to Capitol Hill out of his willingness to meet with them, and he ends up sitting in the hallway outside the speaker's office, and it's great TV for him. Well ....
This is why I am an independent, not a Democrat - it would only encourage them and I do not want to support their complete lack of courage, or their failure to do the hard thing - go for the throat of the beast and slay it once and for all..... Use the 14th amendment and dare the SCOTUS to kill the country's economy. But they can't do that, because it might make someone mad.....and it would be so rude. Jeez.
Biden should have listened to the 1A this morning. Maybe then he'd hold onto his horses and make the case to the public. Somehow, he needs to channel Zelenskyy (because we are in an already declared war on democracy, and if you crash the economy and the good faith of the government, bye bye). Go out on the street at night with a few of his guys/gals around him and say, "We are here, and this is why we are not going to give in to blackmail on the debt ceiling. This blackmail is another attack on democracy every bit as dangerous and January 6. (because it is)" Maybe he should wear a sweatshirt with an eagle on it - hold a phone and film what he is going to say. May it short and exact. The gop is just plain wrongheaded. Don't you just detest this situation?
Democracy would certainly be better served by not yielding to terrorists. Clawing back unspent covid funds might be okay. Giving back any part of the Biden signature legislation is not. Not at all. There is another way. Mr. Biden should take it. MAGAts characterise libs as evil. It's time we recognize that and commit to squashimg the vermin under foot. They are, indeed, the enemy.
Kamala Harris has missed a chance to raise her profile by taking the mic on the road months ago and backing up Biden's then position by stealing the thunder of the right by carrying the message that the US will not negotiate with financial terrorists over paying what we owe. The US will NOT go into Collections. Short, sweet, and repeat because Americans like their ideologies on bumper stickers.
Nervous? Sure. But even saying you’re not going to negotiate is itself participating in a negotiation. You can’t get around it.
Let’s keep in mind what we said we won’t negotiate. We will not default. Not going to happen. We never said we won’t negotiate the budget. We said we won’t countenance a default. We will not accept a default even for a few days. We have means in hand to be sure of that (14th A., platinum coins, premium coupon bonds). The budget is a different matter. And if the GQP fools themselves into believing that they traded a budget for debt ceiling, I’m ok with that. Timing, of course, is everything and for now I’ll assume that Biden is working the clock. His actions and statements as president to date allow me to give him the benefit of the doubt.
this insistence on a bipartisanship that no longer exists (and may never exist again) makes me very nervous. I don't mean just "nervous." I mean--very literally--a nasty feeling in my gut, accompanied by a feeling of "here we go again...slow track to nowhere."
this whole scene (the USA) may be on the way out for real.
I assume everybody read that Op-ed in today's NYT by that obviously Right-wing Stanford prof. fuck him where he breathes. and farts.
The extreme MAGA Republicans are operating on nothing ventured, nothing gained with regard to the debt ceiling. They are asking for the moon!!!!!! They are willing to hurt hurt at risk families, veterans, you name it. OMG, what will they ask for in budget negotiations??!!!They are expecting the Democrats to be the ones to do the right things for the country, and the MAGA extremists can do whatever stupid, dangerous stuff they want. REMEMBER!!! These are the people willing to let children be killed in school and people be shot at the grocery store and church in order to continue to stuff blood bribe money in their greedy pockets. NO!NO!NO!! A thousand times NOOOOO! To these hateful bast*rds. Invoke the 14th Amendment. They think any compromise is weakness. The thiught if negotiating with wicked criminals sets my hair in fire😡😡😡😡😡🤯🤯🤯
I’m in Japan now. They were talking about this embarrassing fiasco on the News. The world is watching.
Honestly, I don’t know how to feel/ think about this. I do believe the radicals in the Republican Party want to crash the economy and cause chaos so they can rise from the ashes and create a Christian theocratic Oligarchy.
Yet, I also don’t want to give them any concessions over the debt ceiling. What a mess!
hence, that feeling in my gut.
Dear President Biden,
Please give me a reason to be a Democrat, besides not being a Republican.
Sincerely,
Susan
P.S.
Don't give in. The Republicans are cowards posing as bullies.
Josh has sound points. I'm hoping Mike Green is right and
Joe Biden's playing a good game of chicken, or poker. McCarthy makes me sick. Hopefully Schumer and Jeffries are holding
good hands as well. Give them
tiddly winks, Joe.
This is infuriating. I hope Biden's impulse to compromise won't do him, and us, in this time.
If he can get them to go along by giving up absolutely nothing significant, great. But I think he may be playing a game right now: I think Biden is smart enough to know that there is no deal short of the bill he got through the House that Kremlin Kevin, the Bakersfield Benedict Arnold and servicer of Lev Parnas's financial and carnal desires, could sell to his caucus.
I'm thinking of a West Wing episode where republicans have shut down the government and Jed Bartlet walks to Capitol Hill out of his willingness to meet with them, and he ends up sitting in the hallway outside the speaker's office, and it's great TV for him. Well ....
I hope you're right.
This is why I am an independent, not a Democrat - it would only encourage them and I do not want to support their complete lack of courage, or their failure to do the hard thing - go for the throat of the beast and slay it once and for all..... Use the 14th amendment and dare the SCOTUS to kill the country's economy. But they can't do that, because it might make someone mad.....and it would be so rude. Jeez.
Biden should have listened to the 1A this morning. Maybe then he'd hold onto his horses and make the case to the public. Somehow, he needs to channel Zelenskyy (because we are in an already declared war on democracy, and if you crash the economy and the good faith of the government, bye bye). Go out on the street at night with a few of his guys/gals around him and say, "We are here, and this is why we are not going to give in to blackmail on the debt ceiling. This blackmail is another attack on democracy every bit as dangerous and January 6. (because it is)" Maybe he should wear a sweatshirt with an eagle on it - hold a phone and film what he is going to say. May it short and exact. The gop is just plain wrongheaded. Don't you just detest this situation?
I definitely do!
Are the Democrats really this bad at messaging?
Bad news.
I certainly think so.
Democracy would certainly be better served by not yielding to terrorists. Clawing back unspent covid funds might be okay. Giving back any part of the Biden signature legislation is not. Not at all. There is another way. Mr. Biden should take it. MAGAts characterise libs as evil. It's time we recognize that and commit to squashimg the vermin under foot. They are, indeed, the enemy.
Kamala Harris has missed a chance to raise her profile by taking the mic on the road months ago and backing up Biden's then position by stealing the thunder of the right by carrying the message that the US will not negotiate with financial terrorists over paying what we owe. The US will NOT go into Collections. Short, sweet, and repeat because Americans like their ideologies on bumper stickers.
Nervous? Sure. But even saying you’re not going to negotiate is itself participating in a negotiation. You can’t get around it.
Let’s keep in mind what we said we won’t negotiate. We will not default. Not going to happen. We never said we won’t negotiate the budget. We said we won’t countenance a default. We will not accept a default even for a few days. We have means in hand to be sure of that (14th A., platinum coins, premium coupon bonds). The budget is a different matter. And if the GQP fools themselves into believing that they traded a budget for debt ceiling, I’m ok with that. Timing, of course, is everything and for now I’ll assume that Biden is working the clock. His actions and statements as president to date allow me to give him the benefit of the doubt.
For now.
Well, I hope so, too!
this insistence on a bipartisanship that no longer exists (and may never exist again) makes me very nervous. I don't mean just "nervous." I mean--very literally--a nasty feeling in my gut, accompanied by a feeling of "here we go again...slow track to nowhere."
this whole scene (the USA) may be on the way out for real.
I assume everybody read that Op-ed in today's NYT by that obviously Right-wing Stanford prof. fuck him where he breathes. and farts.
sorry.
That they’re not republicans is a good enough reason for me.
Right now, you're right.