Sorry to have to repeat myself again, but Sec. of the 14th Amendment says the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned. That must mean it has to be paid as it comes due, so the debt ceiling is irrelevant or unconstitutional, or both. The President should just announce that the United States will pay all debts as they com…
Sorry to have to repeat myself again, but Sec. of the 14th Amendment says the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned. That must mean it has to be paid as it comes due, so the debt ceiling is irrelevant or unconstitutional, or both. The President should just announce that the United States will pay all debts as they come due.
Edit: I should have added, WRITE OR CALL YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE! Normally, I suggest calling, because it's quicker, but this issue is semi-complicated, so I think writing might be better. Write even if you're in a red district or state--let them know we're on to the fraud.
Hoping to amplify your point that "the public 'debt' of the United States shall not be questioned", my opinion is that anyone who would deliberately undermine the "full faith and credit of the United States" should be regarded as a "domestic enemy". The "conservatives" don't understand our monetary system. Treasury instruments are the world's safest, most reliable savings account. We are a monetarily sovereign nation. We will always be able to pay our debts. The full faith and credit of the United States must never be compromised.
Not every hostage taking is; these ones are, however. Terrorism is the bastion of the politically minded; there is always a political rather than a personal motive for the hostage taking. In barricade/hostage situations there is always something tangible that the hostage taker wants (his grievances addressed or his escape from a bungled crime) in exchange for his hostages. For a political hostage taking, there is really nothing that can be "delivered" to resolve the incident and return to "status quo", they are creating havoc for the delivery of their message and not for any particular individual gain.
Have been calling “Conservatives” “Radicals” and “traitors” for months. The House has approximately 130 of them who voted for the Big Lie on January 7, 2021. Understood yesterday that there are such numbers of them that we may all be hostages to their
Yes, although I would just be happy if the DOJ arrested the insurrectionists and got them the hell out of Congress. House arrest, Rykers. Guantanamo.. somewhere but not in Congress
The extremists in the House might not understand our monetary system, but the big donors funding them certainly do, and they are the ones calling the shots. So it’s strange that they would risk destroying the financial security that system provides just to get their way. The picture has some pieces missing. Perhaps they think they have the resources to weather a meltdown and take control in the aftermath.
Jim, I doubt that anyone believes the US will default. The "big donors" are confident that Democratic leaders, fully understanding the catastrophic consequences of defaulting, will bargain with republicans. Donors and their paid-for-politicians will finally get what they want: ending what passes for a social safety net in the richest nation in the world. And further enriching them. Terrorist is almost too nice for how evil and destructive these people are.
Those donors are fools if they think Biden will throw away our social safety net. Their puppets might be willing to play chicken with a default, but those donors will be among those who face a cascade of failure. There is NO bargaining with traitors or terrorists. Biden knows this.
Agree. This whole thing is a nothingburger. The U.S. is obliged to pay its debts and it will.
Repubs want to scare up some more votes by threatening to take money from grandma's social security check. And pander to the MAGA base by promising to cut services to those (fill in the derogatory noun of your choice) who are GETTING YOUR TAX MONEY WHILE SITTING ON THEIR LAZY AZZES.
This game of political chicken will distract voters while Repubs are sliding more corporate tax cuts under the radar. Corporations will amply reward them with donations, turning Repub public servants who make $167,000 per year into multimillionaires.
I’ve always heard that we don’t negotiate with terrorists. If that is true why would our government bargain with these terrorists? They’ve made their intention of destroying the USA very clear repeatedly.
Thank you David for this explanation to a very complex issue. The "public debt" is really difficult for most of us (including me) to fully comprehend, because it does not relate to 'our financial sphere'.
Easy, no one has challenged them. That right belongs to: 1) the citizens who elected that individual, 2) the Ethics Committee (which McCarthy stripped of all purpose) and 3) any sitting member of Congress. No action, no result
The debt ceiling is NOT in the Constitution, it is a rule invented in the late 19th Century (I believe it is a House rule) It is artificial and harmful not just the the US but international finance. There must be someway for the Treasury which is part of the Executive Branch and not subject to any stupid rule invented in the House of Representatives to get around it. Lawyers?
I believe the debt ceiling was brought to law and process around WW1, to have some oversight of spending. If that was true to the spirit of the law/custom, then R’s would not have voted for the Middle East oil and gas wars.
C'mon. It's only the Constitution right? Not even, just an AMENDMENT.
We can just ignore that pointless document, and whatever those amendments are that nobody has read whenever it/they don't not line up with what we want.
Right?
Like, if we lose an election, we can just field a private army and fix that right? Who cares about what the voters or the Constitution says?
Right?
It's all good Jon.
Laws and the Constitution only apply when it works for ME. Otherwise, we can just ignore them. Right?
Oh, wait, that was when I was a Republican. I am a Democrat now.
Dang that constitution. Limiting mah raht to do whatever I want whenever I want to whomever I want.
Terrorists in Congress. Their lawyers parachuted into the Supreme Court, dropped into key appellate posts all over the land.
Ringleaders in Congress may behave like Keystone Cop politicians, yet the movement they front, along with ambitious would-be dictators in state houses, is a greater threat to America—and consequently to the whole world—than any the country has yet faced.
Any.
Greater than the Axis forces, greater even than the Confederacy, since the United States today is the dominant world power, incomparably wealthier and more influential than the United States in 1861.
Despite the immense wreckage caused by inept American politicians and military in response to the 9/11 attacks, transforming the terrorists’ action into a chain reaction and thus causing greater long-term damage than the wildest of their dreams, this time the target is infinitely greater. It is the State itself, its institutions, its Constitution, its very basis.
The criminal conspiracy takes full advantage of constitutional constipation over two hundred years during which vested interests have blocked adequate updating of the foundational text. The original Originalists surely had no such intention, yet in time their doctrine has been understood by a few sharp-witted conspirators plotting totalitarian oligarchy to provide a perfect tool for so slowing down necessary change that the Constitution must become totally unworkable.
Meanwhile, these subversives have commandeered and financed the states’ rights and other movements to build up an underhand campaign to destroy federal power and replace the 1787 Constitution by a bespoke text, no doubt rather more skillfully crafted than the absurd personal shopping list which Putin imposed on Russia’s Constitution five years ago.
No doubt more skillfully crafted, yet designed with the same aim in view: to install a mafia State.
And what looks, on the face of it, like a diversionary movement in Congress to capture the attention of We the People, watching like cattle lined up along a fence while the gang rob the bank, is in fact far more. It is a key element in the attack on constitutional government in America.
*
As for juristic hubris in the highest of high places, No Comment.
My concern in making these observations as a very ordinary outsider bereft of specialist knowledge is for our children and theirs to inherit a happier, saner world.
It would be wonderful if what I have just written were to turn out to be complete crap.
What is the role and power of the court to decide this part of the 14th Amendment? Could they decide in favor of not raising the debt ceiling and support default? I never thought Roe would be overturned, so anything, no matter how stupid or crazy seems possible by the “ Heritage Foundation Court”. ( sorry Chief Justice Roberts but it is not your court, you have no era, no legacy, you are only a tool to be manipulated by oligarchs).
The "Roberts Court" has just been accurately identified and named. John Roberts, it is not your court. You (and the court) have been bought and paid for. You have probably engineered the destruction of that storied body unless this course can be corrected. That, sir, is your legacy. May it serve you well.
What the court should do, and very likely would, would be to hold that it's a political question not justiciable by the courts. Or, if they are really originalists and strict constructionists, hold that the language of the Amendment is clear.
Bottom line, no one knows what this half-assed SCOTUS will rule, regardless of clear language of 14th Amendment. BUT after case reaches Supreme Court, well after the breach of debt ceiling, then Biden can mint his trillion dollar coins and wait until that second case reaches SCOTUS well after the fact.
And that amendment does not contain the word "negotiate" - it clearly says "shall not be questioned." Biden is right to refuse to "negotiate" with terrorists - especially terrorists who are in the business of violating the Constitution and their oath of office to uphold it.
My interpretation of that section of the 14th Amendment and its relation to the 1917 legislation that established the debt ceiling is that the Amendment, as part of the Constitution, trumps the 1917 law (no pun intended). As such, a failure by any institution of government to prevent default on the debt would be unconstitutional. It seems that the President would have the authority to act unilaterally to prevent the default by any reasonable means, including the minting of a trillion dollar coin (to be funded by a return to the previous tax rates), or simply by executive order until Congress can get its act together and do what the constitution requires. Personally, I regard a refusal to prevent default to constitute an act of insurrection, given the known and predicatble consequences of such a refusal.
Have we not been seeing such acts almost daily since the run-up to the 2020 election. These included the violent assault on Congress on January 6th 2021. Might not a refusal to prevent default be even more substantive? Even more than a Fort Sumter moment, in that it would constitute a direct, comprehensive and truly deadly attack on the United States as such.
One hopes the D.o.J. is watching the situation carefully and that the institutions of state will act as necessary and in good time. Would not failure to do so mean there won’t be much left to pick up from the floor?
Great idea, John, we should all e-mail President Biden of his Executive "privilege" to uphold the Constitution above a Congressional legislation. It's about time our elected representatives read the Constitution and upheld it. I already emailed my Congressman this morning about Amendment 14
Economist and columnist Paul Krugman just wrote the same thing. I agree. What is McCarthy going to do, put the executive branch in jail? And while they are at it, move spending from defense to the IRS to get moving on the super rich corporations and other tax cheats.
By the way, any Democrat in the house can call for a vote to replace McCarthy. At any time. Maybe once a week.
The constitution says “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.” So the idiot right wingers think they control the purse. With regard to the debt ceiling, this revenue has already been raised as original debt and so IMHO doesn’t require House or even Congressional approval. I agree that the President should just declare that there is no more debt ceiling. This argument even stands on originalist interpretations.
In total agreement and I emailed President Biden to both abide by Amendment 14 Section 4 and if the 'idiot right wingers' (I was a little more polite than that, but I like your description) refuse to exert his right executive privilege to enforce the Amendment. I hope more of us inundate the White House with the same request. PS I had already emailed my own Congressman the similar message on upholding the 14th
(202) 456 1111. To email type in president joe biden click on contact us and it brings up the email form, very easy to use and the limit is 2000 characters, that's more than enough.
I have a brand spanking new Congress(wo)man in Val Hoyle (Peter DeFazio retired). I shall write her; she's already begging me for money to "continue the fight."
Though mind-boggling, it's crystal clear to me: by pretending that they have the authority to vote against raising the debt ceiling in order to constitutionally pay the nation's bills, these dingbat right-wingers further pretend they can use this as leverage to cut SS and Medicare while continuing the tax cuts to the wealthy. I guess they figure if they can pretend in the light of day they can pull it off...looks like political suicide to me....
Call their stupid bluff--Jon Margolis said it succinctly: "The President should just announce that the United States will pay all debts as they come due."
Sophia, I've been thinking along the same lines. Perhaps the "dog chasing the car" is an appropriate metaphor. Change the "car" to an Army tank. The dog chases the tank every time it passes by. This goes on for a long time because the dog has no real hope of catching the tank, and the tank is completely invulnerable to the dog (and perhaps the tank crew are careful to avoid hurting the little doggie).
Some people believe it is bad practice to negotiate with terrorists, partly because it sets a bad precedent. The House Freedom Caucus represents a very small minority of the American People. Even the whole Republican Caucus represents a minority of the people, considering gerrymandering in Wisconsin and other states, along with voter suppression techniques.
What would happen if the tank crew stops to negotiate with the dog?
The Defense budget is discretionary spending, but Social Security and Medicare are not discretionary. Changes to discretionary spending, ie changing SS and Medicare, should require elaborate negotiations with the whole Congress, over an extended period -- not done in a hostage crisis situation.
The whole idea behind the creation of the United States of America is to end minority rule, and to establish democratic majority governance. Permanent Republican governance would be like the dog catching the tank. Our polite civil society would surely devolve into chaos. The punks should not be allowed to get their way with the vast majority of the rest of us, all rational voters included. Especially considering that some Members of Congress probably should be indicted for their roles in the Jan 6 insurrection.
What everyone is failing to see in this rhetoric from the Trumpublicans is that they are doing their level best to subvert the “Rule of Law”, including destroying our Constitution, and Democracy along with it. At that point, they will have total control of the country, and everyone in it.
"At that point, they will have total control of the country, and everyone in it." This is a point everyone should ponder at length. My guess is that permanent Republican rule would not sit well with a very large number of Americans. We have already seen Republican-led violence in the Jan 6 insurrection. It seems plausible to predict that objections to permanent Republican authoritarian rule would be dealt with violently. Civil society would devolve into chaos. We might see some form of the Spanish Inquisition (not the Monty Python version!)
The point the Republicans fail to see is that it is their lack of admirable reasoning and political rhetoric that is the cause for their lack of voter support. Failing to persuade voters to vote for them because of their popular ideas, they turn instead to various methods of cheating.
Absolutely. Total chaos. But, that’s the Trumplicans way of accomplishing, or trying to accomplish, anything. They will move us back over 200 years, not to be ruin put us in worse condition than most countries in this world. We won’t be speaking English either. We’ll be speaking Russian, or Chinese.
It’s called “Party Unity”. Problem is, the Republican Party right now is so dismantled and confused, none of them know heat they are doing. Case on point: McCarthy has been elected as Speaker of the House. What a joke!
The problem is they don't give a damn about the Constitution and the oath that they all swore to uphold and defend it. It's like meh, we will do what we want and the country and probably the world be damned.
Sorry to have to repeat myself again, but Sec. of the 14th Amendment says the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned. That must mean it has to be paid as it comes due, so the debt ceiling is irrelevant or unconstitutional, or both. The President should just announce that the United States will pay all debts as they come due.
Edit: I should have added, WRITE OR CALL YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE! Normally, I suggest calling, because it's quicker, but this issue is semi-complicated, so I think writing might be better. Write even if you're in a red district or state--let them know we're on to the fraud.
Hoping to amplify your point that "the public 'debt' of the United States shall not be questioned", my opinion is that anyone who would deliberately undermine the "full faith and credit of the United States" should be regarded as a "domestic enemy". The "conservatives" don't understand our monetary system. Treasury instruments are the world's safest, most reliable savings account. We are a monetarily sovereign nation. We will always be able to pay our debts. The full faith and credit of the United States must never be compromised.
I agree, and I have an idea : shall we move beyond the idea of " enemies, " to the idea of " traitors ?" EKR
And terrorists. Aren’t hostage-takers terrorists?
Not every hostage taking is; these ones are, however. Terrorism is the bastion of the politically minded; there is always a political rather than a personal motive for the hostage taking. In barricade/hostage situations there is always something tangible that the hostage taker wants (his grievances addressed or his escape from a bungled crime) in exchange for his hostages. For a political hostage taking, there is really nothing that can be "delivered" to resolve the incident and return to "status quo", they are creating havoc for the delivery of their message and not for any particular individual gain.
Nicely put, Ally. And a great comparison between ordinary crooks and death star and his supporters.
Ally, your contributions to the conversation here are just the greatest. Talk about cutting to the chase!
Well, 15+ years as a hostage negotiator does give me some insight and experience.
Thank you for your kind words.
Yes, thank you Ally. I completely agree with Michelle and Janet.
Have been calling “Conservatives” “Radicals” and “traitors” for months. The House has approximately 130 of them who voted for the Big Lie on January 7, 2021. Understood yesterday that there are such numbers of them that we may all be hostages to their
ignorance.
I have been calling them far right radical regressives for year. After January 6th, I added traitors.
Treason requires that the country be in a state of war which, while practically true, in a legal sense, we aren't right now.
There is clearly anti-government action being taken, but since it's limited to domestic activity, I think it's insurrection rather than treason.
Where oh where are those FEMA camps to stick conservatives in when we really need them?
Guantanamo.
Yes! I understand there is room there.
Its for terrorists right?
Yes, although I would just be happy if the DOJ arrested the insurrectionists and got them the hell out of Congress. House arrest, Rykers. Guantanamo.. somewhere but not in Congress
The extremists in the House might not understand our monetary system, but the big donors funding them certainly do, and they are the ones calling the shots. So it’s strange that they would risk destroying the financial security that system provides just to get their way. The picture has some pieces missing. Perhaps they think they have the resources to weather a meltdown and take control in the aftermath.
Jim, I doubt that anyone believes the US will default. The "big donors" are confident that Democratic leaders, fully understanding the catastrophic consequences of defaulting, will bargain with republicans. Donors and their paid-for-politicians will finally get what they want: ending what passes for a social safety net in the richest nation in the world. And further enriching them. Terrorist is almost too nice for how evil and destructive these people are.
Those donors are fools if they think Biden will throw away our social safety net. Their puppets might be willing to play chicken with a default, but those donors will be among those who face a cascade of failure. There is NO bargaining with traitors or terrorists. Biden knows this.
Agree. This whole thing is a nothingburger. The U.S. is obliged to pay its debts and it will.
Repubs want to scare up some more votes by threatening to take money from grandma's social security check. And pander to the MAGA base by promising to cut services to those (fill in the derogatory noun of your choice) who are GETTING YOUR TAX MONEY WHILE SITTING ON THEIR LAZY AZZES.
This game of political chicken will distract voters while Repubs are sliding more corporate tax cuts under the radar. Corporations will amply reward them with donations, turning Repub public servants who make $167,000 per year into multimillionaires.
I’ve always heard that we don’t negotiate with terrorists. If that is true why would our government bargain with these terrorists? They’ve made their intention of destroying the USA very clear repeatedly.
They have always thought their money will save them from any disaster, economic, political, climatic.
They rely on their ignorant constituents who believe everything they say.
Domestic economic terrorists, true enemies of the state
Thank you David for this explanation to a very complex issue. The "public debt" is really difficult for most of us (including me) to fully comprehend, because it does not relate to 'our financial sphere'.
While I agree completely, it’s obvious Republicans need to dumb down the message and lie about it in order to keep their base base.
"domestic enemy" ? Includes insurrectionists!!! How are insurrectionists allowed to hold a seat in Congress?
Easy, no one has challenged them. That right belongs to: 1) the citizens who elected that individual, 2) the Ethics Committee (which McCarthy stripped of all purpose) and 3) any sitting member of Congress. No action, no result
The debt ceiling is NOT in the Constitution, it is a rule invented in the late 19th Century (I believe it is a House rule) It is artificial and harmful not just the the US but international finance. There must be someway for the Treasury which is part of the Executive Branch and not subject to any stupid rule invented in the House of Representatives to get around it. Lawyers?
I believe the debt ceiling was brought to law and process around WW1, to have some oversight of spending. If that was true to the spirit of the law/custom, then R’s would not have voted for the Middle East oil and gas wars.
IIRC, it was Wilson's administration.
Jon,
C'mon. It's only the Constitution right? Not even, just an AMENDMENT.
We can just ignore that pointless document, and whatever those amendments are that nobody has read whenever it/they don't not line up with what we want.
Right?
Like, if we lose an election, we can just field a private army and fix that right? Who cares about what the voters or the Constitution says?
Right?
It's all good Jon.
Laws and the Constitution only apply when it works for ME. Otherwise, we can just ignore them. Right?
Oh, wait, that was when I was a Republican. I am a Democrat now.
Dang that constitution. Limiting mah raht to do whatever I want whenever I want to whomever I want.
As Fay has noted, the “ debt ceiling” is not in the US Constitution.
But don't forget "God's Law" aka the 2nd Amendment. That's special! Plus their misguided reading of the 1st Amendment.
Terrorists.
*
Terrorists in Congress. Their lawyers parachuted into the Supreme Court, dropped into key appellate posts all over the land.
Ringleaders in Congress may behave like Keystone Cop politicians, yet the movement they front, along with ambitious would-be dictators in state houses, is a greater threat to America—and consequently to the whole world—than any the country has yet faced.
Any.
Greater than the Axis forces, greater even than the Confederacy, since the United States today is the dominant world power, incomparably wealthier and more influential than the United States in 1861.
Despite the immense wreckage caused by inept American politicians and military in response to the 9/11 attacks, transforming the terrorists’ action into a chain reaction and thus causing greater long-term damage than the wildest of their dreams, this time the target is infinitely greater. It is the State itself, its institutions, its Constitution, its very basis.
The criminal conspiracy takes full advantage of constitutional constipation over two hundred years during which vested interests have blocked adequate updating of the foundational text. The original Originalists surely had no such intention, yet in time their doctrine has been understood by a few sharp-witted conspirators plotting totalitarian oligarchy to provide a perfect tool for so slowing down necessary change that the Constitution must become totally unworkable.
Meanwhile, these subversives have commandeered and financed the states’ rights and other movements to build up an underhand campaign to destroy federal power and replace the 1787 Constitution by a bespoke text, no doubt rather more skillfully crafted than the absurd personal shopping list which Putin imposed on Russia’s Constitution five years ago.
No doubt more skillfully crafted, yet designed with the same aim in view: to install a mafia State.
And what looks, on the face of it, like a diversionary movement in Congress to capture the attention of We the People, watching like cattle lined up along a fence while the gang rob the bank, is in fact far more. It is a key element in the attack on constitutional government in America.
*
As for juristic hubris in the highest of high places, No Comment.
My concern in making these observations as a very ordinary outsider bereft of specialist knowledge is for our children and theirs to inherit a happier, saner world.
It would be wonderful if what I have just written were to turn out to be complete crap.
Sadly, it is not complete crap. It is 100% accurate, and well articulated.
What is the role and power of the court to decide this part of the 14th Amendment? Could they decide in favor of not raising the debt ceiling and support default? I never thought Roe would be overturned, so anything, no matter how stupid or crazy seems possible by the “ Heritage Foundation Court”. ( sorry Chief Justice Roberts but it is not your court, you have no era, no legacy, you are only a tool to be manipulated by oligarchs).
Actually, I think it might be more of a "Federalist Society Court" these days.
Federalist Society-tool of robber barons
The "Roberts Court" has just been accurately identified and named. John Roberts, it is not your court. You (and the court) have been bought and paid for. You have probably engineered the destruction of that storied body unless this course can be corrected. That, sir, is your legacy. May it serve you well.
What the court should do, and very likely would, would be to hold that it's a political question not justiciable by the courts. Or, if they are really originalists and strict constructionists, hold that the language of the Amendment is clear.
Bottom line, no one knows what this half-assed SCOTUS will rule, regardless of clear language of 14th Amendment. BUT after case reaches Supreme Court, well after the breach of debt ceiling, then Biden can mint his trillion dollar coins and wait until that second case reaches SCOTUS well after the fact.
And that amendment does not contain the word "negotiate" - it clearly says "shall not be questioned." Biden is right to refuse to "negotiate" with terrorists - especially terrorists who are in the business of violating the Constitution and their oath of office to uphold it.
YUP! 100%!
I can't.
My interpretation of that section of the 14th Amendment and its relation to the 1917 legislation that established the debt ceiling is that the Amendment, as part of the Constitution, trumps the 1917 law (no pun intended). As such, a failure by any institution of government to prevent default on the debt would be unconstitutional. It seems that the President would have the authority to act unilaterally to prevent the default by any reasonable means, including the minting of a trillion dollar coin (to be funded by a return to the previous tax rates), or simply by executive order until Congress can get its act together and do what the constitution requires. Personally, I regard a refusal to prevent default to constitute an act of insurrection, given the known and predicatble consequences of such a refusal.
“An act of insurrection.”
Have we not been seeing such acts almost daily since the run-up to the 2020 election. These included the violent assault on Congress on January 6th 2021. Might not a refusal to prevent default be even more substantive? Even more than a Fort Sumter moment, in that it would constitute a direct, comprehensive and truly deadly attack on the United States as such.
One hopes the D.o.J. is watching the situation carefully and that the institutions of state will act as necessary and in good time. Would not failure to do so mean there won’t be much left to pick up from the floor?
Great idea, John, we should all e-mail President Biden of his Executive "privilege" to uphold the Constitution above a Congressional legislation. It's about time our elected representatives read the Constitution and upheld it. I already emailed my Congressman this morning about Amendment 14
Economist and columnist Paul Krugman just wrote the same thing. I agree. What is McCarthy going to do, put the executive branch in jail? And while they are at it, move spending from defense to the IRS to get moving on the super rich corporations and other tax cheats.
By the way, any Democrat in the house can call for a vote to replace McCarthy. At any time. Maybe once a week.
I wish they would start that process.
The constitution says “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.” So the idiot right wingers think they control the purse. With regard to the debt ceiling, this revenue has already been raised as original debt and so IMHO doesn’t require House or even Congressional approval. I agree that the President should just declare that there is no more debt ceiling. This argument even stands on originalist interpretations.
In total agreement and I emailed President Biden to both abide by Amendment 14 Section 4 and if the 'idiot right wingers' (I was a little more polite than that, but I like your description) refuse to exert his right executive privilege to enforce the Amendment. I hope more of us inundate the White House with the same request. PS I had already emailed my own Congressman the similar message on upholding the 14th
"Sentiment without action is the ruinment of the soul"-Edward Abbey
Could you post that WH Number? Its time to move the heard again.
(202) 456 1111. To email type in president joe biden click on contact us and it brings up the email form, very easy to use and the limit is 2000 characters, that's more than enough.
I kinda love that! Applying "orginalist" malarky agaist their savage plot!
Also, tell them to repeal Trump’s tax cuts so that the debt can be covered in any case.
Emailed my Congressman this morning, thanks for reminding me.
I have a brand spanking new Congress(wo)man in Val Hoyle (Peter DeFazio retired). I shall write her; she's already begging me for money to "continue the fight."
Though mind-boggling, it's crystal clear to me: by pretending that they have the authority to vote against raising the debt ceiling in order to constitutionally pay the nation's bills, these dingbat right-wingers further pretend they can use this as leverage to cut SS and Medicare while continuing the tax cuts to the wealthy. I guess they figure if they can pretend in the light of day they can pull it off...looks like political suicide to me....
Call their stupid bluff--Jon Margolis said it succinctly: "The President should just announce that the United States will pay all debts as they come due."
Sophia, I've been thinking along the same lines. Perhaps the "dog chasing the car" is an appropriate metaphor. Change the "car" to an Army tank. The dog chases the tank every time it passes by. This goes on for a long time because the dog has no real hope of catching the tank, and the tank is completely invulnerable to the dog (and perhaps the tank crew are careful to avoid hurting the little doggie).
Some people believe it is bad practice to negotiate with terrorists, partly because it sets a bad precedent. The House Freedom Caucus represents a very small minority of the American People. Even the whole Republican Caucus represents a minority of the people, considering gerrymandering in Wisconsin and other states, along with voter suppression techniques.
What would happen if the tank crew stops to negotiate with the dog?
The Defense budget is discretionary spending, but Social Security and Medicare are not discretionary. Changes to discretionary spending, ie changing SS and Medicare, should require elaborate negotiations with the whole Congress, over an extended period -- not done in a hostage crisis situation.
The whole idea behind the creation of the United States of America is to end minority rule, and to establish democratic majority governance. Permanent Republican governance would be like the dog catching the tank. Our polite civil society would surely devolve into chaos. The punks should not be allowed to get their way with the vast majority of the rest of us, all rational voters included. Especially considering that some Members of Congress probably should be indicted for their roles in the Jan 6 insurrection.
He will say something but don’t wait for the R’s to be there in attendance because they won’t.
This is what republicans do when they fail at passing their agenda through legislative means. It's really another form of cheating.
What everyone is failing to see in this rhetoric from the Trumpublicans is that they are doing their level best to subvert the “Rule of Law”, including destroying our Constitution, and Democracy along with it. At that point, they will have total control of the country, and everyone in it.
"At that point, they will have total control of the country, and everyone in it." This is a point everyone should ponder at length. My guess is that permanent Republican rule would not sit well with a very large number of Americans. We have already seen Republican-led violence in the Jan 6 insurrection. It seems plausible to predict that objections to permanent Republican authoritarian rule would be dealt with violently. Civil society would devolve into chaos. We might see some form of the Spanish Inquisition (not the Monty Python version!)
The point the Republicans fail to see is that it is their lack of admirable reasoning and political rhetoric that is the cause for their lack of voter support. Failing to persuade voters to vote for them because of their popular ideas, they turn instead to various methods of cheating.
Absolutely. Total chaos. But, that’s the Trumplicans way of accomplishing, or trying to accomplish, anything. They will move us back over 200 years, not to be ruin put us in worse condition than most countries in this world. We won’t be speaking English either. We’ll be speaking Russian, or Chinese.
It’s called “Party Unity”. Problem is, the Republican Party right now is so dismantled and confused, none of them know heat they are doing. Case on point: McCarthy has been elected as Speaker of the House. What a joke!
The problem is they don't give a damn about the Constitution and the oath that they all swore to uphold and defend it. It's like meh, we will do what we want and the country and probably the world be damned.
benefits both parties..the aggrieved and the aggressors who both fundraise and score political credentials from this fake fight.