President Obama has boxed himself into a corner.\u00a0 It was Obama who announced the August 2 sky is falling deadline.\u00a0 He is the one who says the government will default if the debt ceiling is not raised.\u00a0 But, he has done nothing.\u00a0 He has proposed nothing.\u00a0 Democrats have done nothing.\u00a0 Democrats have proposed nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is only one piece of legislation available to raise the debt ceiling.\u00a0 That is the Republican\u2019s Cut, Cap and Balance legislation.\u00a0 The so-called bi-partisan gang of six proposal means nothing because it is a five page summary of a plan, a long way from being a piece of legislation.\u00a0 The bottom line is that either Republicans cave and throw in some tax revenue to make Obama look good, or he has only bad options.<\/p>\n
Obama admitted today that he cannot just raise the debt ceiling arbitrarily.\u00a0 His lawyers told him that.\u00a0 I am sure that behind closed doors the attorneys for Republicans not only told him that, they told him they would impeach him if he tried.\u00a0 At least one Republican said that publicly.\u00a0 Bill Clinton advised Obama to do that, but perhaps he just wants company on the “Presidents who have been impeached” list.<\/p>\n
If Obama ignores the August 2 deadline it will be obvious that he was using scare tactics to try and get his agenda passed.\u00a0\u00a0On the other hand, if he does not pay our debt,\u00a0stops sending out social security checks, Medicare checks, veterans checks,\u00a0\u00a0or stops paying our troops, there will be widespread outrage.\u00a0 Republicans will quickly point out that there is more than enough revenue to do all of the above.\u00a0 In addition, the constitution REQUIRES him to pay our debt.\u00a0 I think one could make an argument that the definition of items required to be paid under the constitution includes all of the above.\u00a0 It would be a violation of the constitution for Obama to default on our debt.<\/p>\n
\u00a0What Obama will have to do, if the Republican legislation is not passed, or they do not throw him a financial bone, is start shutting down parts of the government.\u00a0 He will have to send government workers home.\u00a0 Or, he will do what California Governors had done which is to start sending out IOU\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Obama has to be desperate and will probably agree to almost any deal to raise the debt limit, even for a few days, to buy himself more time. \u00a0I sure hope Republicans stand firm behind their current plan.\u00a0 At a minimum, they should demand that Obama produce his plan with specific cuts.\u00a0 Since he has no plan, that will be very hard for him to do.\u00a0 \u00a0If Republicans hold their ground, the President can scream and holler to the heavens, but he has very few options and all of them are bad.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Cut, Cap and Balance was tabled by the Senate.\u00a0 The vote was 54 to 46.\u00a0 But I wouldn\u2019t rule out seeing some Democrats switch over and support this legislation.\u00a0 It only takes 5 more votes to pass.\u00a0 If it does pass, I don\u2019t see how Obama could veto it under the circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Republicans could still fold, that has been their pattern, but right now it is Obama who has boxed himself in a corner.<\/p>\n
TDM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Obama has boxed himself into a corner.\u00a0 It was Obama who announced the August 2 sky is falling deadline.\u00a0 He is the one who says the government will default if the debt ceiling is not raised.\u00a0 But, he has … Continue reading