GOP takes off the suicide bomb vest

[ProSense]

GOP takes off the suicide bomb vest

Posted by Greg Sargent

Big news. Eric Cantor has just made it official: The GOP leadership is prepared to agree to a three month debt ceiling hike. This is a major de-escalation of the crazy and effectively means Republicans have all but taken the threat of default off the table completely.

First, the key bit from Cantor’s statement:

We must pay our bills and responsibly budget for our future. Next week, we will authorize a three month temporary debt limit increase to give the Senate and House time to pass a budget. Furthermore, if the Senate or House fails to pass a budget in that time, Members of Congress will not be paid by the American people for failing to do their job. No budget, no pay.

Here’s why this matters: This increases the debt ceiling to authorize borrowing to pay the country’s bills well into April. That punts the debt limit deadline until after the deadline for funding for the government to run out, which is on March 27th. In other words, Republicans will now use the threat of a government shutdown along with the coming expiration of the sequester to extract the spending cuts it wants. Presuming this all gets resolved by then, or soon after, it means the threat of default is no longer a factor. This will all but certainly get resolved in advance of this three month deadline, and a long term debt limit hike will get attached to that agreement.

On the debt ceiling, at least, this is a complete cave. As noted below, the mere willingness to raise the debt ceiling temporarily was itself an acknowledgment by Republicans that the threat of default gave them no leverage and that they had essentially lost this fight. Now the three month extension means that in practical terms, it’s essentially been removed from the talks entirely.

The GOP will now stage the battle to get the spending cuts it wants around the threat of a government shutdown...And make no mistake: Just because the GOP blinked in the debt ceiling fight doesn’t mean the battle over the government shutdown will be easy. As Steve Benen notes, the possibility of a shutdown — and the coming expiration of the sequester — are real threats that pack a real punch.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/01/18/gop-takes-off-the-suicide-bomb-vest/

Krugman: Extortionists Versus Con Men
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022213941

[liberal N proud]

1. Three Months? What then, another 3 months?

[OldDem2012]

2. Not really....we'll see this all over again in three months. nt.

[ProSense]

3. The reference is to their original bluster to blow up the economy.

So they completely caved knowing it was political suicide.

Yes, they will continue the hostage taking and posturing.

[samsingh]

4. kick

[Bok_Tukalo]

5. No pay?

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. They expect people to be less informed on the topic in 3 months?

I realize this isn't a news flash, but they are a pack of bloody idiots.

[rhett o rick]

7. We need to start gearing up for the 2014 elections. We wont have Pres Obama's shirttails

to ride on.

[warrior1]

8. the gop is into self-inflected pain

keep up gop you're only hurting your selves.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. Nancy to reject 3 month plan per Sargent!

@ThePlumLineGS: Nancy Pelosi will reject House GOP three month debt ceiling proposal, I'm told, and demand clean debt ceiling hike.

Good! No more hostage situations to be accepted!