GOP dissension over debt-ceiling strategy [View all]
Source: Washington Post
There are early signs of division within the Republican Party over how to approach the upcoming debate over raising the federal debt ceiling.
On Friday, a top Senate Republican signaled that members of his party should be prepared to play hardball and be willing to accept the kind of consequences in each previous fight they’ve threatened but managed to avoid.
House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) likewise insisted that Republicans hold the line, telling his members they must demand that every dollar they raise the debt limit be paired with commensurate spending cuts.
But other Republicans counseled caution, warning that pressure from the business community and the public to raise the $16.4 trillion federal borrowing limit renders untenable any threats not to do so and will weaken the GOP’s hand if their stance is perceived to be a bluff.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-dissension-surfaces-over-debt-ceiling-strategy/2013/01/05/6dd24012-56ab-11e2-a613-ec8d394535c6_story.html
How do you negotiate with a House that simply does not know how to govern? A large contingent of Republicans pledged NEVER to raise the debt ceiling, thus they even voted against the 2011 deal that Boehner negotiated. Thus, you have Republicans already trying to paint an upcoming default as a deliberate strategy: “It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain,” Cornyn wrote. “President Obama needs to take note of this reality and put forward a plan to avoid it immediately.”
Really? Even Gingrich would recognize the shutting down the federal government made him an incredibly unpopular figure, and Boehner already has the lowest popularity of any member of Congress.
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