(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Momentum grows for Biden to tell Republicans to blow up the debt ceiling [1]

['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2023-05-17

That’s what a growing group of Senate Democrats is asking him to do. What began several days ago with senators telling reporters they believe Biden has the constitutional authority to act has become a direct ask for Biden to do it. The Washington Post obtained a copy of a letter Democrats are now circulating that reminds Biden that the 14th Amendment has one clear instruction: “the validity of the public debt, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.”

“Republicans have made it clear that they are prepared to hold our entire economy hostage unless you accede to their demands to reduce the deficit on the backs of working families. That is simply unacceptable,” the letter states. “We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on-time, without delay, preventing a global economic catastrophe.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin should be on board. “I personally feel that we should test that and I think that the language is very explicit in that amendment,” he said over the weekend. His committee colleague Sheldon Whitehouse laid out the argument in a series of tweets Wednesday morning. Defaulting would be unconstitutional, the Rhode Island senator said, and “The faithful execution clause of the Constitution requires the president to faithfully execute all the laws a default would disrupt, not just the one law that causes default and disrupts the faithful execution of all the others.”

Biden and his advisers in the White House have said that they would consider the 14th Amendment argument after this crisis, tacitly admitting that they know this won’t be the last time Republicans take a fiscal hostage. Do it now, these Democrats are arguing, and stop another act of economic terrorism by Republicans. Let them sue. Take it to the Supreme Court and let them decide if economic chaos should win.

While Senate Democrats are gathering strength behind constitutional action, House Democrats are rallying behind their discharge petition that would put a clean debt ceiling hike on the House floor. The bill has been lurking in obscurity in committee for weeks, giving it the time House rules require for it to be ready for signatures. They introduced the procedural resolution at 10 AM Wednesday, and now need to get 218 signatures on it to force a floor vote. That’s a long shot, but it’s an important move to illustrate Democratic unity behind taking this hostage away from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the Freedom Caucus members who have driven this fiasco.

Together, the discharge petition in the House and this letter from Senate Democrats show they are united in not giving House Republicans the power to dictate whether or not the nation defaults.

Here’s one good reason why:

x Reporter asks about Biden saying he won't accept work requirements of “any consequence” in debt limit negotiations.



House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republicans burst out laughing, and someone shouts “Loser!” pic.twitter.com/J6SNyrhGNK — The Recount (@therecount) May 17, 2023

This is a game to Republicans, a game they think they are winning. They are laughing about the control they think they have in this situation.

And here’s another reason. This is not about the debt or the deficit. It is not about putting the nation’s fiscal house in order or any other damned excuse from Republicans. Here’s the proof:

x Republicans groan when a reporter asks McCarthy if he's open to considering a tax increase on the wealthy pic.twitter.com/sPzqzYbCTQ — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 17, 2023

McCarthy’s got a tiny majority and he’s only holding on to the gavel by the skin of his teeth. He shouldn’t be calling the shots.

Jennifer Fernandez Ancona from Way to Win joins Markos and Kerry to talk about the new messaging the Democratic Party’s national candidates are employing going into 2024. Ancona was right about the messaging needed to win the midterms, and we think she’s right about 2024.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/17/2169866/-Momentum-grows-for-Biden-to-tell-Republicans-to-blow-up-the-debt-ceiling

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.