I hope someone asks Jay Carney this:
You, Treasury Secretary Geithner, and other members of your administration have warned that failure to raise the debt ceiling by August 2 will have far-ranging, “catastrophic” effects, including plunging the United States economy into a depression. Nonetheless, you insist that Congress should pass only a debt-ceiling increase that extends beyond the 2012 presidential election; yesterday, you released a statement saying that your senior advisers had counseled you to veto a short-term increase in the debt ceiling. This despite the fact that short-term debt-ceiling increases (i.e., less than a year) are common, having been enacted dozens of times just since the Reagan administration.
Why is a short-term debt-ceiling increase unacceptable now when they’ve been routine and unremarkable in the past?
Presuming for a moment that your veto threat is sincere, shouldn’t Americans logically conclude that you consider winning reelection more important than forestalling an economic catastrophe and throwing millions more Americans out of work?
Do you expect most congressional Republicans to fall for your veto threat and cave? If so, will you please join my Thursday night poker games and bring those Republicans with you?
P.S. I’m glad I’m not Jay Carney. But then, if I were Jay Carney, I’d have never accepted such a fool’s errand as to be spokeshole for this president.
they’re in there
That’s a flat lie, but that’s what you do. Unless you say Obamacare is defunded after 2017. That may indeed happen (even earlier than 2017), but that’s not what Obama wants or what you want. So I repeat, you’re lying.
Bush passed TARP, can’t hang that on his successor unless you give Obama a pass on the million jobs a month the economy was losing in Jan ’08…
The Democrat Congress, which included Obama, passed TARP. And I will hang that on them as much as I hang it on McCain for voting for it and Bush for signing it.
Job lost came under a Democrat Congress. No matter how you cut it, that’s a fact. That’s why they lost the House in 2010, and why they lost the most seats up for grabs in the Senate. More losses will come in 2012. No matter how you slice it, Democrats have a spending problem and the American people are not earning more money to continue to be taxed at higher rates. Sure, as FBW points out, I can’t defend Bush on signing Congressional spending bills. In fact, I haven’t defended Bush. I was against PDB, and he considers it a hallmark of his administration.
But here’s the deal, Bush is not running for President in 2012. Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are running for offices in 2012, and all of them voted for TARP, ARRA, continued the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan despite promises to end them, started new wars in Libya and Yemen, and want to spend more money, tax their citizens more, while touting a doubling of unemployment under their watch. Good luck with that strategy.
Thomas, I’m touched that you care so much about my children’s future that you’re happy that we are adding to the debt.
Former Beltway Wonk,
No, what is funny is how the GOP tactics always turn out to be so counter productive and yet folks here still defend them.
the shut down is adding to the debt
They’re making omelettes. Or do you prefer the politics and sausage analogy. (It always seems to be about breakfast?)
Actually the debt ceiling “crisis” has shaved 70 basis points from federal interest payments since it started in May. The feds are now paying 2.8% instead of 3.5% for 10-year loans because the debt ceiling is finally being used to bring the big spenders to heel. That has greatly lowered our expected long-term debt in two ways (1) by greatly lowering our interest payments, and (2) by forcing Democrats and “moderate” Republicans think seriously about the debt, spending cuts, and prioritization. But if we give in to the big spenders now with a large debt ceiling raise, without strong constitutional constraints, most of these savings will be lost and the expected long term debt along with Treasury interest rates will zoom back up.
More good info, FBW.