I’m a little bit out of my territory here. But I wanted to address one point that comes up repeatedly as sane people consider the prospect of the United States government defaulting on its debt obligations. Is there no escape hatch? No in extremis lever the President can pull to protect the country and the whole global economy from such cataclysmic damage?
Answer: no. Explanation: after the jump.
You’ve seen Charlie Dent and Pete King out railing against the shutdown, blaming it on Republicans, calling for a no-strings-attached bill to reopen the federal government. Surely, they’re willing to sign the discharge petition that could force Speaker Boehner’s hand, right? Well, no.
On the other hand, Sen. Kirk says he’s willing to vote with Democrats to block a filibuster of a similar bill in the Senate.
Jonathan Krohn, who many of you probably remember from his past life as CPAC wunderkind, is now working as a freelance foreign correspondent in Cairo. Here’s his first hand, on-the-ground account of running battles between Muslim Brotherhood and anti-coup activists and government forces yesterday in Cairo. Special to TPM.