John Boehner’s press secretary, Michael Steel, just sent out a link to this Bloomberg article predicting catastrophic fallout from a US debt default with this message attached: “Folks – This really, really sounds like something Washington Democrats ought to talk to somebody about avoiding. Maybe that’s just me. – steel”
To truly understand the role of the press in enabling the current crisis, you really need to see this exchange …
because Dem base is demanding that govt stay open and Treasury not default? @rickklein
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) October 7, 2013
Here’s the full story.
TPM Reader AC has a disturbing, thought-provoking suggestion, one based on personal experience …
In a week full of super-heated and violent rhetoric, with talk of metaphorical guns being held to the collective head of the body politic, civil wars and the like, the actions of the House of Representatives have been deemed suicidal with some frequency. Representative Devin Nunes of California likened some of his colleagues to “lemmings with suicide vests.” Charles Krauthammer and The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza have both used the term “suicide caucus” to describe the GOP’s nihilists. White House advisor Dan Pfeiffer likened them to “people with a bomb strapped to their chest.” And so on.
Fresh off killing immigration reform, the RNC announces it’s hired a “Hispanic engagement staff” to improve the party’s outreach to Hispanic voters.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) concedes problems with 2012 voter purge, says next one will be better.
If I had a dime for every anonymous House Republican who said, without doing anything about it, that he really, really wished his party hadn’t shut down the government.
The Post has a profile in motion of freshman House Republican Ted Yoho (FL). The focus is how he’s part of the faction who forced John Boehner to trigger the government shutdown and now wants to move along to default on the national debt. How bad will default be? “I think, personally, it would bring stability to the world markets,” Yoho told the Post.
Absorb that for a moment. He’s on the team that’s driving this bus. What would at best be a huge jolt to the global economy and more likely trigger a global financial crisis and do irreparable harm to the country, he thinks will actually improve things.
Schumer: “Someone goes into your house, takes your wife and children hostage and then, says, let’s negotiate over the price of your house.”
TPM Reader FN asks for a deeper perspective on what’s happening …
As a Historian, any chance you could push for an essay signed by Historians —which puts into perspective and explains the roots and causes of the shutdown?
This does seem to be an important (possible turning point) event for the American experiment.
Clearly, what is going on is an attempt to overturn the 2012 election through undemocratic means.
Speaker says country headed toward credit default if Obama doesn’t cave to threat.