Here's a cheerful thought: Cruz could force a debt default all by his little self. Here's how:

[cali]

Here’s a cheerful thought as Congress remains deadlocked over the debt ceiling and the hours tick away toward default: Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who basically forced the shutdown and whose own private polls have convinced him that it has been a glorious success, at this point could probably force a default and global economic calamity on his own—if he were so inclined. The Treasury Department says U.S. borrowing authority will expire on Thursday.

How could this happen? Because the Senate can move quickly when necessary, but only by unanimous consent. Let’s say Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) strike a deal today (that’s looking unlikely). Cruz surely won’t like it and has said repeatedly, “I will do everything necessary and anything possible to defund Obamacare.” If he’s true to his word, he could drag out the proceedings past Thursday and possibly well beyond. “If a determined band of nut jobs wants to take down the global economy, they could do it,” says Jim Manley, a former top staffer for Reid. “Under Senate rules, we are past the point of no return—there’s not anything Reid or McConnell could do about it.”

<snip>

That wouldn’t be his only weapon, however. The real killer is that Senate rules stipulate there must be 30 hours of post-cloture debate, unless senators agree unanimously to waive it. Reid and McConnell would want unanimous consent to move quickly, but Cruz could refuse, thereby forcing 30 hours of debate. This would drag things out until Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. Then there would be a vote on the motion to proceed (requiring a simple majority), followed by an intervening day, assuming Cruz withheld his consent to vote earlier. So now we’re looking at a Thursday cloture vote on the bill itself, followed by another 30 hours of post-cloture debate that would blow right past the Treasury deadline. Finally, sometime on Friday, there would be a vote on the bill and on the amendment to swap in Reid/McConnell.

<snip>

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-14/ted-cruz-could-force-a-debt-default-all-by-himself

This was written Monday. Things are even more dire today. There are folks here saying he'd never do this. To them I say: codswallop, baloney, bullshit. Of course he would. He's demonstrated that he wants to burn it all down. Will he? We'll see.

[scheming daemons]

1. here's how they can avoid that

Mitch and Harry come up with a deal, but Boehner gets the House to vote on it first.

Then the Senate can avoid cloture by declaring "privilege" and voting on what is now the House bill immediately.

Thus defanging Cruz.

[cali]

2. I'm having a hard time placing any faith at all in Boehner doing the right thing.

[lostincalifornia]

17. You may be right, but the futures think the default will be avoided

[DCBob]

18. I think that is what will happen.

Boehner can claim he didn't have any other option.

[beachbum bob]

3. house republicans understand they

Have lost. Except for the extremist. If Boehner brings senate bill to the house floor...it passes with majority of democrats and handful of republicans.

[cali]

4. you forgot other "ifs"

like if there is a deal that reaches the House in time to avert the default.

[kydo]

5. If Cruz has the chance he will take it

It will be his Hitler moment.

[lostincalifornia]

6. They will do everything in their power to see he doesn't get that chance

[cali]

7. by what means?

[lostincalifornia]

9. By what the second poster in this thread mentioned

[cali]

10. that, alas, is a remote possibility.

[lostincalifornia]

12. true. It is also true that any one senator, not just cruz can delay this

[cali]

14. yeah, but again, only Lee and Cruz are likely candidates to do so.

[lonestarnot]

8. My question to him would be, where do you intend to hide out when it's done? Because he will be

found.

[lostincalifornia]

11. Incidently, it doesn'thave to be cruz, it can be any one senator to gum up the works

[cali]

13. of course, but there are less than a handful who have made noises

about it.

Cruz and Lee.

[Orsino]

15. If Cruz isn't insane, he's already promising to toe the line on a vote...

...in exchange for a getaway car and a ten-minute head start.

[cali]

16. you're right- if he's sane and I sure wouldn't bet on that.

[Orsino]

20. It's difficult to say.

My standard answer is that we won't know for sure until acting crazy stops paying so well.

[Laelth]

19. Quite true. He could.

Right now, Senator Cruz is dangerous. He sees his Presidential aspirations going up in smoke. His only chance to get the Republican nomination is to double-down, and he might do it. He has no other way to reach his goals but to double-down and hope he is rewarded for it when Republicans emerge victorious (an unlikely scenario, at best).

Because his options are so limited at the moment, I fear we may see him double-down and lead us all off the financial cliff. I hope, of course, that his peers can reel him in, but there's no guarantee of that.

-Laelth