My Problem With Platinum Coin & 14th Amendment Fix - Gives GOP A Free Pass Again
The fact of the matter is that the media spends little time asking Republicans whether they really plan on shooting the hostage and using the debt ceiling to get their way or tank the world economy. Instead, the focus has been on what will the President do as if the actions of Republicans was reasonable or acceptable. Indeed, even though the White House has not even entertained the alternatives to Congress raising the debt ceiling, the media has been debating and attacking the President and Democrats for even considering these options.
As Ezra Klein pointed out, "The moment the White House declares itself open to minting the coin, the Republican Party’s extremists can breathe a sigh of relief." I agree with Ezra. We really should not be looking at creative ways to circumvent Congress. Instead, we need to start holding Republicans accountable for playing the debt limit and playing chicken with an economic meltdown. So long as attention is paid to platinum coins and the 14th Amendment, the less pressure there is on Republicans to stop threatening to kill the Nation's economy in a blatant attempt at economic sabotage and extortion.
Rather than attacking the President for not giving Republicans a free pass on being responsible, we should be demonstrating and demanding that Republicans stop acting crazy. Republicans act crazy, because we have been conditioned to accept it as normal and routine such that they can stall routine appointments and threaten to blow up the country's economy without any blowback.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/10/mr-president-dont-mint-that-platinum-coin/
The platinum coin is an attempt to delay a reckoning that we unfortunately need to have. It takes a debate that will properly focus on the GOP’s reckless threat to force the United States into default and refocuses it on a seemingly absurd power grab by the executive branch. It is of no solace that many of the intuitive arguments against the platinum coin can be calmly rebutted. It’s the wrong debate to be having.
Worse, it is a debate that will that will strengthen the worst factions in the Republican Party. There are plenty of Republicans who are privately uncomfortable with the party’s shift towards repetitive brinksmanship. Some of them are quite powerful. Recall that in 2011, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell basically tried to trick his party into giving up its power over the debt ceiling. Just last weekend, Newt Gingrich said the debt ceiling is “a dead loser” for the GOP and advised Republicans to find “a totally new strategy.” Philip Klein, a columnist at the Washington Examiner, put it clearly: “As a conservative, I fear Republicans overplaying their hand, delaying a debt limit increase so long that financial markets begin to panic. As a result, small government ideology will be associated in the public mind with economic chaos and conservatism will be seen as incompatible with governance.”
The fact is that after losing the 2012 election, and with the business community mobilizing against the threat of default, the leadership of the Republican Party is going to have a terrible time holding its members together on the debt ceiling. Even more problematic, from the perspective of conservative hard-liners, is that many of the GOP’s leaders are themselves scared of the debt ceiling and looking for a way out. There is a very good chance that this fight can be won and these tactics discredited.
= new reply since forum marked as read
