Posted on 02/16/2014 3:06:09 PM PST by Reddy
Very few Americans know how close the country came to catastrophe this week.
The final tally shows that the Senate voted by a wide margin Wednesday, 67 to 31, to break Sen. Ted Cruz’s filibuster of an increase in the debt limit, thus avoiding a default on the United States’ full faith and credit.
But 15 minutes after the voting should have ended, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell had apparently secured only two of the five Republican votes he needed to join all 55 members of the Democratic caucus to pass the measure. He raised three fingers in the air and worked his way among his members but was met with folded arms and shakes of the head. Looking queasy, he patted his thigh nervously and drummed his fingers. In the hubbub, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) knocked a full glass of water and coaster from McConnell’s desk to the floor.
Democrats, watching the spectacle, took the extraordinary step of ordering the Senate clerk not to read aloud the ongoing vote tally to avoid setting off a market panic; because the House had already left on a two-week recess, a failure of this vote would have left little chance of avoiding default on Feb. 27, when the Treasury was to run out of funds.
Watching the chaos from the side of the chamber was the man who caused it: Cruz, his hands in his pants pockets and a satisfied grin on his face. The Texas Republican strolled to the clerk’s table to check on the vote count and was met with a look of disgust from Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). And the feeling was widespread: Moments after Cruz walked into the Republican cloakroom, four senators emerged and changed their votes to “aye.”...
Cruz’s ego trip had come at a high cost.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Exact same thought I had. Reince probably got a tingle up his leg reading it.
Be they Democrat or Republican.
Dana Mil bank is a partisan political hack and a 1st class assclown.
He is to be ignored.
We're constantly told by our betters in DC that any interruption in their ability to spend w/o limit would constitute a catasrophe & yet as demostrated by the shutdown in October the sky didn't fall, the poles didn't reverse & the sun continued to rise.
How many lies before those who issue them are labeled LIARS? McConnell, Boehner, McCain...”we’ll fight on the debt limit.”
What is wrong about that now when it was ok then? Nothing. They are just liars.
And what exactly is wrong with extracting a dollar’s worth of spending cuts for each dollar in new borrowing.
At some point you must stop borrowing. It is affecting us now. We are paying 300-400 billion a year in interest payments alone. That money does nothing but pay interest. Not a dime of principal. 300 Billion is half the non-afghan Pentagon budget.
Ah, yes. Raising are credit limit is all about maintaining the faith and credit of the nation. Sure. The S&P credit downgrade and other damage to our nation’s credit rating which happened for the first time under this administration happened because we were reluctant to keep borrowing ever more money that we will never repay. Sure, curbing spending increases to match inflation would be reckless. /s
Ted Cruz is a hero to this average American.
President Cruz...President Cruz...President Cruz...!
So much to wish for...Let’s make it happen! He’s as needed now as Ronald Reagan was thirty four years ago.
The “ego” talking point is not coming from Obama’s thugs...it’s coming from the GOP-E in general, and Senate Republicans in particular. Everyone needs to understand that we’re now fighting two equally ruthless enemies-—the Rats and the GOP-E.
Dana Miltbank. Not many Americans take him very seriously. He’s a clueless goof that only spews DemocRAT propaganda. A real non-thinker.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
This is Dana Milbank. You can pretty much write his stories yourself: Obama/Dems= good..... Cruz/Republicans= bad or evil.
> The “catastrophe” has already happened, Milbank. It is named Obama. Why don’t you write about that?
One man with courage, Cruz, is trying to do something about the catastrophe and you worry about ego. Fool.
Cruz’s ego pales in comparison to The One’s.
You can smell the fear. It is well deserved.
And they call the president’s lawlessness a meme. They are the ones creating these memes. Discuss the issue, cowards, instead of trying to sound cool and above-it-all.
Rush used to do bits on how often a word or phrase was repeated (change, change, change, etc.) Someone should do that with these clowns and the ego talking points.
First of all, what does Dana care about Republicans losing in the general? I had to LOL at that one. Second: Tea Party is much stronger now, despite, or maybe because of, government harassment.
Everyone should go to the Tea Party meetings and support their candidates individually. You don't have to sign up and risk harassment by the thugocrats.
And one last comment on the charge of “ego”: That is an epithet hurled at every successful politician. Every one who can’t be competed with any other way. I have heard it said my entire political life, by the losers.
They are terrified of Cruze. And Paul. If they run one will be nominated and I bet Cruze will be the one. Provided of course we don’t ten conservatives in the field!!! If Paul runs as Veep they will win.
BUMP!
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