Wall Street is shifting its attention to an even more worrisome situation: the possibility that the government could run out of money within the next few weeks, forcing an unprecedented default on its debt. ...
... As a result, economists and investors have quietly begun to explore the options the White House might have in the event Congress fails to act.
The most widely discussed strategy would be for President Obama to invoke authority under the 14th Amendment and essentially order the federal government to keep borrowing, an option that was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton during an earlier debt standoff in 2011. ...NYT
Some in the Senate are talking about the President using that authority, but it would carry the risk of an impeachment battle.
(I'm not sure some of us wouldn't welcome that. The likelihood of success slim and the blow to the Republican party's extremists as well as the party itself would be serious... and welcome. But remember: Obama has already rejected that use of the 14th,)
NBC News reports that Republicans are looking for a way of getting out of the damage that's being done... to Republicans. (Here it comes: Psst! We don't give a flyin' crap about the country. Just give us something so we can get out of this mess unscathed as a splinter group...)
“We’re not going to be disrespected,” the Tea Party congressman [Marlin Stutzman, Indiana] said, per NBC's Frank Thorp. “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.” Let that quote sink: Stutzman is admitting that conservatives don’t even know what they want out of this fight. As we said yesterday, the deeper a hole you did, the harder it is to get out because suddenly you get this war mentality where you can’t fathom “surrendering” to the other side’s terms. And what Boehner seems to be almost BEGGING Democrats for is a fig leaf of something so that Republicans can get “something” out of this. If there is a “something” that Democrats MIGHT offer, keep an eye on the medical-device tax. It’s a way for Senate Democrats to recruit Senate Republicans to make a statement to House Republicans. Reid can say it is NOT connected to the shutdown, but they pass it as a stand-alone, send it to the House, and let Boehner spin it any way he wants to simply get the government open. ...NBCNews
Will the Republicans please stop screwing themselves and then asking us to unscrew them? Could we have a little mature governance from their side.... please? When you get to the point where you have to ask people to quit disrespecting you, you're in a bad, bad place.
