Boehner raises the white flag - President Obama and Democrats get 'clean' debt ceiling increase

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last week, Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio) was quoted as saying, “Right now, Jesus himself couldn’t be the speaker and get 218 Republicans behind something, so I think Speaker Boehner is trying his best to come up with a plan that can get close to that.”

As I predicted last week, the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, raised the white flag on the latest GOP debt ceiling hostage taking. The Tea-Publican economic terrorists could not agree on what they wanted to take hostage this time, so the TanMan this monring said "Fuck it! We're going with a clean debt ceiling bill." (Yes he does speak this way off the record). GOP leaders will bring up ‘clean’ debt-ceiling bill.

For debt-limit deniers, the answer is always ‘No.’ Sen. Joe McCarthy Ted "Calgary" Cruz (R-TX), who apparently believes he is Speaker of the House, wanted another debt ceiling showdown. Cruz: ‘Clean’ debt ceiling hike ‘irresponsible’. Boehner blew off the blowhard demagogue this time.

Today the House approved a debt limit increase with most Republicans voting for default:

The House of Representatives has raised the debt limit on a vote of 221-201, avoiding the economic catastrophe that would have resulted if the United States had been forced to default on its debt. All but two Democrats voted for the measure. They were joined by 199 Republicans who favored default. [Only 28 Republicans voted yes.]

UPDATE: Reps. John Barrow (D-Ga.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah), who is retiring, voted no. Initially Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), who is also retiring, also voted no, but switched his vote.

The measure had no strings attached, marking the death of the Boehner Rule, which House Speaker John Boehner had defined as the idea that Congress should not raise the debt limit without cutting spending by the same amount. Ironically, Boehner himself voted for the clean debt bill, proving that he was bluffing all along, but the vast majority of his caucus voted against raising the debt ceiling—a position that would have forced default.

Politically, the lesson here is clear: Republican debt limit extortion is dead and as Greg Sargent argues, it's dead because President Obama and Democrats took a principled position in favor a clean increase and stuck to it in unwavering fashion. Yes, they screwed up in 2011 when debt limit negotiations led to sequestration, but to their credit, the president and congressional Democrats learned from their mistake and refused to repeat it.

The net result isn't just a political win for for our side of the aisle, it's a win for the country, which will be spared the absurd fiscal brinksmanship forced on us by Republicans.

* * *

Various tea party groups are already attacking Boehner for allowing a clean debt limit to come up for a vote. The Senate Conservatives Fund is even calling for Boehner to be replaced (like Ted Cruz, they don't appear to know the difference between the House and Senate). But whatever happens with Boehner, the Boehner Rule is dead, killed by its namesake—just like he killed the Hastert Rule before it.

h/t graphic: Daily Kos

Comments

[Thucydides]

Republicans have decided not to clean up the democrats mess. Its all yours now.

90,000 pages of regulation+

63 % marginal tax burden on small businesses+

50 million people on food stamps = no job growth

What we need is 40,000 pages of regulatio, 40% marginal tax burden and 30 million people on food stamps= 5% economic growth and a cornucopia of government revenue

[AZ BlueMeanie]

I see that our blog troll is off his meds again -- rambling way off topic.

The only issue here is that 201 Tea-Publicans wilfully voted to default on the national debt and to call into question the full faith and credit of the United States, in violation of the 14th Amendment. These Tea-Publican economic terrorists were willing to unleash an economic catastrophe on their country and their fellow American citizens solely out of an ideological temper tantrum. They could not even agree upon what hostage to take, or how much ransom to extort. They simply voted to "blow it up!"

This goes well beyond being reckless and fiscally irresponsible. These Tea-Publican economic terrorists are a clear and present danger, and are unfit to serve in public office.

[John Boehner]

I am glad I stook a stand against the crazy tea baggers!