The GOP has blindly followed the shutdown threat playbook provided by the "Congressional Republicans' Shadow Speaker" and despite its colossal failure they are now following his equally stupid debt ceiling playbook. Read about it below.
First - how we got here. This article pretty well sums it up.
In selling his strategy for killing Obamacare to his adoring Tea Party rubes:
“The House holds the purse strings,” DeMint told his crowds. If Republicans keep them cinched, he promised, the law would fail."
And what did some Republicans actually think about it while he was frothing up the rabid TP base?
North Carolina Senator Richard Burr calls DeMint’s plan “the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” Representative Tom Cole, a veteran Oklahoma Republican, has likened the shutdown threat to “putting the gun to your own head. You’re basically saying, do what I want or I’ll shoot.”
Now that DeMint's "Destroy Obamacare" shutdown hostage strategy has been so successful, the GOP is hopping right on board with his "Fund Only What We Want" debt ceiling hostage strategy. The playbook is in print and you can read it
here.
A few key elements
If Congress does not raise the debt limit by mid-October, the Treasury would not necessarily default on debt obligations. Even while cash-strapped, the Treasury can reasonably be expected to prioritize principal and interest payments on the national debt, protecting the full faith and credit of the United States above all other spending. It is almost impossible to conceive that the Treasury and the President would choose to default on debt obligations because doing so would have damaging economic consequences.
Bolding is mine for emphasis. Just as they were emphasizing in the 2011 debt ceiling "negotiations" they are fine with hitting the debt ceiling because it gives them leverage to force the President to prioritize spending exactly as they wish (first by using all cash reserves to pay the debt). If he doesn't, they blame the default on him. Sound familiar?
Next, they claim that the President couldn't blame a default on Congress' refusal to raise the debt ceiling because he has the authority to prioritize federal spending - making it his choice not to prioritize the debt payment. (This is a stupid risk for multiple reasons but the lack of a federal budget at the moment certainly won't help here)
The Treasury justifies this threat by arguing that it lacks the logistical means and the authority to prioritize federal payments and will instead delay all payments, including debt obligations, in the event of a debt limit impasse. This interpretation of authority directly contradicts a previous statement by the Government Accountability Office, which asserted that the Treasury has the discretion to prioritize payments
So, what to do according to the lobbyists currently running the House of Representatives? Well first off let's take advantage of the fact that Congress has an important role in keeping the government open and not defaulting on our debt. Why don't we say - take the government hostage so it will do what we want?
Congress is facing two deadlines: The federal government will reach the limit of the extraordinary measures in October, and the continuing resolution to fund the government expires on September 30. These deadlines offer Congress an opportunity to bring spending and debt under control. Congress can choose from a range of good and bad choices
I will summarize all their "bad" choices:
1) Suspend the debt limit? No thanks - it's the same as raising it.
and
2) Delegate debt limit increase to the President? When polka dot pigs come flying out of our asses.
Now their "good" choices:
Freeze the current debt limit. If Congress freezes the current debt limit without giving further guidance and the Treasury exhausts its extraordinary measures, the Treasury and President Obama would have broad discretion in deciding which obligations to pay on time and which to delay. Congress should therefore consider legislation that prioritizes payment in the event of a debt limit impasse.
Translation: Do exactly as we say and no one (we give a shit about) will get hurt. You will never get your country back but we will let you play with it occasionally.
If for some reason we can't pass this Tea Party wet-dream scenario (like I don't know maybe perhaps we don't actually control the entire damn government) here is the fallback:
Raise the debt limit in small increments. Congress could choose to raise the limit in small increments in exchange for small spending reductions to maintain pressure on Congress and the President to arrive at a budget deal that puts the U.S. budget on a path to balance. This is not the optimal way to run a government. Short increases of only days at a time are disruptive and can disturb markets. However, continuing with “business as usual” would be worse than increasing the debt limit without addressing the long-term problems driving the soaring debt.
Raise the limit with a path to balance. By cutting spending and reforming entitlements, starting with repealing Obamacare, Congress and the President could put the federal budget on a path to balance, with a modest debt limit increase to arrive at balance in an orderly and deliberate fashion. This option would prevent a debt crisis today and in the future.
Translation: Do exactly as we say and no one (we give a shit about) will get hurt. You will never get your country back but we will let you play with it occasionally. But we aren't getting everything we really really want so we compromised.
So there you have it folks - the playbook for those who are holding the nation hostage. What's our next move to get it back.