In the movies, in order to convince the world he was serious, the kidnapper would send the cut-off finger of his hostage in a bloody rag to the police. Ah...nothing loosens the purse strings of a recalcitrant negotiator better than a look at the "blood bath" that awaits the loved one for failing to act.
Its time, metaphorically speaking, to send the republicans the finger! The finger in this case being a 1,000 point drop in the Dow.
I am not advocating default, but I am of the opinion that a bunch of freshman Tea party republicans need to see The Finger of DOW 11,000 before the President agrees to any deal on the debt limit. If the republicans do not get a good look into the abyss now, they will use the debt ceiling vote every year to get more and more concessions. And folks, these concessions will not be simple budget cuts. Don't like abortion? Refuse to raise the debt ceiling. Need a tool to get rid of ObamaCare? Simple, refuse to raise the debt ceiling!
According to press reports, the republicans have already tried to link changes in ObamaCare to the debt talks. While they may have failed this time...they will be back...and back...and back.
Its going to be hard to hold the Senate next year, and retaking the house will be hard given that the economy will be running on less than all 8 cylinders. President Obama and Reid see this and are trying to work the political magic to get Obama re-elected. They are thinking that this may be the only way to have any political power after the 2012 election.
Obama, Reid and Pelosi need to hold firm until the markets tank. The republicans need to see The Finger of their Wall Street God delivered in bloody ticker tape to ensure that they never head down this road again. If not, like Jason from Halloween, this monster will be back!