All 51 Senate Dems and two indies signed a letter to Speaker Boehner saying they will vote against his plan.
Adam Jentleson
That's the entire Democratic Caucus: 51 Dems, Sen. Sanders and Sen. Lieberman.
This is the response to Boehner's claim that Senate Dems will fold like a cheap suit.
53 senators say this and more:
In addition to risking a downgrade and catastrophic default, we are concerned that in five or six months, the House will once again hold the economy captive and refuse to avoid another default unless we accept unbalanced, deep cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security, without asking anything of the wealthiest Americans.
The letter they all signed to Boehner (found on TPM):
Speaker John Boehner U.S. Capitol, H-232 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner,
With five days until our nation faces an unprecedented financial crisis, we need to work together to ensure that our nation does not default on our obligations for the first time in our history. We heard that in your caucus you said the Senate will support your bill. We are writing to tell you that we will not support it, and give you the reasons why.
A short-term extension like the one in your bill would put America at risk, along with every family and business in it. Your approach would force us once again to face the threat of default in five or six short months. Every day, another expert warns us that your short-term approach could be nearly as disastrous as a default and would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating. If our credit is downgraded, it would cost us billions of dollars more in interest payments on our existing debt and drive up our deficit. Even more worrisome, a downgrade would spike interest rates, making everything from mortgages, car loans and credit cards more expensive for families and businesses nationwide.
In addition to risking a downgrade and catastrophic default, we are concerned that in five or six months, the House will once again hold the economy captive and refuse to avoid another default unless we accept unbalanced, deep cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security, without asking anything of the wealthiest Americans.
We now have only five days left to act. The entire world is watching Congress. We need to do the right thing to solve this problem. We must work together to avoid a default the responsible way - not in a way that will do America more harm than good.
Sincerely,
TPM: CRAM IT! ALL Senate Dems Tell Boehner His Debt Limit Plan Is DOA
With House Dems holding strong, it may be that there are NO Dem votes for the Boehner bill.
We must stand up to the Republican extortionists now. Better a default than a death of a thousand cuts.
Update I:
Some R senators will vote No from the right:
Even some Republican Senators, including Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul and Jim DeMint, have come out against the legislation.
Read more:
http://swampland.time.com/...
And the Maine twins and Corker are possible no votes.