This is the same Jim DeMint who wanted
RomneyCare and its mandate to go national
Jim DeMint
has a warning for Republicans:
Conservative firebrand Sen. Jim DeMint has a message to fellow Republicans in Congress: If you support increasing the debt ceiling without first passing a balanced budget amendment and massive across-the-board spending cuts, you're gone -- destined to be swept out of Congress by a wave of voter anger.
"Based on what I can see around the country," DeMint, R-S.C., said in an interview for the ABC News Subway Series, "not only are those individuals gone, but I would suspect the Republican Party would be set back many years.
"It would be the most toxic vote," DeMint said. "I can tell you if you look at the polls, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, they do not think we should increase the debt limit."
DeMint is not just talking political analysis here. He has a significant fundraising base and has shown a willingness to use his campaign money to support or oppose fellow Republicans.
Now before you get all excited about how Jim DeMint is true-believing teahadist, don't forget that this is the same Jim DeMint who praised RomneyCare and said it should be implemented across the entire country. In other words, as nutty as his ideas may be, he's still motivated first and foremost by one thing: political power.
But just because he's motivated by political ambition doesn't mean his political analysis is right. Democrats should keep in mind that as unpopular as the notion of raising the debt limit is, the implications of not raising it are even more unpopular.
In the absolute best case scenario, failing to raise the debt limit would spook the financial markets and force enormous budget cuts. Assuming we continued to repay our debt, nearly half our budget would disappear, overnight; that means massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and even military spending, and a swift and painful return to recession and job losses. And that's the best case scenario.
In the worst case scenario, it would do everything that I mentioned plus permanently damaging the credit rating of the United States, making borrowing even more difficult, and dealing a sever blow to our global influence.
There's no question that raising the debt limit won't be popular. But compared to what will happen if it isn't raised, raising the debt limit will be a walk in the park.