Well, not paying our troops would be a death sentence for the Democratic Party...
but there is plenty more that can b trimmed, and actually in my ever so humble opinion, I'd be glad to see it go. Not like this, punitive measures aren't made with a clear head.
I'm convinced now that Obama can simply invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling, because he is constitutionally required to do two things: spend the money that Congress authorizes, and not question the public debt. If he doesn't do both he will be violating the constitution more than if he violates the constitution by raising the debt ceiling.
I'm further convinced that this is the way it will work out, because we cannot count on obstructionists in either house raising the debt ceiling in time. Everyone knows that even if he hasn't been given the power, the President is forever linked to the economy under his watch. This is true of Clinton, who got credit for the dot com bubble before it burst, this is true of Bush, who will forever be blamed for his role in the Great Recession even though the roots of the problem went back to deregulation in the Clinton years, or even Bush Sr, whose re-election loss was precipitated by his poor economy that was partly Reagan's fault.
This all is to say that despite who ruins the economy, Obama would own it in history. However, he has a reasonable argument to make that he can resolve the crisis by himself by ordering borrowing to continue. The economy will not crash, and his legacy and the American people will benefit. In fact, if he does not do this, he will bear some responsibility for the economic ruin.
You can be sure that if this were to happen, Republicans will be furious. They will not only be incensed that their quixotic scheme would have failed and that they were repudiated by Obama, but they will accuse him of acting unconstitutionally and will likely impeach him for this.
If they do that, the GOP will self-inflict a final blow. Sick of the paralysis, the public will hate another political crisis manufactured by the GOP, one that will die in the Senate, and especially one that accuses Obama of a crime for having raised the debt ceiling. Even in the soggy minds of the populace, they will understand that Obama saved the economy, and they will be disgusted by the GOP attempting to punish him for it.
If that happens, and the proceedings drag on into the midterms, either Republican Congressmen that are blamed by challengers for having not stopped the debt ceiling from being lifted will be primaried, and their replacement will be too right-wing to win the general election, or they will have disgusted enough of their own voters over the impeachment that even if they do get the nomination they will lose the election. Even with all the gerrymandered districts, a reckless and destructive GOP will lose the House
if they go this far.
If that happens, Obama will have two full years more with Democratic majorities in both houses and at that point he could be unstoppable. Having seen how they acted in the minority in congress his first two years and the havoc they unleashed in his middle four, the public will not forgive the GOP for blocking his legislation anymore. He could probably convince Republicans to come along on immigration, he could replace the damage done by sequestration with a responsible budget, he could even tackle gun control, education, and improving on Obamacare. And whereas Republicans could have shared some credit for any of those things, Democrats will be the main recipient of the credit.
If that happens, the next president will be a Democrat, and the GOP will have fully lost a generation, like they did from 1932-1952. The false equivalency myth will be shattered, and the GOP will be remembered during this era as having lost their way and damaged the country with their antics. If they do recover, they will have to jettison the Tea Party and retake the center. This country needs two strong parties to balance each other, and that only happens when the GOP regains self-control.
If all this happens, Obama will have earned a place near the top of the greatest presidents. He has already prevented a second great depression, and passed the most sweeping health care law in decades. He will then also gain credit for having essentially won a Congressional Civil War, one started on the day of his inauguration by Republicans that decided to put politics ahead of the people by standing against
whatever Obama proposed, before they knew what he would do, regardless of what damage their actions and inactions would have on the country. He would have killed the notion that politics is a zero-sum game between two opposing ideologies, and perhaps he will finally have accomplished his initial goal of ending the hateful partisanship that plagues Washington.
