The money quote from President Obama’s press conference.
To even entertain the idea of this happening, of the United States of America not paying its bills, is irresponsible. It’s absurd. As the speaker said two years ago, it would be — and I’m quoting Speaker Boehner now — “a financial disaster not only for us but for the worldwide economy.” So we got to pay our bills. And Republicans in Congress have two choices here: They can act responsibly and pay America’s bills or they can act irresponsibly and put America through another economic crisis.
But they will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy. The financial well-being of the American people is not leverage to be used. The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip.
And they’d better choose quickly because time is running short. The last time Republicans in Congress even flirted with this idea, our triple-A credit rating was downgraded for the first time in our history, our businesses created the fewest jobs of any month in nearly the past three years, and ironically, the whole fiasco actually added to the deficit.
I’m guessing that Republicans are foolish enough to play their game of chicken all the way to the last second hoping that Obama gets weak-kneed and grants them their grab bag of cuts to screw over the middle class. So far the president has given every indication that he’s hanging tough and will not pay the ransom. Nice.
If you missed Obama’s last press conference of his first term, you can catch it here.
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It certainly sounds like Obama might just hang tough this time. I was very happy to hear what he had to say today.
I also hope he stands tough. Turn around, walk away and let them know it’s on their head — and that America will know (both Wall Street and the rest of us) that they did it. In some ways I almost, repeat almost, hope they do as it will put the final nail in the coffin of the GOP.
We’re on very dangeous ground here.I don’t know about the chess game being played here but a stalemate seems to be the highlight of the day. Is there another move that the Repub opponent doesn’t see or is in Obama’s mind ? I sure hope the ace will come out soon because a bad situation is getting confusing.
I’ll put my eggs in the Obama politic !!!
It might be a good thing to call the R Congresspeople in your district tomorrow. If they default on America’s debt – our mortgage and student loan rates could sky-rocket; seniors and military members (including vets) would not receive their money, etc. This is BS. Bring your voice to them on who you would find responsible.
and if they decide to let this one pass and go for shutting down the government, can you guys float me a short loan as we wait for checks to be issued, millions of us?
If they do this there are going to be consequences to all of us — but we simply cannot allow them to continue to hold the country hostage again and again.
How I long for the days when we had a genuine Republican party; eople like my father and my brother – patriots first, conservatives second. They balanced my progressive, liberal philosophy. Today, nearly all politicians are owned by Big Business and they serve the best interests of their masters, not the people.
I am glad to see Obama standing firm. That alone gives me a glimmer of hope for my country’s future.