Let’s say President Obama is right that he shouldn’t negotiate with the gun he says Republicans put to his head with regard to the debt ceiling and the federal shutdown.
If that’s what he believes, shouldn’t he be for anything that would take the bullets out — ensuring the US will not default even if the GOP pulls the trigger?
That’s just common sense. And the president could take those bullets away by agreeing to the Full Faith and Credit Act, which would guarantee the federal government continues to pay the nation’s debts even after a debt ceiling has been reached. But Obama and Senate Democrats refuse to do so, which tells us they’re OK with default, so long as they think they can come out ahead politically.
Keep this in mind, as well. The focus on the gamesmanship between the president and the speaker of the House helps all avoid addressing the real crisis in Washington: a government spending beyond our ability to pay. Of this spending, the most out of control is entitlements.
As much as we share the GOP’s conviction that ObamaCare will be a calamity, we believe House Republicans miscalculated in thinking they could get a Democratic Senate to agree to defund it by threatening a shutdown. Any tradeoff on ObamaCare, at least for the moment, is probably gone.
Even so, there remain practical concessions each side can make to help bring entitlements under control and pay down a debt that threatens our future. That would be part of an agreement that would re-open government and raise the debt ceiling.
So come to the table, Mr. President. There’s a deal waiting for you.